It was 60 years ago that Murphy's Law was first formerly introduced to the world. Also known as Sod's Law, this is the landmark theory which, put simply, states:
If anything can go wrong, it will.Born in 1918, Murphy was the eldest of five children and attended the prestigious United States Military Academy, West Point, from which he graduated in 1940. A fine and conscientious pilot who was often described as 'no-nonsense', Murphy decided after the war to involve himself in the technological aspects of aircraft design, and went to work as a research and development officer for the Air Force. It was during this period of his life that Murphy became involved in the experiments that would give rise to the naming of his Law.
In 1949 the U.S. Air Force was keen to assess the impact of G-forces (gravity force) upon pilots, and set up a series of experiments to test the human tolerance for G-forces during rapid deceleration. Murphy was involved in these tests, which were conducted on the 'Gee Whiz' - a rocket-powered sled mounted on a railroad track. As fragile-looking as it was dangerous, this contraption could reach supersonic speeds.
Murphy arranged for one of his assistants to hook up a series of 16 sensors to the subject's body, and the terrifying speed and stop test was then carried out. To Murphy's surprise the sensors failed to pick up any readings. After investigating, he discovered the sensors had been installed the wrong way around, invalidating the entire test. Furious, Murphy was heard to say of his assistant: 'If there are two ways to do something, and one of those ways will result in disaster, he'll do it that way.' Later at a press conference the success of the team's safety record was attributed to their willingness to anticipate and factor in disaster. It was termed 'Murphy's Law', which was explained as 'Whatever can go wrong, will go wrong.' The press picked up the coinage, and it quickly spread until it became common usage.
Others have teased out subtle intricacies, noting that nothing is as easy as it looks and everything takes longer than you think, while others have observed that left to themselves things always go from bad to worse.
The practical applications of Murphy's Law seem endless, with some notable gems including:
No matter how long or how hard you shop for an item, after you've bought it, it will be on sale somewhere cheaper;
The other supermarket queue always moves faster;
In the military, the more sophisticated your equipment, the further you will be from civilisation when it fails;
Your best golf shots always occur when playing alone;
A valuable object which falls in a hard-to-reach place will land at a distance which just exceeds the tip of your fingers;
And if you want something bad enough, chances are you won't get it.
The principle underlying this law is as old as humanity itself, with numerous descriptions of the phenomenon recorded in the 19th century and before.
And the classic example of Murphy's Law - the slice of bread landing on the butteredside - was noted in a poem as early as 1841:
'I never had a slice of bread
Particularly large and wide
That did not fall upon the floor
And always on the buttered-side.'
While it is easy to label Murphy's Law as the ultimate pessimist's charter, there is an undercurrent of optimism running just beneath the surface of this Law, one that wryly acknowledges that although things will probably go wrong, recognising that fact is the first step in being prepared for when that actually happens.
"Edgar Allan Poe has become the image of the poète maudit, the blasted soul, the wanderer. His fate was heavy, his life all but insupportable. A rain of blows descended on him from the time of his birth. He once said that 'to revolutionise, at one effort, the universal world of human thought' it was necessary only 'to write and publish a very little book. Its title should be simple -- a few plain words -- 'My Heart Laid Bare.' But -- this little book must be true to its title.' Poe never wrote such a book, but his life deserved one."
