Socks. They defy all rational notions of space, time and logic.

[HoneyDragon]

I can present the following as absolute evidence that I am not being in any way unreasonable or incorrect in my aforementioned statement

1. The square footage of my house is half the square footage that would be taken up by the amount of socks that have gone missing over the 14 years we have resided here. They must go SOMEWHERE ELSE because we are not swimming through odd socks.

1. I have 4 feet that belong to two children. They wear 4 socks a day. I swear I pick up at least 7 children's socks of the floor every day. Very occasionally they may belong to a surplus child that does not reside on the premises. That means every year I pick up at least 1095 unaccounted socks. These however are not the ones missing from statement 1.

1. They magnetically repel each other. Socks are sold in pairs. Within precisely one week of purchase at least one has inexplicably and irrevocably disappeared. I suspect cannibalism.

1. They defy organisation. Even through regularly culling, sorting and restraining with drawers they immediately relocate to under beds, knicker drawers and occasionally the car.

AIBU?

But where does the big sock box live?

You must sacrifice socks to the washing machine every time you wash. It is the rule. At least one per person in the household and only one from a pair (we are 5, we have many odd socks).

Sock Box must live where everybody has access to it, presumably, and not be in my way.
Or in the futility room - that's where all our random crap that is Vitally Important but does not seem to have a home ends up in .

Anybody else feel a rendition of 'Fox in Socks' coming on?

but where do they really go? I get it that some will be found under beds and in random places in DS's rooms, but me and DH are super organised and tidy. the filter on the washing machine is clean, I have a regular look down the back of radiators when I have been drying stuff on them, I have no tumble drier, is there a secret compartment in the washer that traps them? tis a mystery to me.

There will be a space-time wormhole somewhere, StepAway. Probably in the back of the washing machine. You won't ever see it, but it exists, I promise you.

I expect it leads to an alternate universe, where socks are either a) Deities or b) the sole food source.

I have this issue too, along with the teaspoons but also those little hair elastics...I buy packs of 20 of these and within 2 weeks they've vanished. I had to resort to tying my hair back with knicker elastic once... I sould just get a haircut - save me a fortune.

Maybe all this answers one thing... now we know why so many people wear trainers etc. without socks!

YANBU. I now only have navy blue socks, though as a pp said, they are a hundred different shades of blue

The only thing worse than adult socks are baby socks. I am new to baby socks, they do not come in only 1 colour, or even 2. They come in varying patterns and a multitude of colours mainly fucking blue or fucking pink. This is too much for me to cope with. I find baby socks but never matching ones. They are the Worst Idea Ever.

I chose my username because I was pondering this very mystery when I registered here! I find it strangely satisfying matching up all the sock friends after doing the washing, but there is ALWAYS one that doesn't match. The sock demon has recently "got" one of DH's awful multicoloured neon stripy monstrosities, and he still suspects me.

You can thank me later

The Odd Sock mob, look perfect for postable sillyness for DSIL and her family, her laundry heap is even bigger than mine.

DD2 already runs an odd sick rule for trainer liners. Plain cheap lace up grey pumps and assorted bright socks peaking out the top, very effective if you are cute and 12.

Sadly I'm not sure it works for the rest of us.

Anyway odd socks, pens and teaspoons don't vanish. They turn into tiny silicon hair bands, hair pins, grips and over stretched useless hair elastics.

I firmly believe that socks operate in a different space/time continuum,although mine do tend to hunt in pairs. Inwas recently taking some clothes upstairs to the laundry room where I put a load of washing on. Unfortunately I had missed a dark-coloured sock, so thought ok, I will just keep catch its mate between washing machine and dryer and they can both go in the next dark load. Imagine my surprise when, on going downstairs, I found its mate lurking on the stairs....I think there was a conspiracy!
Now, if I could only find the 3 pairs of socks that have gone awol...

I have dozens - yes, dozens - of unmatched socks lying around. When I say "lying around" they're mostly in the clean laundry basket hoping their pair will turn up. Some of them have been there years.

I don't know where they go. They just disappear. I like Eddie Izzard's theory is that every time you do a wash, you have to sacrifice a sock to the god of the laundrette.

In fact, I think that is the only possible explanation.

one big box/basket in which ALL socks go and anybody needing socks has to help themselves

I have one of these by default - it was supposed to be for all washing waiting to be put away now it's socks.

3 DC and I DH and none of them can apparently find socks looking in this box. Only I have the magic eye -.

I can never find my own matching sock pair.

In my house, socks are not allow in the washer unless they are safety pinned to their mate.

Amy

Now that, is hardcore sock washing

When you die, they are waiting for you and you will spend all eternity sorting them out......

Purgatory is sock sorting? Who knew?

The spoons! It's not just my house that harbours a sock and spoon monster! Occasionally we are visited by the fork monster too, they must slip through the wormhole in the washing machine.

Teaspoons and socks and pens all disappear here
But I live on my own so where the heck are they all?!

This is what happens to socks

Am I the only one who washes them in a delicates bag so they don't get lost in the machine?

I think they are like dwarf hamsters. For a short time, they are together. Think, ten seconds or so. Then they evidently hate each other that either they split up or kill and eat each other. They also breed rapidly, resulting in more and more single socks.

I find the same with spoons