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“It’s Like A Medieval Torture Device”: 30 Inconveniences That Humans Should Have Solved By Now
I am very thankful to live in a time where I know that the vast majority of my medical issues can be resolved. I also appreciate that I can easily search the internet for just about any random fun fact that I can imagine and know the answer in seconds. But to be honest, what I really want is to live in a world where my toilet cleans itself, and I never have to receive a piece of junk mail ever again.
Redditors have recently been calling out annoying inconveniences that they’re surprised humans haven’t solved yet, so we’ve gathered some of their best points below. Enjoy scrolling through and imagining what kind of utopia we would be living in if these issues were suddenly eliminated, and be sure to upvote the things that infuriate you too!
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#1
When I was a kid, there were a bunch of vacuums around from the 60s and 70s that had retractable cords. What happened? I want retractable cords on everything. You just gave it a little tug and and swallowed up the entire cord. I want one on my blender, my stand mixer, and my food processor please.
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#2
Dust accumulation. I don't need AI in everything, I need a gadget that would suck dust particles from the air before they get to settle on every surface at home.
#3
Why insurance companies are allowed to increase premiums if you use the service you pay the premium for.
#4
Tipping at restaurants (USA). Can’t employers simply pay servers a working wage?
#5
Mammograms…. There’s got to be a way to invent a mammogram machine that doesn’t squeeze your breasts in a clamp so tight that you feel you might pass out. It’s like a medieval torture device, surely with all the technology now they could find something less painful.
#6
Successfully cleaning the inside of a windshield. What's up with that science?
#8
I'd really like it if google and youtube would stop asking me if I want to sign in. Just let me look up whatever it is and leave me alone! If I wanted to be signed in, I would've done it already! All it does is annoy me when they randomly ask while I'm trying to do something.
#9
Do you want to save your password?
Yes.
Password saved.
…trying to sign in…
The information entered doesn’t match our records. Please reset password.
MADDENING!
Jill Rhodry 1 year ago
Or, **your username or log in is incorrect** - confirm email's correct so must be password, try again no luck, so reset password - **your new password cannot be the same as a previous password**
#10
Inserting a single photo into Microsoft Word without the formatting of all 300 pages getting destroyed.
#11
Side effects from medication for a condition that are the same as some symptoms of the condition.
#12
Elevators need an option to press a floor button a second time to cancel. And the open and close buttons should be color coded red and green. In the split second it takes for my brain to process the symbols it’s too late to open the door and I look like a prick.
Luke Branwen 1 year ago
I've had multiple encounters with kids who thought it's the most hilarious thing to get the elevator to the ground floor and then push buttons to ALL the floors so the elevator would stop on every floor, wasting my time and patience.
#13
Throwing away so much plastic waste. Why do they make biodegradable dog poop bags but we can’t get food grade biodegradable bags?
#14
Why do cars have carpets inside? I’d much rather have the WeatherTech type material throughout - easier to clean, doesn’t stain or hold smells.
Also no fiber transfer, if I’m feeling a little murder-y.
David 1 year ago
Honest answer (I'm pretty sure) is sound damping. The carpet blocks some of the noise that would come up through the floor pan and it absorbs sound waves in the passenger cabin in general. If you have ever driven a totally bare (painted metal only) utility van, you can really hear the difference compared to a van with a passenger cabin - carpet, cloth/foam on ceiling and so on.
#15
Why do printers so reliably not print?
𝙻𝚞𝚗𝚊 (𝚜𝚑𝚎/𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚢) 1 year ago
Me: Ok I need to print this doc out. Printer: sorry, I’m out of magenta. Me: but it’s black and whi— Printer: DID I STUTTER??
#16
That pesky cancer thing. Why hasn't it been cured?
Ace 1 year ago (edited)
We've "cured" quite a few different forms of cancer, developed treatments that stop progression of many others and currently "vaccines" are in development for still more. (We, because I used to work in that area, had a tiny part to play in one of the earlier "cures" for breast cancer).
#18
**M***********g leaf blowers.**
We can land a somewhat autonomous robot on another f*****g *planet* that can f*****g *tweet* to us, and yet somehow we still deal with leaves by using a device *louder than a goddamn jet engine* that doesn't even *remove* the leaves, but simply moves them from point A to point B?????
And for some f*****g reason, these ungodly loud devices are almost exclusively used as early as humanly possible in the mornings.
Absolutely f**k leaf blowers.
#19
Strong pain meds that don't make you addicted to them or drowsy. Just like an Advil but very strong.
