Murphy's Law is Irish, or is it?

So first off, what is Murphy's law? Well there are many ways to answer that question, but here is how I interpret it! The basis of Murphy's law is that what can go wrong, will go wrong. So if you drop a piece of toast on the ground, it will always fall buttered side down, or if you are queuing up at the supermarket to pay for your groceries, the line beside the one you chose will always move faster. But of course it is not always the case that the toast will fall buttered side down or that the other line will move quicker, so Murphy's law is a load of rubbish then, right? Not quite. Murphy's law I believe, refers more to human nature than the actual mechanics of the universe. Consider a couple having a tiff. Jordan says "Well if you didn't have to be so perfect all the time we wouldn't be in this mess!" to which Sam responds "Oh you always say that!" Of course Jordan doesn't always say that, but it's likely he says it from time to time, and this annoys Sam, so Sam remembers it more vividly than all the other mundane tasks that get repeated like doing the dishes or getting dressed. So Murphy's law really just articulates our tendency to remember something annoying over something that is not.

You may be thinking at this point "I experience Murphy's law all the time, what's so Irish about it?" A fair question. Murphy's law most likely gets its name from American aerospace engineer Edward Murphy, but it has gone by other names throughout history such as Sod's law or Finagle's law to name a couple. Indeed, it appears that people have been referring to Murphy's law under one name or another since before recorded history , so we will never know the true origin of this maxim. However, an argument could be made that Murphy's law is Irish on the basis that Edward Murphy at some point in his lineage is Irish and therefore so is his law, but for me as an Irishman, I find the more persuasive argument to be the way that we Irish people think and express ourselves. If you've ever been to Ireland, you may have noticed that we like to chat to anybody about anything in the most colorful terms that can be mustered! "Nice day out.." "Oh it's fierce cloudy". A great way to bring color to a conversation is to add emotion and exaggerate. "Oh you always say that!" See where I'm going with this? Whereas many reserve such emotion and exaggeration for specific moments like disagreements, Irish people make a point of injecting it into daily life as often as possible, and it is this emotion and exaggeration that defines Murphy's law. So I say, Murphy's law is Irish, or is it?

Take a look at our favorite Murphy's laws right here! I think you'll find that this garb is great as conversation starters because as you now know, everyone can relate to Murphy's law!