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77 Funny Descriptions Of Everyday Inconveniences That Most People Can’t Avoid
Good design improves your life. Meanwhile, bad design makes your life much, much worse. Not only that, but it can actively ruin your day. Don’t believe us? No worries, we’re bringing the proof.
People vented about the minor everyday inconveniences that turn out to be major problems and actively make their day a lot worse. We’ve collected the most egregious examples that hurt to read, and you can find them below. Read on for their experiences that are all frustratingly relatable and make you wish that more designers knew what they were doing.
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#1
Hand soap pump that won’t pop up but just instead turns in circles so you have to unscrew and use it as a popsicle stick style dispenser please. Thank you!
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#2
Could I please have some plain flour with a teaspoon's worth of flour caught up in the folds at the top, so that when you open it, it's like your personal miniature ticker-tape parade that you have to clean up.
#3
I just need something with this tab to piss me off.
Thanks to negativity bias, a small inconvenience, an unkind word, or a small hassle can derail your entire day. Something unpleasant but cosmically unimportant, like spilling coffee on your favorite shirt because of a poorly designed takeaway cup, stepping into a puddle, or getting some (hopefully constructive, not destructive) feedback from your boss, can make you ruminate. You start thinking that the day is already ruined, even if you can still turn it around with a bit of effort.
Focusing on the negatives more than the positives is hardwired into us because this is what helped our ancestors survive. The bad news is that this makes us particularly sensitive to situations where things don’t go our way. So, poorly designed products, packaging, and services can impact our day quite a bit, even if we objectively realize that the actual inconvenience is minuscule.
#4
I would like a roll of tape that has a hard to find end but when I do find and pull it, it shreds into 8 separate parts and I waste at least 6” of tape pulling the shreds and cutting it even again.
LakotaWolf (she/her) 2 hours ago
I used to be a chronic nailbiter for decades. Literally never had any nails at all as I'd bite/rip them down past the nailbed. Now imagine trying to find/peel up the edge of masking/packing tape when you have no nails at all and only your dumb blunt skin fingertips XD
#5
I want a picture frame. BUT ONLY if the price tag is smack in the middle, and leaves an impossible to remove, gooey residue on the glass when you peel it off.
#6
I need some maxi pads that won't stick to my underwear but stick to my pubes so well I give myself an accidental Brazilian pulling it off.
Ideally, we’d all be able to increase our resilience and change our mindset so that tiny everyday inconveniences do not, well, inconvenience us. There’s only so much time and energy that we have each day, and it shouldn’t be squandered on things that genuinely don’t matter. That’s easier said than done, though.
Reid Daitzman, Ph.D., emphasizes that “everyone, everywhere, every day experiences minor emotional turmoil.” Psychological irritants and setbacks can cause mental health issues if they happen over a long period of time and are intense enough.
“Any minor irritant can push someone over the edge,” he writes in a post on Psychology Today. Petty annoyances can be the things that finally lead to a breakdown if you’re under chronic stress.
#7
I have a sprained wrist, can you grab me some Tylenol with the child safety cap that needs 2 hands to open.
#8
Can you pick me up a box of Kraft Macaroni and Cheese that absolutely will not “open here”?
#9
Please grab a bag of cat litter that has a tiny hole in the corner so you leave a trail allllll the way through the store.
According to Daitzman, you have to reevaluate your current situation and priorities if you’re overreacting to minor frustrations with rage.
He suggests doing the following things when dealing with irritating and annoying experiences:
- Put things in perspective
- Accept what you can't control
- Realize all people make mistakes or overreact
- Jot down your primary triggers
- Shift mental focus to more positives
- If possible, address the situation. If not, move on
- Grin and bear it. Have a laugh
- Be patient
- Avoid people you know who might mess with your head
- Understand moods
If everyday inconveniences continue to cause chaos in your life, it might be time to reach out for help. Get in touch with a therapist or sign up for an anger management course. Recognizing that you need help requires some humility, but you should not see this as a personal failure. It is an opportunity to improve your life.
#10
One umbrella turned inside out by the wind on a rainy day, please.
#12
can you get me a caprisun that instantly explodes when you try to put the straw in.
LakotaWolf (she/her) 2 hours ago
What is this person talking about? Everybody knows that Capri-Sun pouches aren't pierce-able by their straws XD
We want to hear from you, Pandas!
Which of these daily nuisances and bad design decisions did you vibe with the most? Which ones are likely to annoy you the most, and why?