#20
The freaking chirping sounds that come from household smoke detectors when the batteries are low. You can NEVER figure out which one it is, you may slice open a finger trying to open the battery compartment, and it always starts chirping in the middle of the night. For the love of GOD, why isn’t there a better way!?!?!?!
#21
Having to verify ones identify 50,000 times when you are on the same call with a company trying to get customer service. I gave you my name, my address, phone number, secret password, secret code by text etc. It's damn ridiculous!
David 1 year ago
I had that happen this month. Had to give account number / other info to AI bot that answered the phone. Then to the lady the bot connected me to. Then to a second lady after the first lady ended up transferring me to a different department. I kind of get the transfer one but why do I have to give it to the bot if the bot doesn't transfer it to the rep's screen?
#22
Menopause. I know technically you can't solve it, but I can't believe the medical community hasn't figured out how to relieve symptoms at least.
Susie Elle 1 year ago
They have, there's hormone treatments available I believe, but it's a woman's issue so, y'know, they don't bother as much
#23
Eating. We figured it out for animals… I want kibble for people, designed specifically for my dietary, health, and genetic profile. No more wasting hours and hours a month shopping, planning, cooking, cleaning… it’s tiring. I love a good meal, but 80% of the time I’m just trying to fill up so I can get on with my day. I’d like a pouch on my hip that’s got my daily food and I just toss back a handful of crunchies throughout the day. .
#24
I live in Belgium and the sanitation service only hauls away paper/cardboard once a month. But literally 50% of all food packaging includes cardboard, not to mention any deliveries you get during the month 🫠 I heard someone jokingly say once that 90% of home ownership is just cardboard management, and never before have I felt something so deeply in my soul.
#25
Any random ATM knows everything about my bank account, including my balance and my PIN, but it has no idea if I prefer to speak English or Spanish.
Katie Bear 1 year ago
Or French. I did take French for ten years, but it is my second language and at 11 at night, I can barely read in ENGLISH.
#26
**WHY THE F**K ARE CHIP/SNACK BAGS SO F*****G LOUD?????**
it makes trying to have a midnight snack without waking up the entire house f*****g impossible. it's enraging.
**a special double F**K YOU to sun chips! those f*****g bags can be heard being opened from space. i don't know what they make those bags out of, but i swear to god they cause ear damage.**.
#27
The buildup that happens in lotion/soap pumps of hardened product. You go to use the product and that buildup acts as a stopper until the pressure pushes it loose and also shoots a stream of lotion/shampoo/whatever across the room.
𝙻𝚞𝚗𝚊 (𝚜𝚑𝚎/𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚢) 1 year ago
Use a needle or something and clean it out regularly (I.e. once every week or two) Useful and satisfying!!
#28
When I select “open in app” and it brings me to the App Store for an app I already have downloaded.
#29
For balding guys, balding. With how many huge medical breakthroughs we've had over the decades, how we can't figure out how to grow hair on a body part that grew hair on its own for 30+ years at one point, seems wrong.
#30
TJMaxx price stickers on the glass of picture frames.
#31
Coffee shops should have a line for people ordering just an actual coffee. Like a hot brewed coffee, nothing to mix or make, no cake pop or warmed up spinach wrap. Drives me nuts waiting in line while the lady in front of me with 3 kids is ordering every complicated 8 dollar flavored sugar drink on the menu.
#32
How about when filling in forms on an order and having to chose a state after filling in the zipcode? Why do we still have to do that?
David 1 year ago
This has been fixed. It just hasn't been fixed. By which I mean they know how to do this and I've used web sites where you type in your zip code and it auto fills the rest. I've even run into a couple that appeared to be using the postal address database because you could start to type your address like "1234 Mystreet" and it would show a scroll down list of addresses that match. Click on yours and all the other fields auto populate. So.. tech exists. Just folks not bothering to add it to their web page.
#33
Unsynchronized traffic lights.
David 1 year ago
This has been solved. It is a matter of choice for each municipality what method they use. (timed / synchronized / pressure activated). Many change what the lights do depending on time of day / commutes. But I think for some small towns it's also a matter of budget. Synchronization makes more sense in larger cities. When it works, it feels pretty cool. You almost feel magical when stay at the right speed and every light flips to green just before you reach it.
#34
Itchiness. It’s so unpleasant. Medications are usually ineffective. Itching until you break the skin can introduce infections. In pets and children it has to be managed post surgery, not by correcting the itchiness, that’s not possible, but instead by limiting the child or pet’s ability to scratch it. It can keep you awake at night. It can make you miserable. .
