41 Times Designers Messed Up In A Minor Way, But It Ruined User Experience In A Big Way
Have you ever picked up a nice-looking product and thought it would be a blast to use it, only to learn the hard way that it's just pretty, but not very usable? It might be even the tiniest of flaws that makes an object borderline unusable, just because that small flaw drives you insane...
That's what today's list is all about - people sharing their stories of such objects. What sucks the most is that these were supposed to be things that were used day-to-day. But how can you use something that annoys the hell out of you?
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Not tiny, but touchscreens in cars. I'm sure they are cheaper to manufacture, but it's a safety concern when you have to take your eyes off the road to do even the most simple thing on the touchscreen. Buttons and knobs are 1 billion times better.
This is one of the reasons I’m holding on to my 2016 model. Has k**b, dials, and buttons… and touch is optional, for the tiny screen it does have.
Really Boredpanda? K**b? Don't let the door close on these guys. They'll never find the doorknob
Load More Replies...I don't get the logic in deciding which functions can work while driving and which can't. For example, my car's GPS won't let you advance to the second page of recent destinations while driving. However, it will allow me to drill several layers down into harder-to-read menus where I can delete destinations from the recent list, all while driving. Then I can go the recents and pick the one I want from the first page. Please tell me how that's safer than just letting me hit the damn page down button once.
Mine constantly reminds me it has turned off certain functions while driving, but while I'm not using any, and then I have to take my eyes off the road to clear the message.
Load More Replies...There are no words to describe how much I despise my touch screen faux buttons.
Love my '98 Dodge Ram 1500. Ugly as sin, but I got it for $750 from a junk yard and it's the most reliable vehicle I've ever had. I've had it almost 9 years and it's going strong. Buttons and knobs and switches all the way! No Bluetooth wifi touchscreen nonsense. Also been really cheap to repair as there's a few junk yards nearby that always have parts. I will be driving older vehicles until my end lol. Hear too many coworkers and friends complaining about the maintenance costs and insurance costs on their vehicles that are new to maybe 5 years old, and I walk out on lunch break, give my beloved truck a slap on the hood and think "I'm glad that's not me" 😂
I've got a 1998 Subaru that I can reach out and adjust everything by touch. No need to look for the k**b or button I need.
My car was a 2011 Honda CRV. I wrecked it and bought a newer Honda HRV in late October. I'm still going to car college to learn about the stuff on my car. I do like the push button ignition, but most of the rest of it is still a puzzle.
I absolutely love that the touchscreen in my Bolt regularly puts up a message saying that looking at the screen is a distraction. A message that is in small type and takes concentration to read and can only be dismissed by tapping in a particular spot. And until you close the message you can't see the clock - which is the only thing I care about on it while driving.
5 sekunder fra en tar øynene fra veien til det kan skje en trafikkulykke.
I can never just get one wet wipe out cleanly, it brings six others with it and I have to cram them back in the packaging…plus the sticky clear plastic cover always ends up falling off!
Ugh. As a grandparent who does way more than their share of nappy changes, I feel your pain. You either can't find the edge of the wipe, or you pull the edge and get a whole wad. Then you've got one hand holding baby's legs in the air so you can clean their b*m, and the other frantically waving the wad around trying to separate just one wipe!
You forgot my personal favorite: you pull the edge and a dime-sized piece tears off in your fingertips.
Load More Replies...I liked the wipes my mum bought when my little sister and brother were born ('99/'00). They came in a rectangular tub (that was great for repurposing) and the wipes didn't have perforations, instead were cut fully, so never stuck together. If they had it would still have been easier to deal with because the lid was as big as the container so they could go back properly.
I am still refilling my tub with new wipes. I just cut open the package and stuff them in.
Load More Replies...Also, those things don't reseal well enough to keep them moist. If you don't use the package quickly enough, they dry out.
We use these wipes as moist toilet paper because they're bigger and cheaper... and no, we don't flush them down the toilet!! I always put the opened packets in a Ziploc bag, because otherwise they dry out.
