Why Do I Keep Loosing Just One Sock From A Pair?

     You take out your laundry - you're sure of exactly how many clothes you have in that pile. Your T-shirt that you've worn four times in the last week, your underwear, your two trousers, a few tank tops, and three pairs of socks. At least you were sure you had all three pairs when the pile went into the washing machine. Somehow, you get your clothes back and a sock is mysteriously missing. Gone, to join the other lost socks, in the abyss of your washing machine, or the floor of the road to your washing machine, or maybe your underwear drawer because you never really took it out in the first place.
   
     Well, weirdly enough scientists seem to have have figured out exactly what goes  into why your socks go missing as often as they do. So much so that there's actually a mathematical formula! So no Steven Hawking spontaneous black hole theory, no gremlins, just math and logic.

According to Samsung's Adwash Research Post, which you can read here, this is the actual formula for calculating sock loss.

The Sock Loss Formula

Sock Loss Index = (L+C)-(P x A)

The higher the figure, the more the chances of sock loss.

L = Laundry Size

This is calculated by multiplying the number of people in the household (p) with the frequency of washes in a week (f)

C = Washing Complexity

Calculated by adding how many types of wash (t) households do in a week (dark + whites) and multiply that by the number of socks washed in a week (s)

P = The Positivity towards doing laundry

This is measured on a scale on 1 to 4. 1 being "Strongly dislike doing clothes washing" and 5  being "Strongly enjoy doing clothes washing"

A = Degree Of Attention

This is the sum of how many checks are done to the clothes prior to their washing. e.g checking pockets, turning clothes inside out, etc.

The main factors causing missing socks were the complexity of the washing load – the way the batches are divided up, based on whites/colours/different temperatures – and the number of socks in each wash cycle

 Research interviews found the common causes included items falling behind radiators or under furniture without anyone realizing, stray items being added to the wrong colored wash and becoming separated from its matching sock, not being secured to a washing line securely so they fall off and blow away – or they are simply carelessly paired up

So maybe next time you'll be able to figure out exactly what happened to your favorite pair of striped socks. They're probably somewhere in the radiator of your washing machine, longing for your warm feet.