Almost Everyone Knows “Murphy’s Law,” But Who the Hell Was Murphy?
Originating from a snafu in the desert, most people are unaware of who first coined the phrase and which variation he stated.
“Anything that can go wrong will go wrong” is thought to be the original Murphy’s Law. Most accounts attribute this oft-quoted statement to Edward A. Murphy. He was an engineer on a military “G” force simulation sled project at Edwards Air Force base in the California desert in 1949. Murphy, a meticulous engineer (which is redundant), stated this after finding a mistake by one of his junior engineers working on this project.
Dr. John Paul Stapp, who was involved with the project, noted the universality of errors and fabricated a law titled “Murphy’s Law.” But the wording changed almost immediately after the “law” was born: "If something can go wrong, it will.”
Most of us think about the law having a pessimistic connotation. But instead, it might be viewed as a cautionary tale. We should only sometimes expect the worst but pay more attention to detail, as the slightest error can lead to serious consequences.
One well-known example was the mirrors on the original Hubble telescope. The multi-billion dollar satellite failed because its mirrors were ground too flat and gave unclear pictures. The mirrors were replaced during a later space…