If only there was some way of marking the edge of each wipe so you could tell where the next one started, but I guess that would cost far too much.
How does that solve the problem of multiple wipes coming out stuck together?
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The sticker they put on new glassware or plates. It's not the normal, satisfying-to-peel kind. It's the evil, paper-based kind that's designed to tear into 50 tiny pieces and leave behind a permanent, sticky residue that will outlive civilization itself.
Yeah, there are other products that work, but they really should not be needed.
Load More Replies...And glass lids for pots, with metal rim, water gets under can't get outside grows its own ecosystem... 🏞
Some people say they don’t care about how a certain product they buy looks – they’re all about functionality, not the looks. You know, as the saying goes, don’t judge a book by its cover.
At the same time, it’s also said that sometimes you should judge a book by its cover. Or at least it should be considered during the whole judgment of the creation. After all, the cover is what gives off the first impression; it’s supposed to entice you to pick up the book.
Plastic sealed food packaging where there’s a tab to peel off the lid, but when you pull it, it just peels off the edge and leaves the package sealed. Fall for it every time.
No, it is true, just misunderstood: it is meant as a place to collect your tears.
Load More Replies...Sounds like me in my morning argument with a pancake mix box... "Push top to open box…” B******t! It should read, "Jam a dent in the side of the cardboard with your thumb repeatedly to no avail. Swear at the box. Try and bite at box a little. Swear at the box again. Cut the whole d**n top off, dump half of mix on floor, Swear at everything. F**k it... go to McDonald's.
The pedestal of a toilet having the nooks/crannies of the internal piping so it catches dust, dirt, grime, and other horrible bathroom mess. Why not a smooth column to the floor?
When we remodeled the half bath on the main level, we added one like that. Just smooth all the way down.
We're in the process of remodeling our full bath, and I plan on getting a toilet just like that. Also, a wider and deeper tub. In the US, the standard tub length is 5 feet (152 cm). I'm only 5'3" (160 cm), and I have to choose whether my feet, knees, or bøobs will be out of the water and freezing.
Load More Replies...I have a new toilet, smooth all the way to the floor!!! I suspect earlier models were designed by people who never had to clean them!
It likely has a sheath epoxied on over the top to fake it, that is the current best solution to the situation. The actual point of it not being that way is to use less material to make it quicker to cure, more likely to cure, and light enough to only need one person to install. If the smooth base were solid, it would be so heavy and unwieldy even if it did cure that two people would have to install it, and the price would have made you angry.
Load More Replies...Both of the toilets in my house are set up so that the only way to clean around them is by hand. No vacuum or mop can reach. I really want to punch whoever designed them!
So many products obviously designed by men who haven't cleaned them once in their lives.
We should just use the sink. Why else would it be waist height?
Load More Replies...To answer why not a smooth column, it's down to weight, and the limitations of ceramics firing. The former shouldn't need explanation, but in the latter, with ceramics, any thickness of ceramic that is more than an inch (2.54 cm) in thickness, is difficult to fire in any large object. This is because air bubbles may be trapped inside the slip clay during casting, and their expansion will cause the ceramic to fracture, or shatter during firing.
Sort of. They're skirted. It's still the same commode design, but the main difference being skirted ones tend to be made of a high grade polymer, while regular commodes are ceramic.
Load More Replies...Get yourself out there and buy a new toilet with a smooth base. Did you know that toilets now come in two sizes? Get the taller one, it's easier to get down and up. TMI - I'm older and getting to sit on a regular toilet is a challenge.
The “remember me” checkbox on website logins that of course doesn’t remember me.
Remember the sign-in on this computer.....✔️. Sorry we don't recognise you, we've sent you a text, with a code, to get into the site you've signed into three hundred times before!😠
My brother does not have a smart phone. He in increasing unable to use internet.
Load More Replies...OMG, jump through a bunch of hoops with a box that promises you won't have to do it again, then next visit, back to square one.
Well, see, it says "Remember me", but actually, they're remembering your computer by installing all manner of tracking nonsense on it. They want to remember your data, browsing, online activities, etc. Not you.
