> There is a strange phenomenon in my house that is driving me nuts! 
>
> Almost every load of clothes comes up with some single socks (not matching 
> pairs) in it. I know for a fact that they went in as a pair, but when the 
> load is done one of the socks is gone. Does anyone know where these socks 
> are going? I have dubbed it the "Black Hole" effect and have no idea what 
> is happening.
> 
> -- confused

You need to consult your user's manual, it sounds as though you
have your machine set of ODD parity.  If the load contains an even
number of socks, the machine will add a sock if it has one in its
buffer, otherwise it will extract a sock and hold it in its buffer
for future use.  What ever you do, make sure you have at least one
sock in any load that contains PAIRs of pants.  If the parity buffer
is empty, the machine will attempt to extract a leg of your pants,
and is not a pretty sight when finished.

You could set the machine to EVEN parity, which will ensure that
only matched pairs of socks are left in the drum when the
load finishes.  However, any unmatched socks will be flushed
down the drain, potentially clogging your sewer pipes.  The
impact of this is left as an exercise for the reader.

Your best bet is to set the machine for NO parity.  This setting
basically is designed to operate on a what goes in dirty comes
out clean principal.

Anyway, be sure to read your manual to make sure you have the
other settings correct.