We all know about Murphy’s Law. It states: If anything can go wrong, it will. In honor of that law (which is now one of many "laws" attributed to the Murphy persona), this latest Serials post will introduce you to a range of laws now categorized under the Murphy name.
In spite of their pretentious phrasing, these "laws" are not to be taken seriously in the way that Newton’s Third Law or the Second Law of Thermodynamics are. That is, they are informal observations of anecdotal data that seem to apply with an almost annoying frequency. As long as you do not take them too seriously, you’ll undoubtedly find them entertaining and humorous.
Murphy's Law was created in 1949 at the North Base section of Edwards Air Force Base in California. The law itself was named after Captain Edward A. Murphy who was an engineer working on Air Force Project MX981 (a project designed to study how much sudden deceleration a human body could stand).
One day, after finding that a transducer was wired wrong, Capt. Murphy cursed the technician responsible and said, "If there is any way to do it wrong, he'll find it."
The contractor's project manager kept a list of "laws" and added this one, which he called Murphy's Law.
Shortly afterward, the Air Force doctor (Dr. John Paul Stapp) who rode a sled on the deceleration track to a stop, pulling 40 Gs, gave a press conference. He said that their good safety record on the project was due to a firm belief in Murphy's Law and in the necessity to try and circumvent it.
Aerospace manufacturers picked it up and used it widely in their ads during the next few months, and soon it was being quoted in many news and magazine articles. Murphy's Law was born.
Now take a look at the many facets of Murphy's Laws.
Laws of combat
For all of the soldiers who are in combat around the world, here's a humorous way to stay safe.
Laws of technology
Keep thinking "dot bomb"…
Laws of love
How many of these can you confirm to be true based on your own experiences?
Laws of sex
These might better be called corollaries of Murphy's laws of love.
General laws
These are Murphy's general laws — the source of the infamous Murphy's Law.
Miscellaneous Murphy’s laws
Here are some miscellaneous additions to Murphy's laws.
Addenda to Murphy’s laws
The final addition to the Murphy's Laws serial contains miscellaneous addenda and commentaries.
