Disappearing socks

Sunny said:
Good answers, all (of course, none of them brought my sock back, but they were interesting to read). I was particularly interested in Ruth n Jersey's suggestion that if I throw the other sock out, it will turn up. So, how about if I go through a fake "throwing out" ritual, dramatically throwing the other sock into the trash (maybe a clean wastebasket?) and then quietly sneaking it back out? Do you think that might work?

I also liked CinnamonSugar's cartoon about the parallel universe. I swear, that must be what happened.

My washer is a top-loader, with no raised agitator. I did look in the corners of sheets, though I did give away one older sheet set, so I suppose that's one theory of what happened to it. I don't remember any more whether I examined the corners of that one.

Well, who knows? Maybe it will turn up some day, in the one place I didn't think of looking. But dammit, with all the horrible old socks I would be delighted to get rid of, why did it have to be that one? 😠
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If you find that sock, look around for my little yellow handled pocket knife that recently disappeared under mysterious circumstances. It did that once before and reappeared in one of my wife's gym shoes. For all I know, my little pocket knife may have decided to join your sock.
 
win231 said:
It wouldn't be so bad if we lost a whole pair. Losing one sock drives me crazy.
When I used to throw everything in the washer, I've found socks in pant legs.
I've been washing socks separately & haven't lost one yet.
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That's the solution. I do too.
 
Sunny said:
So, the disappearing sock problem continues. This time, it is one of my favorite pair. They fit perfectly, had a nice pastel pattern, I had bought them in Talbot's, one of my favorite stores, and one of them is nowhere to be found.

So far, I've looked in the washing machine and dryer, behind and next to both, every drawer in my bedroom, under the bed, under the mattress, behind every piece of furniture I can think of, inside other garments, thinking maybe it got stuck inside something else, in the trash cans, in the large sack where I keep rags, even in my jewelry box, inside every pillow case, and I unfolded all the blankets, sheets, towels, etc. It is just plain gone! How can a sock just disappear like that?

Any ideas?
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It was Bella! Bad Bella Bad.
 
iu
 
Socks not only disappear, but are programmed to develop holes in the toe and heel while the rest of the sock fabric is perfectly fine. Socks are evil; they mock us! Sometimes they decide to lose their elastic so they’ll fall down and lie in a lump at your ankle. They are the ultimate stealth agents designed to drive us slowly mad. This is why Einstein never wore socks... 🧦
 
Fyrefox said:
Socks not only disappear, but are programmed to develop holes in the toe and heel while the rest of the sock fabric is perfectly fine. Socks are evil; they mock us! Sometimes they decide to lose their elastic so they’ll fall down and lie in a lump at your ankle. They are the ultimate stealth agents designed to drive us slowly mad. This is why Einstein never wore socks... 🧦
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Anybody remember those wooden, sock darning ball/eggs? My grandmother used to fix the holes in my socks using one of those.
 
Chic, I did go to the Talbot's web site to see if I could buy another pair of those same socks, but they weren't there. I did buy those socks a couple of years ago, so no big surprise. The static cling theory is probably the correct one, but I can't think of anything else to look at to see if it's still clinging.

In the winter, I sometimes have the same problem with gloves. Maybe it's just something about me. 😁
 
Just saw this in today's NY Times science section. The last suggestion might be an answer to the mystery.

In April, during the fetchingly (or chillingly) titled Black Hole Week, a group of astronomers initiated what amounted to a kind of cosmic Rorschach test.

The astronomers work on planning for the European Space Agency’s Laser Interferometer Space Antenna, or LISA, a gravitational-wave detector that, once in orbit, could harvest the signals of black-hole collisions and any other events or objects that rumple space-time, going all the way back to the Big Bang.

What, they wondered aloud on Facebook, should we should call a bunch of black holes?

Jocelyn Kelly Holley-Bockelmann, an astronomer Vanderbilt University and chair of the NASA LISA Study Team, which provides the American space agency with information about the mission, described herself as giggling “like a loon” at some of the names that came up: “hive,” “asterisk,” “kitchen sink” and “sock drawer.”
 
Sunny said:
Chic, I did go to the Talbot's web site to see if I could buy another pair of those same socks, but they weren't there. I did buy those socks a couple of years ago, so no big surprise. The static cling theory is probably the correct one, but I can't think of anything else to look at to see if it's still clinging.