Not had too many issues with “remember me” not retaining my username data, but I’m really annoyed with a store I use that has that checkbox but the function is “keep me logged in”.
All that “remember me” does is put a cookie on your system. Those cookies are easily invalidated.
Then there's the email messages and urgent texts saying Someone has just signed into your email account on an unknown device. Which is my browser on my laptop which is now about 8 years old & i use everyday.
The same goes for any other object – its looks are supposed to give you a good impression, even if you claim not to care about it. Plus, sometimes the design is something more than just the appearance – they tend to carry certain functionality too.
A good design is more than a product looking pretty; it's supposed to bring a seamless, simple experience. On the other hand, a bad design can not only displease one’s eye, but also affect their experience and harm brand perception in the long run.
Drop down menus for the year. I actually can type the year quicker than scrolling.
It's because it requires less validation. If you provide a drop down, you know the selection is of the correct type and a valid value. If you allow the user to enter manually, you need to validate what they've entered.
I had one that was a calendar. But i coukd not, for the life of me , figure out how to scroll by year. So i was stuck hitting the back arrow, month by month. I am 60 years old. Enraged.
See my comment above! Same... I'm 67. Over 800 presses of that back arrow! Bastards!
Load More Replies...I used one today that went all the way back to the 16th century before I stopped scrolling. It also went beyond the 21st century.
Every company that manufactures things should post a video of their CEO opening one of each product.
things would change real quick
Kraft "open here" Mac and Cheese, for example.
The alleged perforations in cardboard food packaging are stronger than the rest of the package. I'm especially ticked about frozen stuff that you have to peel back the top before cooking. Never tears along the perforations. Marie Calendar pot pies, I'm looking at you!
On-Cor frozen dinners. "Just peel back film and..." And what? It just ripped into a thousand little shreds of plastic that's now part of my salisbury steak dinner! (Hey, they're not gourmet but they are cheap and fairly good when you're in lazy mode!)
Load More Replies...I love this idea. Ranks right up there with all those college grads & bosses in management having to work in their company stores for 2 weeks being cashiers and department associates.
Out of all packaging I encountered, only Japanese made were tearing by tear line 100%
Actor Tab Hunter was given his name when his agent was trying to open the seal on a bottle
I would like to add "expiration date". If it cannot be found within 5 seconds, the product does not need to be paid for. Not that I am going to toss it out (usually products which have been stored well, are good beyond that date), but I would like to see it anyway. Except salt, sugar, vinegar.
Glue that is stronger than the cardboard it is holding together.
this happened in the Netherlands! A consumer show went out to a company, asked the CEO to come to the lobby. There the asked him to open one of their package which prove to be impossible. He however did not flinch and just said "come back in two weeks". Upon return he asked the reporter to open the package.
Reminds me of the video of an Austrian milk executive demonstrating how to open a milk carton.
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Bra pads being NOT sewn in and falling out/ folding/becoming crooked/misplaced everytime i wash them. (In swimnsuits too).
I'm glad they're not sewn in, because I always, always remove them. I hate those things.
But it’s not a design flaw? Many women don’t want or need the pads, this allows them to remove them and throw away. You’re supposed to remove the pads before washing. Would you honestly rather that your bras and swimsuits were more expensive for having pads stitched in vs those that don’t come with pads at all just to save the 2 seconds effort to remove them?
Yes, I would rather that. They should make them either padded or unpadded and women can buy the one they want. As someone that works out most days a week, and therefore washes many sports bras, I absolutely hate removable pads (and also unlined ones). I've made it a mission to not buy any more of them.
Load More Replies...Two things humans have not satisfactorily finished inventing yet: printers and bras. Back to the drawing board!
How can that experience be ruined, you might wonder? Well, just imagine, you use a product that has decent looks, but has even a small quirk, like a detaching part or something like that, that drives you mad every time you use it. Or better yet, don't just imagine it, but simply check out today’s list – it’s filled with stories about design flaws that annoy people, to the brim.