What everyday inconveniences did we miss that can genuinely ruin your day? Yours truly can’t stand it when cinema seat numbers are mislabeled and misplaced—it’s a tiny issue, but it leads to awkward encounters with other movie lovers.
If it’s convenient for you, let us know what you think in the comments!
#13
can you actually make a return for me? i bought a pair of scissors but i need scissors to get them out of the package.
Multa Nocte (she/her 8647) 15 minutes ago
Last time I bought a pair of those I made them cut them open at the store where I purchased them.
#14
I got a 10 pack of hotdogs but only have 8 buns. Can you return the 2 extra hotdogs?
Multa Nocte (she/her 8647) 14 minutes ago
Unfortunately BP picked a photo where the hot dog and bun ratio are 1 to 1.
#15
I’ll take a large, very hot coffee with a lid that doesn’t quite fit. I’m wearing a white shirt and late for work, so it’s important that I have this item asap.
#16
Can you pick up two square Tupperware lids and three round Tupperware bowls?
LakotaWolf (she/her) 2 hours ago
My mother (and probably everyone else's mother) has a kitchen drawer that is entirely devoted to Tupperware lids. That's all that's in the drawer. Tupperware lids. I guarantee you that 80% of the corresponding Tupperware containers are long since lost to the æther, but the lids remain. Alone. Forever.
#17
No, thanks. I’ll send my male Instacart driver that brings me radishes instead of beets and 96 eggs from Costco.
#18
Really need something that requires the most obscure button battery. Please be sure the battery is not included.
Rali Meyer 1 hour ago
it's a new dimension we have to learn. Like a 5W LED is as bright as a 40W previously. Why not just rate it 40W??
#19
A phone charger with a short in it that'll look like it's charging but actually flicker off whenever an ant farts nearby. Please.
#20
Some non-acetone nail polish remover and a toaster that flings the toast directly on the kitchen floor so you have to hover your hands above it to catch the toast, or a toaster that barely ejects the toast at all. Nothing in between, please.
Rose the Cook 2 hours ago
How about a toaster we bought recently that toasts a small square in the middle of the bread and leaves the edges around untoasted.
#21
A bunch of green bananas please. The ones that go right to brown and spotted and skip yellow.
#22
An iced coffee with just enough overflow that when I try to put the straw in it spills all over the lid please. With oatmilk.
#23
Can you get me a gallon of milk that falls over and leaks in the car on the way home and the only way to get rid of the smell is to sell the car.
Rali Meyer 1 hour ago
or burn it! Spilled milk must be the worst. In addition to that hidden sardine
#25
I'll take fountain Dr. Pepper that you have to wait in line for 8 minutes to purchase, then after you step out and take the first sip you realize it's actually root beer.
#26
Can you get me a 500 pack of multi-factor authentications and 250 one time security codes?
#27
Can I get a loaf of bread but please make sure it’s squished because I need all my sandwiches to be rhombus shaped.
Rose the Cook 2 hours ago
Once worked in a nursing home where one resident would not eat bread or toast unless it was perfectly square. She kept a box of geometry instruments to measure before eating.
#28
Pls get me one of these phone chargers where if you bend it the wrong way once it’ll break.
#29
I’ll take a lukewarm coffee and a suspiciously damp sandwich.
#30
I’ll take one of those Nature Valley granola bars that splinters into a thousand sharp crumbs when you bite into it. I want to find crumbs in my bra tonight.
#32
Can you get me a sweater that gets stuck on every doorknob?
#33
Omg, thank you for offering! I’ll take one of these napkin dispensers, please!
#34
I’ll take some rock hard avocados that never ripen and I end up throwing them out two weeks later.
#36
I long for a squeeze bottle of mustard that ejaculates mustard water if you forget to shake it like a banshee first. Please and thanks.
LakotaWolf (she/her) 6 minutes ago
I don't know why, but I have a visceral loathing for ketchup "water" and mustard "water" XD Though I will always remember and treasure the time when I was a kid and my dad decided to be clever with shaking the ketchup bottle, and instead he held it by the base and did a full "centrifugal" revolution/circle with his arm. Alas, the lid of the ketchup bottle was slightly loose, so on the upswing of his revolution, ketchup splattered the kitchen ceiling in a lovely artistic pattern.
#38
Can I have a bag of clementine oranges that look juicy but when you peel them they’re all just dry husks of orange pulp and a roll of paper towels with so much glue on the end that you shred like 3 layers just to get one? I think they’re down the aisle that is blocked by a herd of slow walkers. Be sure to get in line behind the old lady paying with a check!
