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Predicting sock loss: there's a formula for it!



Why do so many socks go missing in a household? Even in a household of one person. Two scientists have devised a formula for predicting sock loss. Note though – the announcement of the formula is a clever and comical advertisement strategy for the launch of Samsung’s new innovative washing machine that has a compartment for loose socks (it’s called the Addwash ecobubble) – so that socks can be washed during any part of the washing cycle.

The scientists reveal that each person loses, on average, 1.3 socks per month, which is 84 million lost socks in the United Kingdom every month! Per person, it amounts to 1,264 socks over a lifetime, costing 2,528 British pounds in losses.

Psychologist Dr. Simon Moore and statistician Dr. Geoff Ellis collaborated to determine the formula for sock loss (Mirror, 24 April 2016). Factors take into account the type of wash, laundry load, the number of people in a household, the number of socks washed, the degree of attention to the task, and the degree to which someone loves or hates washing clothes.

The Sock Loss Index formula is:  (L(p x f)+C(t x s))-(P x A).

L = the laundry size
p = the number of people living in a household
f = the frequency of washes in a week
C = washing complexity
t = how many types of washes a household does in a week
s = the number of socks washed in a week
P = the positivity toward doing laundry (measured on a scale of 1 to 5)
A = the degree of attention (how many times a person checks pockets, turns clothes the right way, and unrolls socks).





There we have it! Also note – knowing the formula will not prevent sock loss. But Samsung’s new washing machine might. The Addwash ecobubble means that socks, or any clothing, can be added to the wash during the wash, without interrupting the cycle, when the drum temperature is below 50C. The ecobubble drawer can be opened to quickly put any item of clothing into the wash – such as a sock that has been found.








http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/weird-news/scientists-solve-mystery-socks-go-7827093



MARTINA NICOLLS is the author of:- The Shortness of Life: A Mongolian Lament (2015), Liberia’s Deadest Ends (2012), Bardot’s Comet (2011), Kashmir on a Knife-Edge (2010) and The Sudan Curse (2009).
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  1. maddyFebruary 3, 2023 at 3:35 PM

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