It has come to my attention that our nations， and nations like ours， havelong been plagued by a mysterious occurrence. An occurrence that is asperplexing as it is frustrating， and as baffling as it is widespread.
It has come to my attention that our nations， and nations like ours， havelong been plagued by a mysterious occurrence. An occurrence that is asperplexing as it is frustrating， and as baffling as it is widespread， a problemthat finds its origins at the very foot of our society. The problem of which Ispeak is none other than “The Orphan Sock Enigma，” the constant disappearance ofindividual socks during the laundering process. It is a problem familiar to allof us， and also one to which we have unwillingly admitted defeat.
I recently decided that this puzzle had remained unsolved for too long， andresolved to find an explanation. (In the grand tradition of science， I refusedto be discouraged by the basic irrelevance of my cause.) But the truth that Iuncovered is more shocking and fantastic than I could have ever imagined. Myprocedures， observations， and conclusions are as follows:
First， to verify that the problem exists， experimental and control loads oflaundry were completely processed (put through the washer and dryer). In thexperimental load (load with socks)， by the end of the process， some socks werelost. But in the control load (load without socks)， no socks were lost. Thus theproblem was verified.
Next the progress of a load of socks was carefully monitored. The resultsindicated that sock disappearance occurs during the period of time when the loadis in the dryer. Following this conclusion， a literature search was done and avery significant fact was uncovered: there is no mention of socks disappearingin dryers before the invention of dryers in the 1920s. All evidence clearlypointed to the dryer. And it is there that I would find the answer to theenigma.
Then， the actual experiment was done. In four separate trials， a number ofsocks (ten socks， or five pairs) were put through a normal drying cycle. Thetypes of socks tested were selected by the highly accurate Harvey-AllmanPrinciple Hierarchy and Zero Alternative Reduction Dimension.