IF ANYTHING CAN GO WRONG, IT WILL.

We all know the infamous ‘Murphy’s Law’, it is a constant companion in our daily lives, always in those moments of high pressure something goes wrong and you ask yourself ‘how the hell could this happen’?

Murphy’s Law is confirmed to have its origin at a military Base called Edward’s Air Force Base in the United States at North Base in 1949.

unconfirmed picture of Edward Murphy and John Paul Stapp:

Captain Edward A. Murphy was an engineer working on Air Force Project MX981, a project to find out about how much deceleration a human being can stand in a crash. Before this test it was confirmed that a human being could stand a maximum of 18 G but this was not enough to survive a plane crash, so they wanted to see how far they could really go. The test consisted in a sort of rocket sled on a railway, powered by four massive rocket bottles to go way over 200 mph, a seat fixed on top with a windshield in front due to the very high speed, the breaking system looked like Dinosaur teeth but was a hydraulic system that would bring the sled to stand in less than a second…

First instalation of the sled:

One day, at the final preparations to this test, Edward A. Murphy found out that a transducer (measuring component tool on the seatbelt to find out how much pressure the belt gets while breaking) was wired the wrong way and he stated to one of the responsible technicians ‘if there is any way to do it wrong, he’ll find it.’

After using a dummy called ‘Oscar Eightball’, in the beginning of a series of tests, a real person called John Paul Stapp took his place and made it up to 35 G’s, proving that all former evaluation had been wrong, changing the design of airplanes and pilot restraints forever.

However, on a press conference held shortly after this groundbreaking event,  John Paul Stapp answered a question of a journalist asking ‘How is it that no one has been severely injured – or worse – during the tests?’ with the quote ‘we do all of our work in consideration of Murphy’s Law’ – the legend was born and journalists took it out to the rest of the world. David Hill, who was in charge of the telemetry gear that collected all of the given test data, brought it down to the point saying ‘If you could predict all the possible things that could go wrong, you could also find a way to prevent catastrophe.’ Stapp had his own version of the famous words from Murphy, saying ‘the universal aptitude for ineptitude makes any human accomplishment an incredible miracle’, but him and Hill had to admit that Murphy nailed it to the point.

To see what came out of this series of tests is nothing short of life-changing inventions. Stapp helped to develop the three-point seatbelt for cars as in the 50’s they had absolutely no security measures, a seatbelt was not even available as an additional extra, suspensions and breaks were miserable and the frame constructions of cars were completely rigid, so any passenger would fly around being torn to pieces in a severe car crash. And as said, as well airplanes and pilot restraints were redesigned after his tests. He finally outnumbered the former maximum of 18 G’s by more than the double during his tests, wearing no helmet and only shorts and t-shirt, breaking various bones accompanied by some severe inner injuries, but he was so convinced of his very own physical knowledge that he knew he would make it – 40 G’s! Years later, in another installment, he outnumbered his record reaching a speed of 632 miles per hour – faster than a speeding bullet – and encountered 46.2 G’s of force – an unbroken record up to present.

John Paul Stapp on the sled with shorts, t-shirt and no helmet…

Stapp was a lot more extroverted and had a great sense of humor, something very necessary when you agree to be fixed on a sled going faster than a bullet just to break down in less than a second. History says he was mainly responsible for spreading the word about Murphy’s Law than Edward Murphy himself, in any case this incident would entail an endless number of laws that were associated with the original phrase, and up to present it is one of the most applicable laws that accompany us in our daily lives.

Remarkable is as well the way in which Edward A. Murphy died, history says he ran out of gasoline and had to stop on a freeway in the late evening. As he hitchhiked to the next gas station, dressed in white and clearly visible for the other road users he got run over by a British tourist who was driving on the wrong side of the road… If anything can go wrong it will.

The final conclusion of all this is to try and prepare whatever you want to do in the best possible way so the chances it can fail come close to zero, but even then one of the best laws comes to life: There is no such thing as the perfect plan.

Here are some of the best laws that found their way into the endless list of the ‘Murphy’s Law’ collection, being build up globally since Edward brought the essence of it to life:

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• The universal aptitude for ineptitude makes any human accomplishment an incredible miracle.

• If it seems too good to be true, it probably is.

• Nothing improves with age.

• Sex takes up the least amount of time and causes the most amount of trouble.

• Never sleep with anyone crazier than yourself.

• Sex is dirty only if it’s done right.

• Sex is hereditary. If your parents never had it, chances are you won’t either.

• Sow your wild oats on Saturday night – then on Sunday pray for crop failure.

• You cannot produce a baby in one month by impregnating nine women.

• Love is the triumph of imagination over intelligence.

• Never stand between a fire hydrant and a dog.

• It’s always easier to get a partner if you already have one.

• Good from far, far from good.

• It’s only kinky the first time you do it.

• When all else fails, read the instructions.

• Multi-million pound technology is worthless in the hands of morons.

• Any wire cut to length will be too short.

• Never underestimate incompetency.

• Clocks will run more quickly during free time.

• You’re not young enough to know it all.

• To err is human.

• If the enemy is within range, so are you.

• Anything will work if you fiddle with it long enough.

• All generalizations are false, including this one.

• Every thing measurable is too small.