Research in the 1970’s indicated that this phenomenon is related to single socks appearing in the dryer.
Hello Faye. Traditionally here a link to the column is considered to be a courtesy. I may be wrong but is this the column you are posting about?
And here’s a thread about it: After hearing about it for so long, today I finally saw.... - Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share - Straight Dope Message Board
So the socks in dryers morph into shoes hanging over power lines. And according to Avram Davidson’s short story “And All the Seas with Oysters” paperclips are transformed into clothes hangers which are then transformed into bicyles. Furthermore, according to Terry Pratchett’s novel Reaper Man, snow globes become shopping carts which become shopping malls.
:eek:
Many years ago I read a terrific scifi story about the man who realized that coat hangers and other nuisance items were really aliens intent on taking over the world. As I recall, he figured out that coat hangers really do multiply in the dark at the back of your closet - and he was killed before he could reveal the horrid plot. Was that the story you meant?
I always thought that socks went into a black hole caused by the dryer spinning. Or that the hamsters whose wheel powers the dryer got hungry. Science can teach us much, you know.
As for the shoes over the power lines, the story around here is that they are in celebration of the last day of school, of work, etc. Another local custom is to take the lock from your school locker and climb the backstop at the ball park and lock it on the wire mesh.
vison writes:
> Was that the story you meant?
Yes.
Thank you! I’m gonna go and dig it out of the archives . .
Sounds cool. Let us know if you find it.