# The Phantom Sock and other inanimate objects with minds of their own **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [June 18, 2026, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-phantom-sock-and-other-inanimate-objects-with-minds-of-their-own/1031005 "2026-06-18T17:17:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**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:** [June 18, 2026, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-phantom-sock-and-other-inanimate-objects-with-minds-of-their-own/1031005/1 "2026-06-18T17:17:42Z")
Sometimes my feet get cold, even in the summer. Other times I like to slather lotion thickly on my feet and then put on a fat, fluffy, thick pair of socks. There used to be a pair of socks like that in my life. Here is a picture of one of them. Just one? Read on. [![](https://i.imgur.com/MqaMQ4P.jpeg) ](https://i.imgur.com/MqaMQ4P.jpeg) Where is the other one? I don’t know. I haven’t seen both socks together at the same time in about 25 years. But I _believe_ the other sock is here somewhere among my stuff. Every now and then, like this morning, I will be rummaging through an overstuffed drawer of underwear, tights, slips, scarves, t-shirts, tank tops, and other socks, and I’ll come across one of these thick white socks with the red heel and toe. And I’ll say to myself, “Here’s one of those socks and I’m sure the other sock is around here someplace. I’ll finally have the whole pair.” I’ll tuck that sock safely back into the drawer and go on about my day. Until on a different day I come across the other sock (or is it the same one?) somewhere in another drawer or maybe that drawer and say, “Yes! Here’s the other sock!” but thinking _Maybe it’s the same sock._ You might be thinking, “Just give it up, okay!” but I would reply that years ago I had a favorite pair of earrings and I lost one. I thought I lost it in the bedroom of the guy I was semi-living with at the time. I had a soft, cloth duffel bag that I kept next to the bed where clothes and things from my house had accumulated. I kept thinking I had dropped the missing earring into that bag. But I searched it thoroughly many times and never found it. However, I hung onto the one earring and kept _believing._ Eventually the guy and I broke up and I took my duffel bag home and put it in my closet. A few years after that, I signed up for a P.E. class at the community college I was attending and thought about using that bag for my exercise togs. I pulled it out of the closet, set it on my bed, and _PRESTO!_ 🪄 💫 there was the second earring! I don’t know if it fell out of the bag, or had somehow attached itself to the outside–I was convinced I had searched the bag quite thoroughly years before. 🤷🏽‍♀️ But there was the earring and the two earrings were reunited forever. If I decide to give up and throw away the sock I found today, I feel **sure** that it would take approximately 15 minutes for the other one to turn up, probably in the middle of the living room floor, on top of the stove, or in the hallway outside my apartment. So I will hang on to The Phantom Sock for another 25 years, if that’s what it takes. By then I’ll be 102 and maybe it won’t matter anymore. Do you have objects that behave this way? ---
**Author:** ![SuntanLotion](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/suntanlotion/32/16165_2.png) [@SuntanLotion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SuntanLotion)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2026, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-phantom-sock-and-other-inanimate-objects-with-minds-of-their-own/1031005/2 "2026-06-18T18:01:12Z")
Its not possible to open the dryer( front loader) even when stopped, without a sock falling to the floor. ---
**Author:** ![pjd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pjd/32/3009_2.png) [@pjd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pjd)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2026, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-phantom-sock-and-other-inanimate-objects-with-minds-of-their-own/1031005/3 "2026-06-18T18:13:55Z")
Next time you find the sock, **mark it** with something, eg stitch a piece of blue wool/cotton into the top. ---
**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:** [June 18, 2026, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-phantom-sock-and-other-inanimate-objects-with-minds-of-their-own/1031005/4 "2026-06-18T18:21:57Z")
Tack the them as you find them to the wall close to your dresser. I have these socks. It was a PKG of 6 pairs. All stripedy. Each pair have a different color stripe pattern. The colors are close but obviously different. Especially if you’re sitting in a well lit place, office, restaurant or waiting room and your pants may be high-water, today. Providing everyone a view and giggle, cause you’re dumb. Gah!! 🤣 ---
**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:** [June 18, 2026, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-phantom-sock-and-other-inanimate-objects-with-minds-of-their-own/1031005/5 "2026-06-18T19:09:03Z")
Yes, I thought of that today–not bad after 25 years. I may be slow, but I get there. Eventually. ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2026, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-phantom-sock-and-other-inanimate-objects-with-minds-of-their-own/1031005/6 "2026-06-18T19:38:37Z")
