R.A.J. Matthews: Tumbling Toast, Murphy’s Law And The Fundamental Constants

Robert A.J. Matthews published this seminal bit of applied physics in 1995. The journal reference is European Journal of Physics 16(4): 172-6, and you can access the full paper at ResearchGate, here. For his efforts, he was awarded an Ig Nobel Prize in 1996.Matthews was the first (but by no means the last) to use mathematical physics to explore the popular claim that "dropped toast always lands butter-side down". The usual "explanation" invoked for this perceived rule is Murphy's Law---"If anything can go wrong, it will"---but Matthews sought to show that there were sound physical principles underlying the phenomenon.