# Murphy's Laws



## vachecow

As you can see in my signature, I have recently become acquainted with Murphy's Laws.  Here is the full list:
Murphy's Laws (as posted in Arizona Humor) Murphy's First Law: Nothing is as easy as it looks Murphy's Second Law: Everything takes longer than you think Murphy's Third Law: In any field of endeavor, anything that can go wrong will go wrong. Murphy's Fourth Law: If there is a possibility that several things can go wrong, ......http://dmawww.epfl.ch/roso.mosaic/dm/murphy.html
[/u] 
So, are they know internationally?  And does anyone know how they started?


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## cuchuflete

Sorry, Vachecow....

The editing is not personal.  It is to keep WordReference out of legal entanglements with copyright owners.

We have to edit excessive quotes dozens of times each week. The rules say that these "will be removed without exception". But you have been away, so this is an exception

Those foreros who have been reminded numerous times and still post excessive quotations will find posts and threads removed.    Best regards to Murphy.


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## LadyBlakeney

For a quite interesting description of the origin of Murphy's Law, see:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murphy's_law

I really like that famous corollary: The chance of a piece of bread to fall buttered-side-down is directly proportional to the price of the carpet.


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## vachecow

Wo..I guess 3 months is longer than I thought...thanks Cuchuflete..is this better?  and thanks Lady Blakeney!


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## te gato

and another site..

http://www.cpuidle.de/murphy.shtml

tg


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## Benjy

LadyBlakeney said:
			
		

> For a quite interesting description of the origin of Murphy's Law, see:
> 
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murphy's_law
> 
> I really like that famous corollary: The chance of a piece of bread to fall buttered-side-down is directly proportional to the price of the carpet.



but cats always land on their feet! so clearly a cat with buttered toast strapped to its back dropped on an expensive carpet would hover in the air and start spinning around!! ladies and gentlemen i give you perpetual motion 

i can't remember where i read that idea first..

anyhows.. as to the question are they known internationally:

http://www.courtois.cc/murphy/murphy.html

is a nice french site on les lois de murphy (also know as la loi de l'emmerdement maximum [law of maximum irratation (yes it's a crap translation  i have no idea how to sat emmerdement in english]

me thinks that maybe this is a culture question?


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## Outsider

vachecow said:
			
		

> So, are they know internationally?  And does anyone know how they started?


The Origin of Murphy's Law. Murphy's Laws seem to be an American invention. Needless to say, other languages have adopted them as well.


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## LV4-26

I only knew the one that LadyBlakeney quoted
But the version I had was simpler and only said
_The bread will always fall with the buttered side down_. (yet in French).


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## timpeac

LV4-26 said:
			
		

> I only knew the one that LadyBlakeney quoted
> But the version I had was simpler and only said
> _The bread will always fall with the buttered side down_. (yet in French).


 
Yes, I must admit that until this thread this was the only one I was aware of, although we normally call it "if something can go wrong it will go wrong" of which the toast falling buttered side down is the most famous example.

I like the bit about the probability of this being directly proportional to the cost of the carpet!


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## te gato

Benjy said:
			
		

> but cats always land on their feet! so clearly a cat with buttered toast strapped to its back dropped on an expensive carpet would hover in the air and start spinning around!! ladies and gentlemen i give you perpetual motion


Ahhh..no Benjy..the cat will eat the buttered toast first..then land on all four feet..
so therefore...
Every solution breeds new problems...

tg


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## Sev

Benjy said:
			
		

> also know as la loi de l'emmerdement maximum


Oh yes, I know that one very well...LEM as my father calls it...the one that makes that :
1. When you are late, all traffic lights are turning red
2. The phone is ringing while you are having a shower
3. It's sunny all the week and rainy all the week-end
4. There is a power cut just before you post your 102 lines post about philosophy and religion on WR
5. Of course the well-known buttered toast...


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## timpeac

This all reminds me of that awful song "ironic" by Alanis Morisette. It's meant to contain a whole list of "ironic" incidents, but in fact just lists a load of unfortunate and sad events. All of these I would say would be products of Murphy's law.


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## LV4-26

Sev said:
			
		

> 2. The phone is ringing while you are having a shower


You've forgotten one
2b. You rush downstairs with your towel and just when you're about to reach the phone, it stops ringing.
2c. So you return to the bathroom and there it goes again
And so forth....

You can also replace "while you are having a shower" by "while you're getting home and jiggling your key in the lock"


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## timpeac

LV4-26 said:
			
		

> "while you're getting home and jiggling your key in the lock"


 
I think that is against the normal law, let alone Murphy's!


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## Cath.S.

te gato said:
			
		

> Ahhh..no Benjy..the cat will eat the buttered toast first..then land on all four feet..
> so therefore...
> Every solution breeds new problems...
> 
> tg


I beg to differ, TG.
The cat will  lick the butter off and leave the bread (all mushy and soaked in cat saliva, yummy!  ).


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## Whisky con ron

En mi país se conoce la "Ley de Murfy", como no... 

Que es l'emmerdement?  Enmierdamiento?  Suena genial!


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## Whisky con ron

I love this one:

"Never attribute to malice that which can be adequately explained by stupidity." 

Spot on!


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## Noel Acevedo

More on Murphy....

http://www.murphys-laws.com/

Noel


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## ILT

In México we are also familiar with Murphy's Laws, especially the one: if something can go wrong, it will go wrong; and the even more familiar among college students: the part you study the hardest will not be on the exam 

However, most people don't know them all, that's why I'm glad you are posting all those wonderful sites, so I can learn more on the matter.


Greetings

ILT


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## vachecow

Wow...well, while we are on the topic of odd/funny/painfully true sayings, has anyone ever heard of Yogi Berra?  He played professional baseball a long time ago, but was well known for his "Yogi-isms," such as, "98% of short puts don't go in," or "if you come to a fork in the road, take it."


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## cuchuflete

vachecow said:
			
		

> Wow...well, while we are on the topic of odd/funny/painfully true sayings, has anyone ever heard of Yogi Berra? He played professional baseball a long time ago, but was well known for his "Yogi-isms," such as, "98% of short puts don't go in," or "if you come to a fork in the road, take it."



Murphy's law number 26: Just when you thought you had devised a devilishly clever way to justify going off topic by broadening the topic, a mod will come along to remind you to use the WR Search function to find the other threads about Yogi and his pearls of wisdom, and to open a new thread for each distinct topic.   
"Always go to other people's funerals; otherwise, they won't go to yours."...Yogi Berra


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## Benjy

cuchuflete said:
			
		

> Murphy's law number 26: Just when you thought you had devised a devilishly clever way to justify going off topic by broadening the topic, a mod will come along to remind you to use the WR Search function to find the other threads about Yogi and his pearls of wisdom, and to open a new thread for each distinct topic.
> "Always go to other people's funerals; otherwise, they won't go to yours."...Yogi Berra



as if that would ever happen.


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## cuchuflete

As Mr. Berra said,

"You can observe a lot just by watchin.'"


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## vachecow

cuchuflete said:
			
		

> Murphy's law number 26: Just when you thought you had devised a devilishly clever way to justify going off topic


Darn.  Foiled again by the ever relentless mod squad.  I thought I'd almost gotten away with it that time.....


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