Rali Meyer 1 hour ago
or, the old lady scratching through her purse endlessly: "I have the exact change", only to realize she's 5 cents short
#39
I could use a small rock for my shoe. Not big enough for me to actually take my shoe off, but just small enough that I shake my foot around to get it to move to a spot that doesn’t hurt.
LakotaWolf (she/her) 5 minutes ago
Oof! I don't know how OP could do it - if I feel even a smol pebble/bit of gravel in my shoe, I'm going to remove my shoe and shake it out, no matter where I am or what I'm doing!
#40
I’ll take shredded cheese in a resealable package, but a bad resealable package where, when you rip it open, you rip off the resealable ziploc, too.
#41
A dozen eggs where one is barely cracked and has leaked and now dried making it impossible to get the next 3 eggs out.
#42
Can I have a bottle soda that doesn't easily open, gets stuck in the only hissing position. Until it finally shreads the skin on your hand, then explodes all over the place?
#43
Yah, can you grab me a puddle of cat vomit that you step in when you wake up at 3am to go pee? It’s my favorite.
#46
Could I have a pair of damp hands and a jar to unscrew pls?
#48
I’ll take a pack of the gum that loses flavor within 5 seconds, thanks!
#49
Could you get me a yoghurt but when I try to pull the lid off the tab breaks off? Please.
Rali Meyer 58 minutes ago
and leaves that narrow "triangle" opening across with no access to the content
#50
Can you get me a box of donuts that collapses and all the donuts fall out when you hand it to me? Thanks!!
#52
Can you get me a pack of sharpies that don't have the lids? Oh and some empty dish soap that looks like there's enough to do a few dishes but it takes HOURS for it to drip to the top when you flip it over.
#53
Just grab me a slushie, a lid that will never fit right, and the thinnest walled straw known to man.
#54
Actually, can I come in with you? I need to use the restroom and I wanna come out with slightly damp shoes with suspect liquid.
#55
Can you get me a chocolate bar that has the pieces already broken but not in the right place?
Multa Nocte (she/her 8647) 4 minutes ago
I'm not proud when it comes to chocolate, and anyway it's in the package for such a tiny amount of time that I couldn't even tell you if it was ever intact in the first place. ;-)
#56
I would like one of those “antibacterial wipes To Go” packages that, once opened, is immediately 12 sheets of dry cardboard.
#57
Can you get me a bag of salt & vinegar chips but make sure the vinegar taste is dang near non-existent.
#58
Hey can you get me the big package of bacon? You know, the one that you use half and then have to put the other leaking half back in the fridge because it doesn’t close.
Rali Meyer 55 minutes ago
this is when "our" Tupperware comes into play. One has a container ("bakkie") the other has the lid
#62
If you could drive my car so that it has about five miles of gas left when I’m running late for work in the morning, that would be awesome.
Rali Meyer 51 minutes ago
which never shows in the evening. The needle drops over night, when the car's lights are turned off. Like a sunflower which resets over night
#64
Can you grab me a steamer bag of veggies that will leak all over the inside of my microwave? Thanks!
#65
Whatever you get me, just make sure it’s in a grocery bag that rips open while carrying it in my driveway.
Multa Nocte (she/her 8647) 5 minutes ago
That's why we take our own bags with us when we are grocery shopping in France. You know what to expect and it's your own fault if you didn't bring along the good bags.
#69
I’ll take the bottles of detergent with the stupid spouts on them that won’t poor out all the remaining detergent and do absolutely nothing to prevent leaks/spills.
#70
I want lightbulbs, wrapped in paper-thin cardboard and open at both ends. Make sure the cashier puts them at the BOTTOM of the bag, under the ten-pound dumbells you're buying for someone else.
#71
I’m doing some baking today. Would you grab me some parchment paper? I’d prefer the kind with the serrated strip that doesn’t really cut the paper straight so I end up using a scissors anyway.
#72
1 ply toilet paper.
#74
Can you accidentally get me a Coke Zero instead of a Coke? Thanks!
LakotaWolf (she/her) 2 hours ago
It's the opposite for me XD I got used to drinking diet sodas years ago and now "regular" sodas taste foul and gross in a way I cannot even describe.
#75
Talenti Gelato that I desperately want to eat frozen but can’t open without hot water on the lid or a chainsaw.
#76
Can I get a big tub of protein powder that’s packed to the gills with the scoop at the very bottom?
Elladine DesIsles 46 minutes ago
The same thing happens with baby formula; I just used the scoop from the previous cann until the new one emerged.
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