What Beck says - don’t put the sock back in the drawer, leave it out somewhere where you can see it. If you stumble across another one later, you know it’s a different one and can pair it up with the other one. I don’t know if this exactly fits the topic, but I had a toddler sized soccer ball that just simply vanished in the space of about five minutes a couple months back, and I still haven’t found it. We were kid-sitting the great-grandkids (ages 2 and 3) one day and decided to go to the park. I had a couple of old kid size soccer balls - probably about 4" and 6" in diameter - that the boys found in the basement and wanted to take to the park. But they were flat, so I had to go rummage around in the garage to look for the air pump. When I came back in, one of the boys still had the larger ball but the smaller one was gone. And believe me, I have looked all over the house many times since then and that soccer ball is just _gone_. I think it’s hiding and is just messing with my head. ---
**Author:** ![Ancient\_Nerd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ed655f/32.png) [@Ancient\_Nerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ancient_Nerd)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2026, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-phantom-sock-and-other-inanimate-objects-with-minds-of-their-own/1031005/7 "2026-06-18T19:39:39Z")
I have a box I refer to as Sargent Pepper’s Lonely Socks Club. ---
**Author:** ![ricepad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b38774/32.png) [@ricepad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ricepad)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2026, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-phantom-sock-and-other-inanimate-objects-with-minds-of-their-own/1031005/8 "2026-06-18T19:54:38Z")
I have taken to buying socks at Costco in large bundles of identicals. When I worked in an office and needed dressier socks, I had about half a dozen of identical black socks. Now that I’m retired and often go days without wearing any kind of sock at all, I have 15-20 white ankle socks. If one goes on a walkabout, I probably wouldn’t even notice. As they wear out, I’ll put them in a bag of random cloth to be recycled, and when I run out, I buy another bundle. The only socks I need to keep in pairs are ski socks. ---
**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:** [June 18, 2026, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-phantom-sock-and-other-inanimate-objects-with-minds-of-their-own/1031005/9 "2026-06-18T20:20:47Z")
> [@Shoeless](#): > > I don’t know if this exactly fits the topic Yes, this is exactly what I’m talking about. ---
**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:** [June 18, 2026, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-phantom-sock-and-other-inanimate-objects-with-minds-of-their-own/1031005/10 "2026-06-18T20:21:27Z")
My daughter buys her boys socks: All. The. Same. Never an argument. A sock is a sock is a sock. ---
**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:** [June 18, 2026, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-phantom-sock-and-other-inanimate-objects-with-minds-of-their-own/1031005/11 "2026-06-18T20:41:05Z")
My solution to phantom socks, besides a disinclination to wear them at all, is to own them in a small number of solid colours, with a heavy emphasis on white. That way the inevitable disappearing sock isn’t an issue. As for white, yes, I realize that’s kinda a sports look and would be a poor choice for formal wear, but it’s been a while since I’ve attended a state dinner! 😉 As for other things with minds of their own, I have a dishwasher that sometimes roars at me, as if I’ve offended it – but only sometimes, and only during the wash cycle – it’s perfectly placid during the innumerable rinse cycles. ChatGPT thinks it has something to do with air bubbles in the works. I think it has more to do with it taking offense when dishes are particularly dirty, especially if there’s a lot of them. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2026, 9:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-phantom-sock-and-other-inanimate-objects-with-minds-of-their-own/1031005/12 "2026-06-19T09:48:20Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > is to own them in a small number of solid colours, This. AFAIK, sox are the only thing I own in pairs. Yes, shoes, but who loses half a shoe pair? ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2026, 1:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-phantom-sock-and-other-inanimate-objects-with-minds-of-their-own/1031005/13 "2026-06-19T13:25:34Z")
Toddlers. All the time. ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2026, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-phantom-sock-and-other-inanimate-objects-with-minds-of-their-own/1031005/14 "2026-06-19T13:39:44Z")
