Definition of Murphy's Law

[G. Brad Schmidt]

If anything can go wrong, it will go wrong
(Sometimes known as the 4th law of Thermodynamics).

I have traced Murphy's law back to a Captain Edward A. Murphy, an American engineer at Muroc, California (later named Edwards Air Force Base). In 1949 he was working on a project to test the effects of sudden braking. Time after time his machinery failed, exasperated he said of his technician, 'If there is any way to do it wrong, he'll find it.' John Paul Stapp picked up on Murphy's phrase and used at a press conference.
As with any good idea, Murphy's Law can be adapted and extended.

1st Amendment
If there is a possibility of several things going wrong, the one that will cause the most damage will be the one to go wrong.

2nd Amendment
If you realize that there are three possible ways in which something can go wrong, and cover them all, then a fourth, unprepared for way, will miraculously appear out of thin air.

3rd Amendment
When something breaks, the parts damaged are in direct proportion to their value.

4th Amendment
The failure does not appear until the machinery has passed its final inspection.

5th Amendment
When you drop a part, it always rolls into the darkest corner.

Last Amendment to Murphy's law
Any attempt to print out this copy of Murphy's law will crash the computer.



I tend to gravitate towards Amendment #4. We've had some goods times old Murphy and me.

[Rick Markham]

Can't forget, that failure/ breakage doesn't occur until the warranty is up

[John Coloccia]

Coloccia's Corollary to Murphy's law:

Everything goes wrong.

[Ben Franz]

O'Toole's corollary: Murphy was an optimist.

[Matt Logana]

The Logana Principle:

If it looks safe, it's not. If it looks unsafe...then chances are its perfectly sound....

Kids always manage to get a penny up their nose...but how often do we hear of them sticking a shellix knife up there...lol....

[Bill Cunningham]

No matter what test, of what project your working on, it will ALWAYS be delayed by the need to void the bladder

[James Baker SD]

Baker's variation of Murphy's law:
For any object held together with N+1 fasteners, you will be able to remove N fasteners when trying to take it apart.

Corollary:
When you drop those N fasteners on the floor, you will be able to locate N-1 of them.

James

[Rich Stewart]

The smallest hole will empty the largest container. Unless the hole is there specifically for drainage, in which case, it will clog.

[rick carpenter]

It ain't complicated, y'all are way overthinking this. Murphy's Law is simple and unmistakable: If something will go wrong, it can go wrong. Nuff said.

[Jim Larson]

Jennings corollary:
The probability of the toast landing on the carpet with the buttered side down, is directly proportional the the cost of the carpet. JIM L

[Ken Werner]

There's a medical amendment too:
Any order that can be misunderstood, will be misunderstood.

[Belinda Barfield]

All I know about Murphy's Law is this . . . go to IWF, have a great time, get food poisoning and catch a cold. Yep, that's just my luck. I didn't get food poisoning from any of the food at the GWCC, but at an outside restaurant. For some bizarre reason every single time I take a trip - particularly if I fly - I come home sick.