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The Origin of Murphy’s Law

Written by Alan Bellows on 06 September 2005

$John Paul Stapp, of Murphy\'s Law fame$ No doubt you’re familiar with Murphy’s Law, which dictates “Whatever can go wrong, will go wrong.” The Law has evolved a bit since it was first uttered, but the true story of the origin of Murphy’s Law is a fascinating one, involving crash-testing scientists, Chuck Yeager, a rocket sled, and the fastest man on Earth: John Paul Stapp.

From the article:

“632 miles per hour broke the land speed record, making Stapp the fastest man on earth. And 46.2 G’s was the most any human being had ever willingly experienced. Prior to the test Nichols had real doubts about whether it was actually survivable. It turned out it was, although Stapp paid a severe penalty. He suffered a complete red out. “His eyes had hemorrhaged and were completely filled with blood,” Nichols remembers, his voice cracking. “It was horrible. Absolutely horrible.” The image of Stapp’s crimson visage haunts Nichols to this day.”

The story of Murphy’s Law: The Fastest Man on Earth

Alan Bellows is the founder, designer, and managing editor of DamnInteresting.com, and he is perpetually behind schedule.


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#1 Dementia 26 March 2006 at 03:05 pm

That… was just weird. Not sure what that had to do with Murphy’s law, but I had no idea there was such thing as a “red out”. It sounds disgusting.

#2 kassiba 17 May 2006 at 12:41 am

Had it after a plane crash. My white balls turned RED from blood. It took me well over a couple of months for everything to go away. I looked like a vampire and scared people as I was strolling the streets with a head the size of a pumpkin, stiches all over my face and blood-filled eye balls.

#3 Burning 26 November 2006 at 03:43 am

While interesting, it appears this article is not about the origin of Murphy’s law.

From page 4 of the “Fastest Man on Earth” article:
“Despite how badly my interview with Yeager concluded, I feel strangely relieved. I don’t feel nearly so bad that I’ve failed to find a definitive answer about the origins of Murphy’s Law.”

#4 booboo 02 February 2007 at 12:56 am

The Damn Interesting bit that is missing is that there was one Edward Murphy who worked on Col. John Stapp’s rocket sled experiments. Murphy had assembled some strain gauges to measure the forces involved in the tests. After the first such trial, the readings were zero, because the devices had been fitted the wrong way around. Murphy redesigned the devices so that they could only be fitted the right way around.

So, Murphy’s Law is about being prepared for the worst-case scenario and designing to avoid mistakes. But there are various interpretations, which kinda proves Murphy’s Law. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murphy%27s_law

Consider a US/Japanese 2-pin plug. It doesn’t matter which way you insert the plug. However, an 3-pin earthed socket (such as an Australian 3-pin plug) can only be fitted one way. Then there are further refinements so that the earth pin is longer to be inserted before the active and nuetral pins, so you will be protected by an earth-leakage detector even before you get power.

#5 Emmy 27 May 2007 at 11:09 am

EWWWW! I’m eating Raisin Bran, and I really did not need to hear that!

#6 Fodder 05 December 2007 at 01:22 pm

I’ve experienced red out too. I have a picture of my eyes taken about 2 weeks after it happened that I show people. The whites where then only started to come back around the edges.

#7 DanThinksDances&femaleGspot 25 June 2008 at 08:51 pm

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