Kevin's Watch

I always wondered about the five rings. You've got one for Sauron, 3 for the elves, 7 for the dwarves, and 9 for men. Who got five? They seem to go in order of longevity, and since dwarves live longer than hobbits, the hobbits wouldn't fit.
So here's my theory: Sauron approached the Ents with the suggestion of making five rings for them. The Ent-husbands were out tromping around, and missed him. The Ent-wives said, "Let's not be hasty about this. Let's consider our ring designs." The Ent-wives tromped off to ... er ... Sauron's smithy in Mordor, and discussed ring design until the end of time.
I was actually thinking of doing some fan fiction about this, but I doubt I'll ever get around to it.

This is obviously a case of poor management.

Remember, Sauron made only the one, the seven, and the nine. He left it to the Elves to create the rest. The Elves, being Elves, thought only of themselves, and made three. Obviously, everyone involved thought that someone else was making the five, with the result that no one made them!

Had there been any status reporting, or at least a weekly staff meeting, this could have been corrected early on.