If Anything Can Go Wrong, It Will

October 19, 2008 7:29 AM

Whenever a system becomes completely defined, some damn fool discovers something which either abolishes the system or expands it beyond recognition. There's a Murphy's Law for most fields of endeavor.

Love - All the good ones are taken.
Computers - Any given program, when running, is obsolete.
Business - It doesn't matter what you do, it only matters what you say you've done and what you say you're going to do.
Teaching - Disaster will occur when visitors are in the room.
War - Friendly fire ... isn't.
Cops - Tear gas works on cops too, and regardless of wind direction, will always blow back in your face.
Photography - You are not Ansel Adams.
etc., etc., etc.

posted by netbros (24 comments total)

meh
posted by signal at 7:44 AM on October 19, 2008

meh and meh (I'd make a joke along these lines "websites collecting interesting sayings - don't" but it's too meh to get worked up about it that much)
posted by oddman at 7:48 AM on October 19, 2008

Murphy's Law is overrated. After all, if there were that much truth to it, that site would be down right now.
posted by DreamerFi at 7:50 AM on October 19, 2008 [1 favorite]

There is at least one instance in which the photography version is incorrect.
posted by penduluum at 8:02 AM on October 19, 2008 [3 favorites]

"If you forgot, then you did not rewind the film"

Augh, that was so true.
posted by Mitheral at 8:13 AM on October 19, 2008

No matter how hard you work to collect links for your FPP, and no matter how many links you add that are consistent with your theme, the first comment will always be "meh."
posted by Slap Factory at 8:18 AM on October 19, 2008

No matter how hard you work to collect links for your FPP

How hard is it to link 11 times to the same crappy site?
posted by cmonkey at 8:23 AM on October 19, 2008 [5 favorites]

Is it 1992 and am I on a BBS?
posted by autodidact at 8:26 AM on October 19, 2008

Me fi no fun,
I smell the snark of the metaman.
posted by mandal at 8:35 AM on October 19, 2008 [2 favorites]

Murphy was a whiner...
posted by Alexandra Kitty at 8:43 AM on October 19, 2008

From the graphic design page: "Optical Character Recognition is good comedy."

I don't see the downside here.
posted by fleetmouse at 8:54 AM on October 19, 2008

dull
posted by mary8nne at 9:22 AM on October 19, 2008

What about Murphy Beds? Or how about a total WTF!
posted by sammyo at 9:23 AM on October 19, 2008

Murphy's Irish Stout is pretty good.
posted by fixedgear at 9:27 AM on October 19, 2008 [1 favorite]

Or at least reference Captain Ed!?
posted by sammyo at 9:29 AM on October 19, 2008

I thought it was rather good, actually! Here's one from me: "Time is a relative....it comes around when you are least expecting it".
posted by JtJ at 9:54 AM on October 19, 2008

See also.
posted by Brian B. at 9:58 AM on October 19, 2008

A lot of these seem like confirmation bias laws.
posted by Astro Zombie at 10:24 AM on October 19, 2008

Hofstadter's Law:

It always takes longer than you expect, even when you take Hofstadter's Law into account.
posted by wires at 10:30 AM on October 19, 2008 [1 favorite]

I got all excited when I saw the link on the list for "Book Store", but apparently that's just where they have books to buy, instead of a list of Murphy's Laws for bookstore employees.

Man, it's always the one link you're really really interested in that's completely borked.
posted by redsparkler at 10:49 AM on October 19, 2008

mosh it up with your combat boots...
posted by stifford at 10:58 AM on October 19, 2008

Murphy was an optimist.
posted by furtive at 11:27 AM on October 19, 2008

Where ever you do not go, there you will not be.
posted by swift at 12:54 PM on October 19, 2008

Ah yes, Murphy's Law, the brash Irish proletarian restatement of Gödel's Incompleteness Theorem.
posted by A dead Quaker at 1:40 PM on October 19, 2008