Where Do Things Disappear To? Measuring Cups, Socks, and Mechanical Pencils

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The discussion centers around the common frustrations of losing household items, particularly measuring cups and socks. One user notes they need to buy more measuring cups due to missing 1/4 cup measures from multiple sets, while others share similar experiences with socks disappearing between the bedroom and laundry room. Various theories are proposed for the mysterious loss of items, including static cling, pets hiding them, and even humorous suggestions about socks disintegrating or being sucked into another dimension. Participants also discuss strategies for preventing lost items, such as pairing socks with safety pins or using measuring cups in a more organized manner. The conversation highlights the shared experience of losing everyday items and the light-hearted theories surrounding these common occurrences.
Evo
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I have to buy more measuring cups. I have 4 nested sets and the 1/4 cup measure is missing from three of the sets. I also only have 1 full cup measure. I live alone. These are my dry measuring cups, my wet measures are all there.

I bought 6 new pairs of socks a year ago and a couple of months ago had to buy several more pairs becuase I no longer had any matching socks. I've already lost 2 socks. How do they disappear between the bedroom and the laundry room next to my kitchen? I've looked on the sides and back of the washer and dryer to see if they might have fallen, but don't see them.

I use mechanical pencils and buy them in packs, I have two of the six pack I bought last year. They're refillable, I don't throw them away.

I know the sock thing happens to everyone, but does anyone else notice that they have things that just seem to "disappear"?
 
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look over in one of your daughter's cabinet for the measuring cup----you could have brought it over there, or she could have 'borrowed' it...
 
rewebster said:
look over in one of your daughter's cabinet for the measuring cup----you could have brought it over there, or she could have 'borrowed' it...
She doesn't cook and would never be caught near my kitchen.
 
Evo said:
She doesn't cook and would never be caught near my kitchen.

maybe its in your dryer vent hose
 
I've dropped things right next to my chair on the carpet before and never saw them again for the rest of my life. It makes no sense.
 
Look in the sock drawer in your laundry dryer. That's where I found mine.

But really, I found they get stuck in jars that are used "often" in the cupboard or whatever.
 
you wouldn't believe the things a couch or chair will eat
 
Evo said:
I use mechanical pencils and buy them in packs, I have two of the six pack I bought last year. They're refillable, I don't throw them away.

I know the sock thing happens to everyone, but does anyone else notice that they have things that just seem to "disappear"?

When I was in school I used to put my pencils in my backpack. I would drop them down the side, or put them in the smaller zipper pocket, something like that. But I used to have the same problem. I used to think that there was a black hole in my bookbag somewhere that would eat my pencils because they would constantly go missing. I never really left my backpack unattended, and there were no holes for them to drop out of (I checked many many times), but alas, they still would disappear.

You're right, the sock thing does happen to everyone... Although beaters have been doing it to me lately too. I used to have a bunch of gray and black ones, and then a bunch of white ones. I now have a bunch of white ones, maybe 3 gray ones, and 1 black one lol I have no idea where they could have gone...
 
Did you have guests over the holidays? Maybe one of them made coffee.
 
  • #10
Borg said:
Did you have guests over the holidays? Maybe one of them made coffee.
Nope.

Perhaps sock manufacturers have discovered a way to make socks disintegrate after a number of washings? Do you ever notice that sometimes there is much more lint in the lint filter than usual? Probably the last wordly remains of a disintegrated sock.
 
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  • #11
My 1/4 cup measures reside in the cat food containers, so "the guys" don't overfeed the cats, or so "extra" overfeedings are at least limited to a 1/4 cup.

I could see the cup getting accidentally thrown out when the bag got low, but fortunately we just switched to some containers that have seals (so the food doesn't get stale... Cha-cha, aka. "the smart kitty", doesn't like her food going stale, and refuses to eat food that's been out for over a half day. Big Man Mr. Steve, the not-so smart rambunctious kitten, really doesn't care about food freshness. He just prefers Cha-Cha's food... preferably right as she's digging into it. :devil:)

No... I don't pull out the 1/4 cup measures from the cat food containers for human use. I can estimate a 1/4 cup from a half cup pretty well... and I think I have a separate of measures overall... though since Little E arrived, I haven't done much baking, and have only used our liquid measures (for liquids and solids).
 
  • #12
I had my group of about eight 'unmated' socks patiently waiting for over two years. When no mates ever showed up, I finally threw them away.

I think I have another group of about eight unmated ones...

patiently waiting...





The question about the socks disintegrating...

why do the manufacturers make only one sock that disintegrates?
 
