Suppose you have a garage that is 1000 sq ft? Open space is 500 sq ft and 500 sq ft is covered by cars, workbenches, tool caddies, etc. If a part falls on the floor it makes sense that it would land in an open space 50% of the time. However, data shows it lands under a workbench or car (usually exactly in the middle of the four tires) 70% of the time. I call this Erik’s Parts Certainty Theory (almost certain to take 20 minutes to find).
A related theory has to do with an engine bay that has 40% area accessable like the top of the aircleaner, top of the intake manifold, etc. This includes parts falling through to the floor below. Another 40% is areas parts fall into making them hard to find such as on top the steering box, tucked under the A/C compressor, etc. Then there is the 20% of the space that is darn near impossible to find anything such as gaps between the inner and outer fenders, under the radiator, etc. Logic dictates when you drop a part you are 40% likely to find it easily. However, when you drop a part in the engine bay, it lands in impossible to find places 60% of the time, hard to find places 30% of the time, and somewhere obvious 10% of the time. I call this Erik’s Inverse Logic Motor Theory.
This was again proved last night after I spent 70 minutes finding a screw that dropped off my underhood light and ended up wedged in a tiny space between the fender liner and the body.

 

I'm sure one of Murphy's Law corollaries addresses exactly that...something simple like "the probability of negative outcomes is much greater than scientific truths would predict. The opposite effect is true for positive outcomes."

 

My dropped bolts and launched springs are attracted to cool-dark places....
Certainly ol' Murph at work...

 

Mine find themselves lost forever. I think they go to where the lost socks in the drier go.

 

Padavano's Law is that any 50-50 choice will be wrong 90% of the time.

Also, any socket or bolt dropped under the car will roll to the geometric center of the car.

 

Or pop into the void between the fender and cowl.

 

Or just vaporize into the Void in general - Not under the car, not resting on any surface, not between panels - Just gone, [twilightzonemusic]into another dimension[/twilightzonemusic].

- Eric

 

Same applies to any specialty tool put away in the special place so you will be sure to find it when you need it. The special place also cannot be found again causing the purchase of a new specialty tool

 

Consider yourselves lucky seems when my tools fall out of my hand they fall way too close to the 10% of the fender not protected

 

You guys are lucky. When I drop a tool and I bend over to pick it up somebody is there to give me a wedgie.

 

Hmmm... after looking for 5 minutes... I forget what I am looking for!

 

My dilemma is that I will look for ANY tool/part to use in a particular situation, know I have it, and know where it's supposed to live, and it won't be there. After intensive searching, generally will purchase another to use for the particular job, and when I walk back into the garage walk right up to what I was looking for in the first place. Frustrating is a word I have become very familiar with over the years.

 

My friend had an 81 Camaro I helped him tune. Somehow we (or he) lost a set of my Craftsman pliers when we were working on it. I told him when he sold his Camaro he should have added $10 to the price to cover my pliers. I'm sure they ended up in the inner fenders, cowl or frame of his car. He never did repay me for those pliers.