So how did Murphy's law come about?
According to George Nichols, another engineer who was present, Murphy,in frustration, blamed the failure on his assistant, saying, "If thatguy has any way of making a mistake, he will." Nichols' account isthat "Murphy's law" came about through conversation among the othermembers of the team. It was condensed to "If it can happen, it willhappen," and named for Murphy in mockery of what Nichols perceived asarrogance on Murphy's part. Others, including Edward Murphy'ssurviving son Robert Murphy, deny Nichols' account, and claim that hisfather's statement was along the lines of "If there's more than oneway to do a job, and one of those ways will result in disaster, thensomebody will do it that way."
Where was Murphy when he formulated his law?
Accounts differ as to the precise origin of Murphy's law. What's knownis that from 1947 to 1949, a project known as MX981 took place on whatis now Edwards Air Force Base to test human tolerance for g-forcesduring rapid deceleration. The tests used a rocket sled mounted on arailroad track with a series of hydraulic brakes at the end.
How did the law become so well known?
The phrase first received public attention during a press conferencein which Stapp was asked how it was that nobody had been severelyinjured during the rocket sled tests. Stapp replied that it wasbecause they took Murphy's Law under consideration. He then summarizedthe law and said that in general, it meant that it was important toconsider all the possibilities before doing a test.
How long did it take for it to catch on?
It took fifteen years for the bikini to be accepted in the UnitedStates. In 1951 bikinis were banned from the Miss World Contest. In1957, however, Brigitte Bardot's bikini in And God Created Womancreated a market for the swimwear in the US, and in 1960, BrianHyland's pop song "Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polka Dot Bikini"inspired a bikini-buying spree. Finally the bikini caught on, and by1963, the movie Beach Party, starring Annette Funicello and FrankieAvalon, led a wave of films that made the bikini a pop-culture symbol.
