Few events in astronomy are more spectacular than the violent death of a massive star, in a cataclysmic event known as a supernova explosion. As long ago as 1934 it was proposed that neutron stars are formed in such explosions, although confirmation had to wait until the discovery of periodic radio pulses in 1967, which were soon after identified as coming from highly magnetised, rapidly rotating neutron stars, or pulsars. It thus seemed likely that many of these objects would be found inside the remnants of supernova explosions. Soon after their discovery, pulsars were indeed found embedded in both the Vela and Crab supernova remnants, and the pulsar/supernova connection seemed assured. However, in the next 15 years, only one more convincing association was uncovered, and the picture became somewhat unclear. In the last few years, many more associations have been found, so that about 17 associations are now claimed. However many of these associations are far from compelling, and it is still unclear whether observations are consistent with the hypothesis that all supernovae form pulsars, or if the situation is somewhat more complex.
I develop a simple and complete analytic model for the luminosity evolution of supernova remnants, and quantify the selection effects associated with their detection. This is combined with existing models for pulsar evolution and detection. It is then considered whether the observed data are consistent with every supernova forming a fast-spinning pulsar.