# Solved! The mystery of socks that go missing in the laundry **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [July 16, 2023, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/solved-the-mystery-of-socks-that-go-missing-in-the-laundry/987120 "2023-07-16T20:01:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Southern\_Yankee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/southern_yankee/32/2800_2.png) [@Southern\_Yankee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Southern_Yankee)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2023, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/solved-the-mystery-of-socks-that-go-missing-in-the-laundry/987120/1 "2023-07-16T20:01:11Z")
At least in my household… While doing some troubleshooting on my top-load washing machine (goes unbalanced too often…) I opened the top of the machine (not the lid where you add clothes) to expose the drum and the support rods. Lo and behold! There were 9 socks (and a pair of boxer briefs) that had gotten between the drum and the outer body of the machine. I’m guessing from times I loaded too much laundry and pieces flew off the top of the pile. Now it’s on to the belching toilet… ---
**Author:** ![engineer\_comp\_geek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/engineer_comp_geek/32/504_2.png) [@engineer\_comp\_geek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/engineer_comp_geek)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2023, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/solved-the-mystery-of-socks-that-go-missing-in-the-laundry/987120/2 "2023-07-16T20:11:21Z")
> [@Southern\_Yankee](#): > > Now it’s on to the belching toilet… Clogged vent stack. If you find that it’s been clogged with a sock then you’ll really be on to something. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2023, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/solved-the-mystery-of-socks-that-go-missing-in-the-laundry/987120/3 "2023-07-16T20:13:01Z")
I still suspect thieves. Dirty dirty pilferers are taking my socks and dainties for their own nefarious reasons. Why…I oughta… ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2023, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/solved-the-mystery-of-socks-that-go-missing-in-the-laundry/987120/4 "2023-07-16T20:17:23Z")
You may have to make a trip to SF to get them back… we saw [this place](https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=763782559081294&set=pb.100063486701230.-2207520000.&type=3) late one night from a cable car. [![](https://scontent-atl3-2.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t39.30808-6/360140934_763782545747962_1589843191396159013_n.jpg?_nc_cat=105&ccb=1-7&_nc_sid=e3f864&_nc_ohc=2a0UMcRS09kAX8CiiUN&_nc_ht=scontent-atl3-2.xx&oh=00_AfDR8QlI1o_5rxcRU9kF9xoN1pQaPgId8INo0SpHM5YQXQ&oe=64B9A413) ](https://scontent-atl3-2.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t39.30808-6/360140934_763782545747962_1589843191396159013_n.jpg?_nc_cat=105&ccb=1-7&_nc_sid=e3f864&_nc_ohc=2a0UMcRS09kAX8CiiUN&_nc_ht=scontent-atl3-2.xx&oh=00_AfDR8QlI1o_5rxcRU9kF9xoN1pQaPgId8INo0SpHM5YQXQ&oe=64B9A413) ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2023, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/solved-the-mystery-of-socks-that-go-missing-in-the-laundry/987120/5 "2023-07-16T20:23:40Z")
Oddly, I’ve completely opened top-load washers twice and never found a sock. Someone in your household might be over-filling the washer. I have pulled the dryer out to clean the vent hose and found socks on the floor behind the dryer though. ---
**Author:** ![Southern\_Yankee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/southern_yankee/32/2800_2.png) [@Southern\_Yankee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Southern_Yankee)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2023, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/solved-the-mystery-of-socks-that-go-missing-in-the-laundry/987120/6 "2023-07-16T20:32:07Z")
I’ve read that, but I don’t have a ladder tall enough (or cojones large enough) to get to my roof. ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2023, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/solved-the-mystery-of-socks-that-go-missing-in-the-laundry/987120/7 "2023-07-16T22:30:46Z")
My mother and I used to joke about making sacrifices to the sock god. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2023, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/solved-the-mystery-of-socks-that-go-missing-in-the-laundry/987120/8 "2023-07-17T00:51:13Z")
I’ve lost fewer socks since I started making sacrifices to _Anoia_; Goddess of Things That Get Stuck in Drawers. She’s flexible enough to cover stuff stuck in washers and dryers too. Anoia also finds objects that roll under other objects and things stuck in sofa cushions, and is considering handling stuck zippers. When someone rattles a drawer and cries “How can it close on the damned thing but not open with it? Who bought this? Do we ever use it?”, it is as praise unto Anoia. GNU Sir Pterry! ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2023, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/solved-the-mystery-of-socks-that-go-missing-in-the-laundry/987120/9 "2023-07-17T01:00:56Z")
Do you burn incense, or maybe darn a sock for her? ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2023, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/solved-the-mystery-of-socks-that-go-missing-in-the-laundry/987120/10 "2023-07-17T01:08:18Z")
