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The Origin of Murphy's Law

Posted by Hemos on from the where-it-all-stems-from dept.

LauraW writes "HotAIR, the web site of the Annals of Improbable Research , is publishing a fascinating series on the Origin of Murphy's Law. It turns out there really was a Murphy, and the story of his law involves rocket sleds, Chuck Yeager, and Edwards Air Force Base. The article covers all these topics and more, and includes interviews with Yeager, the son of Murphy (really), and several surviving members of the project that inspired the law."

16 of 240 comments (clear)

  1. As my uncle used to say... by proj_2501 · · Score: 4, Funny

    Murphy was an optimist.

  2. More elegant? by Brahmastra · · Score: 5, Funny
    To others however the Law is a pessimistic comment that underscores, albeit in more elegant terms, that shit happens.
    Does anyone else agree with me that "shit happens" is a much better way of saying it?
  3. But the site is Slashdotted, right? by TerryAtWork · · Score: 4, Funny


    Thereby proving the law!

    --
    It's Christmas everyday with BitTorrent.
  4. Shameless TV Quote by GaveUp · · Score: 5, Funny

    "Bad people are punished by societies laws and good people are punished by Murphy's Law." --George, Dead Like Me

  5. One of my favorites.... by SailFly · · Score: 5, Funny


    If computers get too powerful, we can organize them into a committee -- that will do them in.

    --
    Suncoast Linux - Sarasota, FL
    1. Re:One of my favorites.... by beppu · · Score: 5, Funny

      If computers get too powerful, we can organize them into a committee -- that will do them in.


      But wouldn't that make them a Beowulf cluster?

  6. another murphy's law by GarbanzoBean · · Score: 5, Funny

    If a server can be slashdotted, it definetly will be.

  7. It must be true! by mulhall · · Score: 5, Funny

    I read it on Slashdot!

  8. Slashdot's Law. by grub · · Score: 4, Funny


    "Anytime a camera is present, someone will stretch open their bottom."

    --
    Trolling is a art,
  9. Re:Who was Sod then? by Timesprout · · Score: 4, Funny

    Noun. 1. A contemptible or objectionable person.

    2. A pitiable person. E.g."He's just had his car stolen and his wife has just run off with the milkman, the poor sod." This use is also be found with the expressions 'poor bastard' and 'poor bugger'.

    * Abb. of the word sodomite.

    --
    Do not try to read the dupe, thats impossible. Instead, only try to realize the truth
    What truth?
    There is no dupe
  10. My first corollary: Murphy's Law of Packaging by MickLinux · · Score: 5, Funny
    When you're sending out a fragile mailing, be sure to put near the top an identifier that it is the top (with an arrow).

    up ^

    Then, to make things doubly clear, put another identifier near the bottom, with its own arrow:

    dn v

    That way, with up saying up, and dn for down, the UPS (pronounced oops) guys can't get it wrong.

    --
    Correct Horse Battery Staple: 72 bits of entropy. Enter "Correct H" into google. When it generates the phrase, that's
  11. Re:Murphy's Law... by Dr+Caleb · · Score: 5, Funny
    But is there a Mr. Sod in the UK ?

    Sod's his first name. 'Off' is his last.

    I've heard of him :)

    --
    "History doesn't repeat itself, but it does rhyme." Mark Twain
  12. Bah! by TeknoHog · · Score: 5, Funny

    I was expecting a scientific explanation for Murphy's Law. You know, like conservation laws for energy and momentum are explained from the symmetry of spacetime. If we maintain that Murphy's is a law of physics, there must be a *&^[#%&]$^#%{[[::@;' NO CARRIER

    --
    Escher was the first MC and Giger invented the HR department.
  13. So... by draxredd · · Score: 3, Funny

    So murphy's law *IS* rocket science.

    --
    --- Back to the trees, back to the trees !
  14. Obligatory Blackadder Quote by Dan-DAFC · · Score: 4, Funny

    Blackadder: "First Name?"
    Baldrick: "I'm not sure."
    Blackadder: "Come on, you MUST have a first name."
    Baldrick: "It might be Sod Off."
    Blackadder: "Sod Off??"
    Baldrick: "Yeah, when I was a young lad playing in the gutter, I used to say to all the other snipes, "Hello, my names Baldrick". And they'd say, "Yes we know, Sod Off Baldrick"

    --
    Suck figs.
  15. Re:If Murphy was right by Little+Brother · · Score: 3, Funny

    Apparently even Murphy's Law went wrong. Thus proving Murphy's Law.

    --

    Little Brother, watching the watchers