#35
The cause and treatment of my back and neck pain.
Jocelyn Webster 1 year ago
I feel seen.. massage= nope, chiropractor = nope, years of physio=nope, exercise= nope.. FFS
#36
#WHY IS HAVING TO FAX INFORMATION STILL A THING!? IT'S JUST EMAIL WITH EXTRA STEPS!!
#37
Not having reliable public transportation.
The busses in my city only run until 6 PM. They've been dumping millions of dollars in expanding the highways. When honestly a train in between like 4 or 5 cities throughout the entire state would make the entire state accessible to anyone.
Iowa BTW. Btw don't build a train direct to Chicago, we're all good on that, bad enough as it is here with the b******t they keep sending over here.
#39
Why can’t washers and dryers have a clock in them so they can tell me exactly what time a load will be done? I don’t wanna math when it’s 12:37 and my load will be done in 54 minutes - just let me program the time and then tell me when to come back!!!!
#40
Why car manufacturers have not built cell phone holders with charging capabilities built into the dash yet. Maybe newer cars finally have this? My car is a 2022 and the phone charging platform is down by my knees.
Linus Nilsson 1 year ago
Because having the phone in front of you while driving is illegal in many countries?
#41
There has to be a better way to package flour.
Sue Denham 1 year ago
No, I'm good with the normal paper sack. It's one of the few products that isn't packaged in plastic.
#42
Noses being so s**t. They get blocked really easily, sinus infections suck and don’t get me started on allergies. Their job is for breathing, yet they spend so much time not working properly. Then there’s deviated septums, polyps etc. Come on evolution, sort this s**t out.
#43
Robot maid.
We can put people on the moon yet somehow nobody has invented a proper robot maid that can do the majority of domestic tasks.
I think that if men had to do the majority of domestic chores then it would have been invented already.
Don’t even mention robot vacuum cleaners. They are c**p and yes, I have a top of the range one. Still c**p.
#44
An easy way or tool for fully cleaning/scrubbing the tub and shower - without all of the bending and stretching, ugh!
#45
Stickers on soft fruit. The stickers never come off easily and half the time i claw off part of the skin.
#46
Going into the car and having to take down your ponytail/claw clip/etc. since the headrest is in the way.
#48
Mop buckets. We can put a man on the moon, but a smoothly-pushing mop bucket is just too complicated?
WindySwede 1 year ago
Well according to Wiki, it costed: USD 257 billion (2023). If you pay that for the research on a bucket, you would get something nice!
#49
Waiting in line at the pharmacy when you just want to pick up a prescription is still way to frustrating.
Auntriarch 1 year ago
We've got a magic cabinet outside our pharmacy, you get a text and a code, and you can pick up your prescription 24/7. Tip: if you are vertically challenged, tell them to make a note not to put your stuff in the top shelf...
#50
We all changed to front load washers in the US over the last 20 years and every single time I open the door the whole load of clothing is tangled together in a knot of legs and sleeves. Why are we living like this?
#51
Better packaging for napkins. Once you open them, the rest are just hanging out in the air.
#52
I still can’t believe there’s no solution for the daily inconvenience of accidentally sending a text to the wrong person and then having to awkwardly explain why you’re discussing “secret snack stashes” with your boss instead of your best friend. It's like the universe is just waiting for the perfect cringe-worthy moment.
What do you think ?
Skogsrået 1 year ago
To the people that downvote others normal comments, why do you do it? Can't you stand that someone might have a different opinion than you? If the comment is not insulting, hateful or off in any way why do you downvote it? Must be fun to be around someone like you IRL, someone that can't tolerate a different opinion. 🙄
Kelly Scott 1 year ago
If I see a downvoted comment that simply looks like someone's opinion, I'll upvote it.
Load More Replies...
Manana Man 1 year ago
This list is just 'we can do x, why can't we do y? Y being a completely unrelated thing.
Skogsrået 1 year ago
To the people that downvote others normal comments, why do you do it? Can't you stand that someone might have a different opinion than you? If the comment is not insulting, hateful or off in any way why do you downvote it? Must be fun to be around someone like you IRL, someone that can't tolerate a different opinion. 🙄
Kelly Scott 1 year ago
If I see a downvoted comment that simply looks like someone's opinion, I'll upvote it.
Load More Replies... Manana Man 1 year ago
This list is just 'we can do x, why can't we do y? Y being a completely unrelated thing.
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