This doesn’t just apply to physical objects – it touches on digital ones too. That’s where the profession of UI/UX designers comes into play. Basically, UI refers to the user interface or the look, feel, and interactive elements of a product.
The fact that cars are still built with all these cracks and crevices that you can drop stuff down into and never retrieve.
Bench seats were practical. Car manufacturers think we all want "sporty".
Individual seats are much safer. That is why bench ones don't exist anymore, not for sportiness. Although they tend to be more comfortable as well.
Load More Replies...The first time I had my car serviced, they had moved the seat (because I'm short, so it is way forward) and I couldn't get it to go back. Turned out a pen had fallen into the track when they moved it and it took about half an hour for me to remove it. Still not sure where the pen came from!
Surprised no one has said *cereal bags* yet. It’s been said before but I’ll repeat it here: big cereal needs to hook up with ziploc.
Malt-o-Meal (the company) sells generic versions of some name brand cereals in bags, and the bags actually have a ziploc closure. The cereals taste just as good, if not better, than the name brands as well.
Upvote for Malt-o-Meal. Though i can never make it through the big bag before it goes stale.
Load More Replies...We have a vacuum sealer that we use to close all sorts of bags like this. (We don't use the vacuum function on them.) But yeah, have no idea why cereal bags aren't resealable!
They're nudging you to waste product, so you buy more.
Load More Replies...I decant mine into a scréw top plastic jar that once held protein powder.
They did as an experiment. They failed, really really hard. The cost of the new bag compared to the old one was a price that every consumer rejected; and that is not including the cost of the new machines to make them, just the cost of the materials. Consumers actively sought out the cereals without the zip bag due to them being half the price because that is how much extra those bags cost.
When they package orders in the dumbest possible way. You want a fragile item? Sure, we'll just put it in a shoe box and tell the UPS guy to drop kick it to your door. You want a tiny bag of polyester stuffing for a stuffed animal? Sure, let me put that literally unbreakable tiny thing in a refrigerator box with more packing peanuts than you've ever seen in your life. The polyester stuffing probably did more protection for the packing peanuts than the opposite.
I ordered plastic trash cans for the office. Each was packed in a separate box with a mountain of kraft paper. Called the company and explained they could have telescoped the bins and put them in one box. They're plastic. Derp.
Because I'm American, I order Callebaut dark chocolate online. The last time UPS delivered it, they just yeeted it out the truck onto the ground at the end of my driveway...which is 100 meters long. I can't even see the end of my driveway from my house.
I ordered a hard drive. It came in a manilla envelope that looked like the truck backed over it. Ordered a solid plastic part and it was wrapped in bubbble wrap and placed in peanuts in a box 3 X too big. I'm suprised they didn't put all that into a lead chest!
I ordered 4 large (3*2*1 feet) plastic storage tubs with lids. They each came in their own cardboard box. I asked why they didn't stack the tubs then put all the lids on top. Apparently, no one there had thought of that. Sometimes you really have to wonder how the hell we survive.
Meanwhile, UX is the user experience that's the overall feeling and ease of use a person has with the entire product journey, including strategy, structure, and even emotion.
Granted, the latter can apply to the design of physical products as well, but the first is solely in regard to digital ones. When it comes to that, both of the practices are usually combined into one profession. As you can probably guess, these professionals are responsible for making your digital experience both pretty and useful — not annoying, unlike the products on today’s list.
I don't need every electronic object in my kitchen to have a clock. Microwave, coffee maker, oven, range... It's just too much, and they all end up being a couple minutes off from one another.
For me, it's the oven. I can't escape its gaze!
Load More Replies...My problem with the microwave is it beeps, and keeps on beeping. The last few nights I've not been sleeping well, and the beeping microwave annoyed me so much I actually swore at it. I do not swear, but I was so tired and downright grumpy that I swore at it.
This perpetual beeping 'feature' can be turned off in many microwaves. The instructions are normally found in the instructions (paper or online). Sadly it's not possible to disable it on my model.
Load More Replies...And every frickin' thing beeps too! Microwave food done? ::BEEP!:: Washer done? ::BEEP!: Dryer done? ::BEEP!:: Oven up to temp? ::BEEEP!:: I'm waiting for my cats to start beeping when they want their food!
