Superstition, or Physics?

By Lee Ann Setzer

The Theory of Conservation of Entropy: If you set one mess in order, something else, equal to or greater than the mess you set in order, falls to pieces. It’s enough to make me give up cleaning forever!

I haven’t conducted any double-blind, peer-reviewed research on my theory, but I have plenty of anecdotal evidence. For instance, today we washed and vacuumed the car. I tidied up and made progress on my everlasting Pile of Things to Do. Meantime, I stayed right on top of the laundry. Spiffy, right? Well, one of those things tripped the entropy scale, and the cat had a disgusting accident, which we will not be discussing here. Carpets, floors, my clothes, and my son’s clothes all needed cleaning. And the cat needed a bath. I’m thinking that entropy isn’t just caught up, it’s waaaay ahead, after that bath.

Hm, a new theory is forming. I hypothesize that a cat is entropy with fur. Any anecdotal evidence out there?