  • #13
Evo said:
Nope.

Perhaps sock manufacturers have discovered a way to make socks disintegrate after a number of washings? Do you ever notice that sometimes there is much more lint in the lint filter than usual? Probably the last wordly remains of a disintegrated sock.

This would explain alot.
 
  • #14
sock disintegration is like radioactive decay. it's a random process. and more expensive socks have shorter half-lives.
 
  • #15
Sometimes I really hate that guy named Random who invented that process.
 
  • #16
Proton Soup said:
sock disintegration is like radioactive decay. it's a random process. and more expensive socks have shorter half-lives.

:smile: I would check to see if they are quantum tunneling back to the washer. :-p
 
  • #17
Evo said:
I have to buy more measuring cups. I have 4 nested sets and the 1/4 cup measure is missing from three of the sets. I also only have 1 full cup measure. I live alone. These are my dry measuring cups, my wet measures are all there.
Check the dry containers. Like in the coffee container, sugar container,...
I bought 6 new pairs of socks a year ago and a couple of months ago had to buy several more pairs becuase I no longer had any matching socks. I've already lost 2 socks. How do they disappear between the bedroom and the laundry room next to my kitchen? I've looked on the sides and back of the washer and dryer to see if they might have fallen, but don't see them.
Believe it or not, they can get through the filter and end up somewhere outside.

I use mechanical pencils and buy them in packs, I have two of the six pack I bought last year. They're refillable, I don't throw them away.
poltergeist
 
  • #18
When items disappear, check the complex plane. The item could have just slipped off the real number line.

4+5=Sock
 
  • #20
seriously tho, remove the drawers from your dresser/chest and see what has fallen over the back edge of the drawers
 
  • #21
Evo said:
I have to buy more measuring cups. I have 4 nested sets and the 1/4 cup measure is missing from three of the sets. I also only have 1 full cup measure. I live alone. These are my dry measuring cups, my wet measures are all there.
Maybe the 1/4 cups went rogue. :rolleyes:

Have you used them to make coffee? What does one normally use 1/4 cup measures for?
 
  • #22
Maybe the measuring cups are in the bottom of your dishwasher...?

I figured out how to stop the missing sock phenomenon. When I take off my socks I immediately fold them up. Now I lose maybe one sock a year.
 
  • #23
Proton Soup said:
seriously tho, remove the drawers from your dresser/chest and see what has fallen over the back edge of the drawers
I keep them on a shelf in my walk in closet.

Could DH be right, could they be sucked out of the washing machine and be floating in the sewer? :((

Astronuc said:
Maybe the 1/4 cups went rogue. :rolleyes:

Have you used them to make coffee? What does one normally use 1/4 cup measures for?
I use a tablespoon for coffee. I don't keep measuring cups in containers.
 
  • #24
rewebster said:
I had my group of about eight 'unmated' socks patiently waiting for over two years. When no mates ever showed up, I finally threw them away.

I think I have another group of about eight unmated ones...

patiently waiting...
:smile::smile: Subtle enough that I missed it at first.




Years back, there was a 'lonely socks' website. Users would submit pictures of their unpaired socks and they would posted in a 'missing persons'-style gallery.

And yes, they did, in fact, have some successful 'reunion' stories.


I do not know if it is related to the existing http://www.lonelysock.com" sites.
 
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  • #25
Evo said:
I keep them on a shelf in my walk in closet.

Could DH be right, could they be sucked out of the washing machine and be floating in the sewer? :((

I use a tablespoon for coffee. I don't keep measuring cups in containers.
OK - then where were you at 11:45 pm on Friday, February 16, 1973?!

clouseau.jpg


I think the cups are to large to be sucked down the drain.
 
  • #26
Maybe the 1/4 cup measures grew up and are now 1/2 cup measures...the 1/2 cup measures grew up and are now 1 cup measures...and the 1 cup measures left home to pursue their dreams.
 
  • #27
Matterwave said:
Maybe the 1/4 cup measures grew up and are now 1/2 cup measures...the 1/2 cup measures grew up and are now 1 cup measures...and the 1 cup measures left home to pursue their dreams.

Maybe the 1 cup measures have moved to overseas, became 250ml measures, and now hang out in coffee shops with poets in Paris.
 
