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Life

25th Apr 2016

Missing a sock? Scientists prove you’re not the only one

Losing socks really sucks...

Rebecca Keane

Losing a sock is a real nuisance.

You’re rushing out the door for work and you’re fully dressed, had your breakfast, hair and makeup done, and you can’t find that other pesky sock. RAGE. You check the radiator, your bedroom, the drawer full of odd socks but still can’t find it. Where is it?

odd

It’s a scenario we’re all too familiar with. Why does it happen to us?

Our questions have been answered – in a study carried out by Samsung. Dr. Simon Moore and leading statistician Dr. Geoff Ellis were commissioned to do a study in conjunction with the launch of new washing machine AddWash to scientifically prove why this happens.

According to the survey of 2,000 people, the study found that each person loses an average of 1.3 socks per month, accounting for more than 15 socks per year and 1,264 over a lifetime.

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The ‘sock loss index’ – penned by doctors Moore and Ellis features an algorithm (L(p x f)+C(t x s))-(P x A) to predict the chances of socks straying.

The ‘L’ denotes laundry size, ‘p’ denotes the number of people living in a home and ‘f’ frequency of washes in a week.

‘C’ stands for washing complexity, ‘t’ stands for how many types of wash households do in a week, ‘s’ is for the number of socks washed in a week, ‘P’ is the positivity towards doing laundry (measured 1-5) and ‘A’ is for the degree of attention applied, e.g. how many times you check pockets, unroll sleeves, turn clothes the right way and unroll socks.

The algorithm won’t find your socks for you but still, it helps to know you’re not alone!