Looney Posted August 11, 2008 Share Posted August 11, 2008 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jlo Posted August 11, 2008 Share Posted August 11, 2008 good to have a chuckle and some empathy with a whole thread - thank you My personal slant on the sock issue is that they simply hide. Their timing is immaculate as I keep a box full of odd socks and keep chucking them in until I get the urge to try and sort them all out (doesn't happen very often) Once that is done and I have determined that some partners have simply done a bunk, I will throw the odd ones out. This is clearly the cue for the prodigal socks to make their way back to the fold. I wouldn't be paranoid if everyone (and the socks) didn't pick on me! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
..lay a little egg for me Posted August 12, 2008 Share Posted August 12, 2008 Re the missing teaspoons...reading this thread reminded me of an article in the Christmas edition of the British Medical Journal 2005, entitled, The case of the disappearing teaspoons: longitudinal cohort study of the displacement of teaspoons in an Australian research institute, which had me giggling: http://www.bmj.com/cgi/content/full/331/7531/1498 Here is a summary of the study: “Where have all the ****** teaspoons gone?” is an age old question in the workplace. Researchers at the Burnet Institute in Australia attempted to measure the phenomenon of teaspoon loss and its effect on office life. They purchased and discreetly numbered 70 stainless steel teaspoons (54 of standard quality and 16 of higher quality). The teaspoons were placed in tearooms around the institute and were counted weekly over five months. After five months, staff were told about the research project and asked to complete a brief anonymous questionnaire about their attitudes towards and knowledge of teaspoons and teaspoon theft. During the study, 56 (80%) of the 70 teaspoons disappeared. The half life of the teaspoons was 81 days (that is, half had disappeared permanently after that time). The half life of teaspoons in communal tearooms (42 days) was significantly shorter than those in rooms linked to particular research groups (77 days). The rate of loss was not influenced by the teaspoons’ value and the overall incidence of teaspoon loss was 360.62 per 100 teaspoon years. At this rate, an estimated 250 teaspoons would need to be purchased annually to maintain a workable population of 70 teaspoons, say the authors. The questionnaire showed that most employees (73%) were dissatisfied with teaspoon coverage in the institute, suggesting that teaspoons are an essential part of office life. The rapid rate of teaspoon loss shows that their availability (and therefore office life) is under constant assault. One possible explanation for the phenomenon is resistentialism (the theory that inanimate objects have a natural aversion to humans), they write. This is demonstrated by the fact that people have little or no control over teaspoon migration. Given the widely applicable nature of these results, they suggest that the development of effective control measures against the loss of teaspoons should be a research priority. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ain't Nobody Here Posted August 12, 2008 Share Posted August 12, 2008 That explains it then . I love the term "teaspoon migration" - I can just imagine them all winging their way south (at night of course, which is why we can't see them ). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dogmother Posted August 12, 2008 Share Posted August 12, 2008 There'll be a PHD in there somewhere Well, if they wing their way south (ANH) then they'll all end up with Kate A Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnnieP Posted August 12, 2008 Share Posted August 12, 2008 That is brilliant! They are on their way Kate! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Egluntyne Posted August 12, 2008 Share Posted August 12, 2008 That is hilarious. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Couperwife Posted August 12, 2008 Share Posted August 12, 2008 so Kate should get at least one teaspoon back soon cathy x Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BarbaraJ Posted August 12, 2008 Share Posted August 12, 2008 A bit late with my list but i lost it we have dissapearances of: socks-loads pens-also loads teaspoons and forks (which teens take for lunches) sellotape tape measures scissors and numerous other things Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Egluntyne Posted August 12, 2008 Share Posted August 12, 2008 On the other hand...does anyone else find that coat hangers reproduce faster than rabbits? You can close a wardrobe with say a dozen in it and next time you open it there will be at least 6 more lying higgledy piggledy on the stuff at the bottom. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yorkshire Pudding Posted August 12, 2008 Share Posted August 12, 2008 I have loads of coathangers. Every time I look in the wardrobe there are more of them, migrating floorwards. They aren't very good at keeping clothes hung up, but are very good at dropping them on the wardrobe floor and jumping after them. I used to have a breeding colony of under-sink carrier bags in the kitchen, but am proud to say they have been stopped in their tracks by the reusable ones. I can see the back of the cupboard! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dogmother Posted August 12, 2008 Share Posted August 12, 2008 I find the same with hair grips and toggles... they all disappear, then alien ones take their place. Rosie has been known to come back from school sporting different hair gubbins than when she went in... I think they spend break time doing each others' hair Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jlo Posted August 12, 2008 Share Posted August 12, 2008 I think that I must be doing something wrong because my coathangers disappear as well! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rhapsody Posted August 12, 2008 Share Posted August 12, 2008 They are at my house, please come get them, the spare room is full. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chocchick Posted August 12, 2008 Share Posted August 12, 2008 My personal slant on the sock issue is that they simply hide. Do you remember the advert where a woman took a basket of washing to the washing machine and the socks got an evil glint in their eye and tried to escape? I lose hairbands. Considering I only need one or two I end up buying packs of 10 at intervals. Coathangers I seem to find on the floor when I have just crushed them Nail files....I used to buy packs of them and only be able to find one or two bald ones. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dogmother Posted August 12, 2008 Share Posted August 12, 2008 Now that Rosie can fit into my clothes.. my wardrobe is fast diminishing too Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jillus Posted August 13, 2008 Share Posted August 13, 2008 Our teaspoons stopped disappearing the day the boys left home! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ain't Nobody Here Posted August 13, 2008 Share Posted August 13, 2008 Aha . And the socks will leave home with the boys, so all will be right with the world . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dogmother Posted August 13, 2008 Share Posted August 13, 2008 Aha . And the socks will leave home with the boys, so all will be right with the world . Don't kid yourself! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
surferdog Posted August 13, 2008 Share Posted August 13, 2008 Aha . And the socks will leave home with the boys, so all will be right with the world . Except all the bedroom furniture disappears as well..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