I worship her by cursing whenever I try to unstick the drawer that’s jammed by a cheese grater. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2023, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/solved-the-mystery-of-socks-that-go-missing-in-the-laundry/987120/11 "2023-07-17T15:51:49Z")
> [@What\_Exit](#): > > Someone in your household might be over-filling the washer. Our current top loading washing machine uses very little water. I wash one load a week and although I know it’s “a thing”, I’ve never lost a sock. ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2023, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/solved-the-mystery-of-socks-that-go-missing-in-the-laundry/987120/12 "2023-07-17T17:15:46Z")
Socks going missing in the laundry is a quantum thingie. Something about parity breaking during the spin cycle. Or maybe some kind of entanglement. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2023, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/solved-the-mystery-of-socks-that-go-missing-in-the-laundry/987120/13 "2023-07-17T17:27:15Z")
I still prefer the theory that socks are the larval form of hangers. ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2023, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/solved-the-mystery-of-socks-that-go-missing-in-the-laundry/987120/14 "2023-07-17T17:54:53Z")
I solve this problem by maintaining a sock collection that is mostly a few solid colours. So the worst that can happen is that one of the colour sets contains an odd number of socks, which doesn’t bother me because I know that at some point it will either gain or lose a sock and be even again. This infuriates the goddess Anoia who retaliates by causing other things to disappear. She particularly enjoys hiding my car keys in delightfully odd places, like the refrigerator. ---
**Author:** ![Pleonast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pleonast/32/1183_2.png) [@Pleonast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pleonast)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2023, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/solved-the-mystery-of-socks-that-go-missing-in-the-laundry/987120/15 "2023-07-17T18:14:36Z")
> [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](#): > > I worship her by cursing whenever I try to unstick the drawer that’s jammed by a cheese grater. Well, no wonder your drawer gets jammed, grating cheese is a sin against [Aristaeus](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aristaeus). You should know better–cheese is only to be cut. ---
**Author:** ![simster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/simster/32/1047_2.png) [@simster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/simster)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2023, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/solved-the-mystery-of-socks-that-go-missing-in-the-laundry/987120/16 "2023-07-17T18:22:05Z")
You know the ‘light switch that does nothing?’ - everytime one of those if flipped - somewhere in the world a random sock, ink pen or reading glasses goes missing. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2023, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/solved-the-mystery-of-socks-that-go-missing-in-the-laundry/987120/17 "2023-07-17T18:38:44Z")
No, all light switches exposed to me for more than a week or two tops are determined as to what they do. I would never abide a light switch that did nothing. Is that really a thing? Did you use to leave the clock on the VCR blinking? ---
**Author:** ![simster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/simster/32/1047_2.png) [@simster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/simster)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2023, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/solved-the-mystery-of-socks-that-go-missing-in-the-laundry/987120/18 "2023-07-17T19:23:40Z")
You’ve clearly never lived in older/renovated apartments and buildings - it might do something in someone elses apartment. I know what the light switch should do - it controls that receptacle on the other side of the room - but if nothing is hooked to it - it does ‘nothing’. I’ve also been known to add a few switches to houses (as I moved out of them) - that literally do nothing - wires go nowhere more than a couple of feet - to give the new homeowner something to do. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2023, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/solved-the-mystery-of-socks-that-go-missing-in-the-laundry/987120/19 "2023-07-17T19:42:05Z")
> [@simster](#): > > I’ve also been known to add a few switches to houses (as I moved out of them) - that literally do nothing - wires go nowhere more than a couple of feet - to give the new homeowner something to do. 😀 I loved the various remote outlets and light bulbs available these days. Makes is so easy in houses where switches are either non-existent or in the wrong locations. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2023, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/solved-the-mystery-of-socks-that-go-missing-in-the-laundry/987120/20 "2023-07-17T20:16:44Z")
@Southern_Yankee, wow. Great discovery! Were any of them Jimmy Hoffa’s socks? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/solved-the-mystery-of-socks-that-go-missing-in-the-laundry/987120.md?page=2)