  • #28
Evo,

I think that I figured out where your socks went. It's explained in the proof for http://uncyclopedia.wikia.com/wiki/String_Theory" . I'm afraid it's bad news for your socks.
The effects of String Theory can be seen in every day life after doing the laundry. This is known as The Missing Sock Anomaly which is dependant upon the energy put into not losing your clothing. This energy includes a contribution from the Cashmire Effect, namely from fluctuations in the quality of the clothing. I.E., more expensive socks will be lost first. Clothing lost through the Missing Sock Anomaly end up in another universe where garden gnomes use them as oil rags.
 
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  • #29
I constantly find socks dropped on the ground in and around laundry rooms. But you have your own laundry machines in your apartment? Socks sometimes get stuck, via static cling, inside other clothing items. I have heard that socks and other smaller clothing items can sometimes slip through the crevices between the clothing compartment and other parts of the machine winding up inside the machine. I know that from time to time I have removed clothes from the machine to find that they have light damage, and sometimes grease smudges, where they have been "pinched" by a crevice.

Pens I used to lose all the time until I started to become more conscious of what I did with them. I rarely lose them anymore. I think that the most common way I lost them was if I just tossed one in my bag with the rest of my stuff they would get knocked out of the bag when rummaging through it later.

The cups I have no idea. I would guess it depends on how much stuff you have in your kitchen. My grandmother was a horrible pack rat (not saying you are) and lost things in her kitchen all the time. Once I went to clean out the cupboards and found about twenty tupperware containers without lids and about fifty lids without containers. Her cupboard of drinking glasses and such was so full that I nearly had an avalanche of glass on my head when I tried to clean that one out. I found a whole bunch of dishes and cups and things she had not seen in years.
 
  • #30
TheStatutoryApe said:
I constantly find socks dropped on the ground in and around laundry rooms. But you have your own laundry machines in your apartment? Socks sometimes get stuck, via static cling, inside other clothing items. I have heard that socks and other smaller clothing items can sometimes slip through the crevices between the clothing compartment and other parts of the machine winding up inside the machine. I know that from time to time I have removed clothes from the machine to find that they have light damage, and sometimes grease smudges, where they have been "pinched" by a crevice.

Yes, static cling is the reason. The socks have hidden inside other clothing and then "escape" when you wear the clothing all day. The more oblivious you are to clothing, the more likely you are to lose your socks (at least up to a certain point - when a person's obliviousness to clothing reaches the point where they start wearing less clothing, the trend reverses). Young, male, college engineering students are notorious for walking to class with a sock stuck to the outside* of their shirt. Young, non-college males are even more notorious for being oblivious to socks in strange places (a perfect example is given in the movie "Raising Arizona"; i.e. "Son, you got a panty on your head.")

Washing machines can chew up clothes once they're nearing end of life. A person would replace their own washing machine when it begins to chew up clothes. The owner of an apartment building is slightly less enthusiastic - he'd at least like to delay replacement, even if he can't completely escape replacement.

outside* - the side of the shirt that has buttons; or the side of the shirt that has the name of a band in the cases where the shirt has no buttons.
 
  • #31
My wife has some type of fuzzy socks (not the alpaca ones - we don't dry them) that seem to go un-mated for long periods of time. Due to static cling in the dryer, they end up stuck to the insides of sweatshirts, fleece pullovers, etc. I don't throw away her un-mated socks because eventually, she will put on a fleece pullover and when she puts her arm through a sleeve, one of the orphans will pop out.
 
  • #32
I use those anti-static cling dryer sheets, so don't have the cling problem. I'm going to start washing my socks in my lingerie bag, hopefully that will stop the problem. I had a pair of socks with cats on them and one pair with dogs on them, now I have one of each. :frown:
 
  • #33
Evo said:
I use those anti-static cling dryer sheets,
Blech. Slow poison.
 
  • #34
Just buy all of your socks in one or two styles. That way two lost socks is one completed pair.
 
  • #35
NeoDevin said:
Just buy all of your socks in one or two styles. That way two lost socks is one completed pair.

yeah...

but, they wouldn't be cherished as much (especially if you loose one)
 
  • #36
Evo said:
I use those anti-static cling dryer sheets, so don't have the cling problem. I'm going to start washing my socks in my lingerie bag, hopefully that will stop the problem. I had a pair of socks with cats on them and one pair with dogs on them, now I have one of each. :frown:

Oh, my god, if you wear them at the same time, your feet will get along with each other like ....

Now, I know how Moonbear fell down in the hallway for no apparent reason! She stole Evo's missing socks!

I think you should go with two styles of socks. Then you can start each day with a brain teaser:

Evo has 15 socks in her drawer: she has 3 pair of black socks, 2 pair of dark grey socks, 2 unmated black socks, and 3 unmated dark grey socks. How many socks does she have to remove from her drawer each morning to have a greater than 87.3% chance of having two matching socks.
 