> [@Ancient\_Nerd](#): > > I have a box I refer to as Sargent Pepper’s Lonely Socks Club. I hope they have enjoyed the shoe. mmm ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2026, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-phantom-sock-and-other-inanimate-objects-with-minds-of-their-own/1031005/15 "2026-06-19T13:51:12Z")
> [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](#): > > I hope they have enjoyed the shoe. - > > mmm So does Ed Sullivan. ---
**Author:** ![Filbert](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/filbert/32/3433_2.png) [@Filbert](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Filbert)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2026, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-phantom-sock-and-other-inanimate-objects-with-minds-of-their-own/1031005/16 "2026-06-20T21:34:34Z")
Many years ago, I helped with setup at a festival in exchange for a free ticket. The deal was work there for two weeks and get a free staff wristband, camping, and food included; I was on a gap year overseas and about out of money, so for me it was perfect. It was a really big event, pretty expensive, and there were a few dozen of us doing setup on this deal. So I spent my two weeks working, and on the Friday afternoon, they called us up to the office, and dished out the wristbands from envelopes with our names on. They were the fabric ones, with a little metal toggle thingy to close them. The festival started the following afternoon. So I went to bed, in my sleeping bag, inside my zipped-up tent, and I remember fiddling with the wristband as I dozed off, wishing they’d put it on a little looser. When I woke up, it wasn’t there. It wasn’t on my wrist. It wasn’t in my sleeping bag. I pulled every single item out of the tent- not that there was much- went through my whole backpack, no wristband. I even, in desperation, un-pegged and lifted the tent in case a freak localised tornado had unzipped the tent, stolen the wristband off my wrist and hidden it under there. Nope. Not in nearby bushes, not in the toilet block. It never showed up. They had warned us, when they put the wristbands on, that they had only ordered the exact number of them as they had workers, following a previous incident of someone ‘losing’ one and being caught selling it. If we lost it, it was not replaceable. So I dragged myself up to the office and attempted to explain that somehow, my skin had apparently absorbed mine while I slept and did my very best hurt puppy impression. They made concerned noises, and told me that they were sympathetic, but they really couldn’t do anything unless, by some chance, someone else working setup had failed to collect theirs. They went to go check the named envelopes, just in case there was one with contents… and there was. An envelope with my name on. By some freak mischance, they had issued me, and only me, two of them. Or maybe just one, with homing skills. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2026, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-phantom-sock-and-other-inanimate-objects-with-minds-of-their-own/1031005/17 "2026-06-20T22:22:37Z")
We, the **Raccoon Illuminati** (not to be confused with the SDMB group of similar name) have your socks. They are HOSTAGES! We demand 500,000 Outer Slobbovian Kopecks, in mechanical gift certificates, for their safe return. Also, Corn. GIVE THE RACCOONS YOUR SWEET, SWEET CORN, HU-MONS! ---
**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:** [June 20, 2026, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-phantom-sock-and-other-inanimate-objects-with-minds-of-their-own/1031005/18 "2026-06-20T22:29:58Z")
> [@Filbert](#): > > By some freak mischance, they had issued me, and only me, two of them. Or maybe just one, with homing skills. Whoa. That is practically supernatural. 👻 * * * > [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](#): > > We, the **Raccoon Illuminati** (not to be confused with the SDMB group of similar name) have your socks. > They are HOSTAGES! If you’re talkin’ to me, there’s just ONE SOCK that has disappeared. Or at least one sock **at a time** disappears. The two socks never appear together. ---
**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:** [June 22, 2026, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-phantom-sock-and-other-inanimate-objects-with-minds-of-their-own/1031005/19 "2026-06-22T17:57:11Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > There used to be a pair of socks like that in my life. Here is a picture of one of them. Just one? It could be at a laundromat in San Francisco… [![](https://s.yimg.com/bj/79e4/79e4f9b92b0b2c98712cb9859f937847.jpg) ](https://s.yimg.com/bj/79e4/79e4f9b92b0b2c98712cb9859f937847.jpg) ---
**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:** [June 22, 2026, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-phantom-sock-and-other-inanimate-objects-with-minds-of-their-own/1031005/20 "2026-06-22T18:42:35Z")
🤔 Could be… [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-phantom-sock-and-other-inanimate-objects-with-minds-of-their-own/1031005.md?page=2)