In the winter, I sometimes have the same problem with gloves. Maybe it's just something about me. 😁
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No, it happens to lots of us. The socks sound lovely. When it turns up wash it in a protective bag or hand wash. It's worth it not to lose a favorite article of clothing.

You could try Ebay for Talbots pastel socks. They have everything.
 
Aunt Marg said:
I've heard stories where smaller things like socks can get lodged under the agitator and work themselves into the mechanics of the washing machine.
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had to call repairman when washer would fill, agitate, drain but no spin?? repair man couldn't really explain how it happens but on rare, RARE occasions with a really full load, something small (sock, underpants) can get splashed up over top edge of the drum and get wedged. he would barely recognizable underpants all wadded/rolled up that had kept the tub from moving. he said he sometimes gets calls about a smelly washer?? those same sock or underpants that never dry out while trapped outside tub... and get all mildewy and STINKY!

i have putt on something like sweatpants and out of a leg comes a sock. it was embarrassing (when we wore those knee-hi stockings) when one of those fell out of a sleeve... at school or work.
 
on a few occasions, have found "missing" socks/underwear when shaking out sheets when changing the bed. i think colder weather and static electricity make the problem worse.
 
Sunny said:
So, the disappearing sock problem continues. This time, it is one of my favorite pair. They fit perfectly, had a nice pastel pattern, I had bought them in Talbot's, one of my favorite stores, and one of them is nowhere to be found.

So far, I've looked in the washing machine and dryer, behind and next to both, every drawer in my bedroom, under the bed, under the mattress, behind every piece of furniture I can think of, inside other garments, thinking maybe it got stuck inside something else, in the trash cans, in the large sack where I keep rags, even in my jewelry box, inside every pillow case, and I unfolded all the blankets, sheets, towels, etc. It is just plain gone! How can a sock just disappear like that?

Any ideas?
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I have one.....

192790987-10159252451933349-5650576662839324417-n.jpg
 
A result, I think!!

That missing odd sock turned up in the sock box, but there is still only one sock of the pair there.
I wish that sock makers would put an 'L' or an 'R' on the socks, then we would know for sure which one is playing 'hide and seek'. :)
 
wcwbf said:
had to call repairman when washer would fill, agitate, drain but no spin?? repair man couldn't really explain how it happens but on rare, RARE occasions with a really full load, something small (sock, underpants) can get splashed up over top edge of the drum and get wedged. he would barely recognizable underpants all wadded/rolled up that had kept the tub from moving. he said he sometimes gets calls about a smelly washer?? those same sock or underpants that never dry out while trapped outside tub... and get all mildewy and STINKY!

i have putt on something like sweatpants and out of a leg comes a sock. it was embarrassing (when we wore those knee-hi stockings) when one of those fell out of a sleeve... at school or work.
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OMG, I can only imagine the sour smell that would develop in a washing machine as a result of something wet lodged into the mechanics of.

Be interesting to know whether today's modern top-loading, agitator style washing machines have improved and are less prone to such happening, or whether things still remain the same.
 
So far, no luck. My washing machine and dryer don't have any openings that I cam see where the sock might have gotten lodged.

What's making me crazy about this is that I know the sock is obviously somewhere in my house. I never take my socks off outside, let alone one sock! I'm having nightmarish images of the sock peeking out at me and going, "Nyah, nyah!" 😄
 
Sunny said:
So far, no luck. My washing machine and dryer don't have any openings that I cam see where the sock might have gotten lodged.

What's making me crazy about this is that I know the sock is obviously somewhere in my house. I never take my socks off outside, let alone one sock! I'm having nightmarish images of the sock peeking out at me and going, "Nyah, nyah!" 😄
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If your washing machine is a top loader with an agitator, have you tried tucking your fingers under the base of the agitator to feel for anything?

I remember with my old top loader agitator washing machine there was a gap.
 
Maybe it never made it to the laundry. Perhaps you dropped it after taking both off and it’s hiding somewhere along the route to the hamper. Did you check inside your shoes?

I know your frustration. I lost a pair of fit over sunglasses. Looked everywhere for six months. One day they were peeking out from beneath the passenger seat. I’d looked there several times.
 


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