  • #37
BobG said:
Oh, my god, if you wear them at the same time, your feet will get along with each other like ....
I do wear the cat and dog socks together now. I'm not throwing away perfectly good socks.
 
  • #38
Evo said:
I have to buy more measuring cups. I have 4 nested sets and the 1/4 cup measure is missing from three of the sets. I also only have 1 full cup measure. I live alone. These are my dry measuring cups, my wet measures are all there.

I rarely host dinner parties, but I have actually had things go missing after those types of events. It would be hard for someone to make off with my measuring cups, though, as those are stored in a place which would be impossible to access without me knowing. :biggrin:

Evo said:
I bought 6 new pairs of socks a year ago and a couple of months ago had to buy several more pairs becuase I no longer had any matching socks. I've already lost 2 socks. How do they disappear between the bedroom and the laundry room next to my kitchen? I've looked on the sides and back of the washer and dryer to see if they might have fallen, but don't see them.

My cat takes socks to the most bizarre places! I'll find them on top of beams, behind the couch, inside cabinets, and most anywhere she likes to hang out.

Evo said:
I use mechanical pencils and buy them in packs, I have two of the six pack I bought last year. They're refillable, I don't throw them away.

Mine simply get stolen. Is this happening at work or at home? I have stopped bringing my own supplies to work because of pen/pencil thievery. If this is happening at home, I'd say it's time to set up some video surveillance. :cool:

Evo said:
I know the sock thing happens to everyone, but does anyone else notice that they have things that just seem to "disappear"?

Notes to myself. :smile:
 
  • #39
ok, I just saw my dog carrying off my measuring cup!
 
  • #40
Evo said:
I bought 6 new pairs of socks a year ago and a couple of months ago had to buy several more pairs becuase I no longer had any matching socks.
I solved the missing sock problem years ago when I started safety pinning my socks together as soon as I take them off.
 
  • #41
Evo said:
I do wear the cat and dog socks together now. I'm not throwing away perfectly good socks.

You know... perhaps your legendary accident-proneness is due to your left foot and your right foot chasing each other...
 
  • #42
DaveC426913 said:
You know... perhaps your legendary accident-proneness is due to your left foot and your right foot chasing each other...

I knew you were a scientist !
 
  • #43
leroyjenkens said:
I've dropped things right next to my chair on the carpet before and never saw them again for the rest of my life. It makes no sense.

That is so much like me that its, SCARY.:bugeye:
 
  • #45
Lateralus. said:
Evo said:
I use mechanical pencils and buy them in packs, I have two of the six pack I bought last year. They're refillable, I don't throw them away.
Mine simply get stolen. Is this happening at work or at home? I have stopped bringing my own supplies to work because of pen/pencil thievery. If this is happening at home, I'd say it's time to set up some video surveillance. :cool:

If you'd buy your pens and pencils from Pen Island, people would be less likely to steal them.

http://penisland.net/samplepens1.jpg
 
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  • #46
Oooohwww! Oooohwww! I want one of those pens!
 
  • #47
Doc Al said:
I solved the missing sock problem years ago when I started safety pinning my socks together as soon as I take them off.

GENIUS! she could just sew each pair of socks into a pair of pantyhose
 
  • #48
BobG said:
If you'd buy your pens and pencils from Pen Island, people would be less likely to steal them.

If I'm going to get my pens and pencils from an island, that island will be Bora Bora :smile:.

So we have a plan, Evo: let's get the Sisterhood together, go to Bora Bora, and buy you some mechanical pencils. Oh sure, the PF Brotherhood (is there such a thing?) can join us, too!
 
  • #49
lisab said:
If I'm going to get my pens and pencils from an island, that island will be Bora Bora :smile:.

So we have a plan, Evo: let's get the Sisterhood together, go to Bora Bora, and buy you some mechanical pencils. Oh sure, the PF Brotherhood (is there such a thing?) can join us, too!

Posh! Who's going to buy pens from you when you have a domain name like www.boraboraisland.com?

If there's any silver lining, it's that there doesn't seem to be a single pen or pencil store on the entire island. And the only ink they have might be in the tatoo parlors.
 
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  • #50
BobG said:
If you'd buy your pens and pencils from Pen Island, people would be less likely to steal them.

http://penisland.net/samplepens1.jpg
[/URL]

You guys do realize the joke here, right?

Let's just say I can't link to the Pen Island website without getting a warning.
 
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