Great Moments in Science: Murphy's Law
Most people have heard of Murphy's Law. Most people think it means 'Anything that can go wrong, will go wrong'. It sounds pretty pessimistic, but the true and original form of Murphy's Law is more optimistic: 'If there are two or more ways of doing something and one of the results is a catastrophe, then someone will do it that way.' Murphy's Law works everywhere - from Venus down to your kitchen, where it can help explain why toast always lands butter side down. But did you know that Murphy's Law is a scientific principle? which was officially declared at a press conference about the G-Force experiments of Airforce Captain Edward A Murphy Jnr, and is used by scientists and engineers to minimise the likelihood of mishap?