Murphy's Law: 1928

[Mullins, Bill AMRDEC]

While reviewing some of the cites for Murphy's Law in the ADS-L
archives, I ran across a supposition that it originated in theatrical
circles, rather than aerospace.  I have access to a searchable archive
of magic/conjuring journals, and found the following:


"On Getting Out of Things,"  by Adam Hull Shirk _The Sphinx_, Vol 27 No
7; Sept 1928 p. 316

"It is an established fact that in nine cases out of ten whatever can go
wrong in a magical performance will do so.   The great professors of the
art are not immune from the malignancy of matter and the eternal
cussedness of inanimate objects."


"Professional," by Clement de Lion _The Sphinx_, Vol 28 No 10; Dec 1929
p. 392 (quote from later in article, on p. 394-395)
"Don't lose your temper if the tric you work on, go wrong, because all
what can go wrong, ought to go wrong, so you get a chance to repare the
fault, before you stand on stage."  [de Lion was from Denmark and
English was not his native language; the quote is verbatim with typos,
etc.]

_The Sphinx_ was the premier journal for magicians in American during
the first half of the century.

Another, related aphorism I came across several times in the 1920s may
be stated:

You haven't mastered a magic trick until everything that can go wrong
with it during a performance, has gone wrong with it

------------------------------------------------------------
The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org