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"Magnasox"

 The lazymans magnetic sock separator.
 
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As a single man who hates doing laundry I have always tried to maximize my benefit/effort ratio in dealing with this tedious task. My first step was to amass a supply of socks and underwear sufficient for 60 days. So far so good I now only have to do large laundry every 2 months in one huge multi machine expedition . Sorting 120 socks into pairs however is a pain and thus was born my first submission "Magnasox" Magnasox are sold with a small stainless steel disk (about 50% the size of a dime) sewn into the hem (top) of the right (or left as long as consistancy is maintained). Then after socks are removed nice and warm from drier you just wave the "magnastick" (a stick with a neodynamium magnet) or even an electro magnet in to the warm pile of laundry and pull it out and shake any static "clingons" loose it presto you have you right (or left) socks cutting your sort time in half.. I have done this and you can (dependent on sock thickness ,gauss strength...) pick up about 7-8 sock per pass. I realize that this is no panacea but a second saved is a second earned. Of course as I was about to post this I noticed many other sock Ideas and feel compelled to point out that any reference to sock sorting or segregation due to color, size, or religious beliefs has been omitted purely in the interest of political correctness and not as a result of the Maganasox systems inability to deal with any variation other than left or right.

Yes you could use two paired magnets in each sock in order to pair them but I believe that might put undue stress on the socks which if themselves magnetized would tend to stick to commonly steel drums in washers and dryers.

—Ragnarocks, Apr 13 2004

Another potential solution to the ageless problem http://www.halfbake...etrade-a-sock_2ecom
The international sock exchange [RayfordSteele, Oct 04 2004]

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       You are correct that is in fact what I meant and have I edited it, thank you
—Ragnarocks, Apr 13 2004
   

       That would work great if you have 2 left (or right) feet. But seriously most fibers have a "memory" and unless you are involved in some kind of sock rotation system that I am unaware of it is more comfortable (to me any way) to wear a right sock on a right foot once said sock has developed it's "memory".
—Ragnarocks, Apr 13 2004
   

       [Ragnarocks], just hold down <alt> and type 0174 to get your Magnasox®.   

       The problems I can see with this invention are: socks sticking to the inside of a steel laundry tub or dryer; the weight of the magnet exacerbating sock slippage; socks than insist on sticking to the metal legs of chairs, turnstiles, escalators, etc.
—Cedar Park, Apr 14 2004
   

       can someone explain this to me? <feeling simple></simple is not objecting so far>
—po, Apr 14 2004
   

       I think the idea is for example to quickly separate out all the left-foot socks to maybe place them to the left in the drawer for (imagined) improved toe comfort.
—FarmerJohn, Apr 14 2004
   

       First of all thanks for ® info -Cedar Park.   

       To clarify' my original prototype did have magnets in the socks, these were discarded (imagine an escalator accident) and replaced with small steel "non magnetic" disks . The only magnet is on the "wand" (I know I am not supposed to suggest "wands" in my first post but that is the best description I currently have). The aim is to cut some time off of a tedious task. Once you have seperated the socks into thier respective sinister or dexter piles you could in fact put them in seperate drawers if they were identical and be done with the task in about 30 seconds or you may mate the socks pairs if you want.   

       -willien I am at least semi -quasi-serious. Decent socks are actually woven left an right and if all of your socks are identical except for a mirrored symmetry then you would be a prime customer for Magnasox ®.
—Ragnarocks, Apr 14 2004
   

       don't laugh but when pregnant with my first son, I was taught to knit. I knitted some excellent little leggings for him but I could only do left legs. he has walked like an ancient egyptian ever since.
—po, Apr 14 2004
   

       Beautiful, [po]. I'm glad it had a happy ending. *sniff*   

       Man, I think you're grossly over-complicating the situation. I have one week's worth of clothes. One pair of pants, one pair of shorts, 7-10 shirts, 15 socks and 8 pairs of underpants. Wash once a week. One solitary load of darks, one lonley load of whites. Lump the underpants and socks into the same drawer. Less work, more time for me anyway.
—Letsbuildafort, Apr 14 2004
   

       Save the time, effort, and money and don't wear socks. It saves the environment too. Most socks are made in 3rd world sweaty factories that utilize underpaid workers.
—simple123, Apr 14 2004
   

       I’ve got to give this idea a croissant for the sheer effort, and because I once found myself in the identical situation, with all of those socks, none of which matched any other socks. That is...until I found the solution. Not just A solution, mind you, but THE solution. What I did, see, was to tie a string from one sock to the other. And voila! Never were the pair separated. Now, I’ll admit that walking became a bit hazardous after that. In fact, I had to walk something like a woman in a very tight dress, with tiny steps. I was considering quitting my job and becoming a hermit, but then I hit on a better solution, which was to use a really long string, long enough to go up one trouser leg and down the other. Very good, then I could walk normally (more or less), and there was no dangling string (usually). After that, there was just one more problem to solve. Washing my modified socks, they got tangled into a horrible mess, and I had to throw all of them out. (500 pair! God, such a waste.)
—ldischler, Apr 15 2004
   

       But you could've donated 'em all to trade-a-sock...
—RayfordSteele, Apr 15 2004
   


 

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