One Sock Mystery

It has always been a mystery how two socks can go into the laundry, but only one seems to come out.  There are those who have come to the conclusion that this other sock ends up in some vortex and finds its way into someone else's laundry.

I think I have figured out this mystery.  I have accumulated a stock pile of "one sock", mostly belonging to my 9 year old.  I could never figure out how it is that he has both socks on his feet, yet only one seems to end up in the laundry.  Upon a thorough cleaning of his room, particularly under his bed, the said mates to these socks suddenly appeared, as if by magic.  They seemed to have slithered out from wherever they were hiding and decided to show themselves.

Now, my son's laundry hamper is at the end of his bed - he cannot miss when he puts his clothes into it, yet, the socks for some reason have not both made it in.  The problem, it seems, is because he removes his socks as soon as he gets home (he doesn't like wearing socks), and just leaves them where he takes them off.  Pretty soon, somehow, they seem to end up either between his mattress, under the bed, or one is sticking out from wherever it is he has left them, but the other seems to have vanished.  Thus, only the one he can "see" ends up in the hamper.

Then, when it comes to needing socks, he wonders why there aren't any in his drawer to wear, and of course, it's because mom hasn't washed them yet!!  I direct him to the "one sock" pile and tell him to pick the two that closely match and wear those, to which I am greeted with a funny look.  Sigh!

I at first wasn't sure if it was a little boy thing, but I've recently discovered that my daughter (who is 15) is having the same issue - both socks go into her hamper, but only one ends up in the wash.  I've since discovered that her's end up stuck in the leg of her pants.

So, I think I've solved the one sock mystery - for now.  On to the next one!