h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

http://www.h2g2.com/dna/h2g2/brunel/A566462

How to prevent sock loss.

And one whole previous conversation.. http://www.h2g2.com/dna/h2g2/brunel/F19585?thread=84700&post=681960#p681960 Nice to find the search actually works these days.

Oh, I could definitely bring some odd socks along

The solution is really rather simple and satisfying.

I think that we can agree that we all end up with odd socks.

So a sock chain letter. You know how it goes. You post an odd sock to somebody and start a list of names that you send with the sock.

The receiver, adds a sock or two and posts them on to two more people, putting their own name at the bottom (or top, I don't remember), of the list. And so it goes, each new receiver, posting out a bundle of socks to two new people, adding their name to the list. Eventually, your name gets to the bottom (or top of the list - whichever) at which point all of the new recipients - after ten cycles or so - send you a sock. Or two. I'm losing track here. The beauty of this is, that everybody on the list either gets to send their odd socks to somebody else, and / or eventually receives 64,000 odd socks, amongst which there is bound to be a matching pair. It would seem that the flaw here is that you run the risk of ending up with 63,998 odd socks, but never fear. What you do then is as follows.

Put one odd sock into each of 63,998 envelopes and start a list with your name at the top. Or the bottom. Send one sock to 63,998 different people, who as previously add their name to the list and post an extra odd sock to other people, having added their name to some part of the list. Eventually you get to one end or the other of the list and your receive 23,456,900,344 odd socks. There is bound to be another pair in there.

But don't worry. Your house won't fill up with odd socks since the postman won't knock when delivering the parcels and if he leaves them on the doorstep, you can simply dissolve them in the washing machine.

It it helps, the principle is discussed here A283079.

PP.

Ah. I've found my missing sock at last.
I must have been watching too much Doctor Who, it was hiding behind the sofa.