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There are some mysteries in life that have baffled humanity for centuries. Is there intelligent life on other planets? Is Bigfoot real? And where the hell do all the single socks go after a wash?

Most of us have a whole drawer full of single socks that somehow managed to lose their mate, and the mystery has confounded everyone who wears shoes so much that you even get memes and TikTok’s about the disappearing footwear.

Now it seems the case has been solved by Jerrod Kappler, executive director of clothes care product technology at GE Appliances (we knew an engineer was working on this problem).

As we suspected all along, it appears that your washing machine is the guilty party after all – Samsung, with the candlestick, in the kitchen.

Kappler posted a video that show a huge build-up of single socks on a laundromat machine that was taken apart. The buildup of socks seen would likely have happened over a long period of time, but included several washes worth. According to the mystery-buster, there are two ways clothing could end up there.

If users overload their baskets, socks or smaller items on the top could be “flung” over the edge and into the inside of the washing machine. Another way the socks could end up trapped is because of unloading technique, according to Kappler. If users grab the clothing and it scrapes up the side of the basket, it can fall into the crevice.

So it’s a combination of carelessness and technique that has caused untold misery for tekkie-wearing folks all these years. Almost seems too simple an explanation, which means it’s more likely that one-legged aliens are stealing your socks.

 

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