What is it with crochet hooks?

I'm making slow but steady progress with the Flower rug having completed 34 flowers thus far. I should be keeping track of the crochet hooks progress too. I have lost 3 of them so far. A Boye, an Aero and an Addi Swing ($15.95!) The loss of the Addi has me the most mystified though. I dropped it getting into the truck on Wednesday night, I got out, picked it up, got back into the truck, buckled my seat belt and it was GONE! Seriously, I lost it in less than 30 seconds. (Watch for the release of the movie version "Gone in 30 seconds" coming soon to a theatre near you)  I have no idea what I did with it while buckling up my belt. It is not in the truck, my pocket, my yarn bag, my backpack. It has simply vanished.

All my life, I have been a hook loser. I try to keep the hooks altogether, but I am always losing them. Cable needles also go to the same black hole. Those little suckers can disappear in less than 2 stitches. Make a cable, put the needle down, purl a few stitches, and begin the hunt for that elusive cable needle. I often resort to toothpicks as substitutes - they're good, but the slivers I get from them are a bit nasty.

look at all the underpants!

I think the culprits are the underpants gnomes - they've finished stealing everyone's underpants, saturated the market and have moved on to crochet hooks and cable needles. They steal the hooks and needles, then they sell them and make a profit.  How dare they?

Underpants gnomes' business model