"We just need this form filled out, so we will E-mail it to you" HOW is there no elegant and easy way to just TYPE on the form and send it back? NO, I don't want to buy adobe expert platinum subscription, no I don't want to download something. I HATE that I have to drive to a place with a printer, print it, fill it out, take a photo of it, then email that photo back.
There used to be a semi easier way back in the day. Today I'm not sure, used to be able to add a text box in the area you needed to fill out and type in that. But as I say today, I have no idea it's been a hot minute since I've done that.
I just received a document with 8 pages requiring signatures, and they were not clickable. I had to print them all out, sign each one, then scan each one to save as PDF, then use a PDF editing program to combine each page into one document so I could email them back. Fortunately I had the right tools, but the original sender could have made it a lot easier.
When my dad passed away, the funeral home emailed me some paperwork I had to sign. They wanted me to fill it out and fax it back. My dude, I'm in the UK and have no access to a fax machine (I mean outside of businesses, does anyone do fax anymore?). I had to argue with the director (keep in mind, my dad just died) to accept the return email!
I fo databases. I have been arguing for the removal of the fax number field for many years to no avail.
Load More Replies...And that everything is with the QR code: coupons, tickets, etc. I DON'T HAVE A SMART PHONE.
Microsoft Office: "Save As"
Always defaults to some remote directory (like a OneDrive Cloud directory) that's the furthest away from my most active parent folders.
It's like walking to the opposite side of the airport to catch your connecting flight. .
Except it always wants you to use OneDrive, and will default back to that at the slightest opportunity.
Load More Replies...Because they really, really want you to use their cloud storage. So they can charge you when it gets full.
We are supposed to save all our docs on sharepoint at work, but I can't work out how to switch to that when I save, so I end up saving to the computer and then copy/pasting to sharepoint.
That's because SP is hot garbage. You should be able to sync folders so that this happens automatically - my sync function randomly fails to work, and I can't trust that files will be saved where I want them to be saved, so I do the same.
Load More Replies...I use it daily. If you just save a document, no one, even the computer knows where it goes.
It might seem a rather insignificant job for some, but when you are faced with a flawed design that drives you out of your mind, you realize that maybe it’s way more meaningful than you anticipated. After all, there are plenty of professions that might seem unimportant as long as you have people doing them, and only when there’s a lack of them do you understand how much you underappreciate them.
Do you have any more examples to add to today’s list? Please do so in the comments!
Appliances that don't include any power cord management features (like a way to wrap and stow them).
Hand soap nozzles point strait out… why do I want soap launching out at my t-shirt? Point those things down… where my hand is.
I have a bigger problem with the bathroom faucet itself. Why does it not stretch out further into the bowl? It's so close to the edge I bang my hands off the back of the bowl trying to rinse off.
also,each time we have redone a bathroom that is the 1st change i make!.... a proper faucet that extends out over the sink!..😁
Load More Replies...The paper covers under lids like on peanut butter or ketchup. The teeny tiny little tabs for peeling them off are nearly impossible to grasp with fingers. I almost always end up using my teeth.
And then it often pulls off incompletely, leaving a rim of paper that makes it harder to s***w/unscrew the lid...
They're censoring s***w now? Edit: They are indeed censoring scrẹw.
Load More Replies...I end up poking a hole in them and pulling them off from the center. Why does it have to be so hard?!
Which is one of the many, many uses for needlework pliers in a kitchen.
Needlenose pliers, or is there another type of plier I should investigate?
Load More Replies...Those tabs are not really there to help you peel the seal off. They mainly exist to hold the seal in the cap before it is put on the bottle. That's why there are 3 of them.
I use my teeth.. Just did it this evening with a squeezer of Heinz. Fortunately I still have nearly all of my teeth. Good dental care pays off apparently. YMMV.
Seasonal: why are candy canes impossible to unwrap???
Because the candy cane's plastic 'paper' cover melts, becoming a permanent, part of the candy canes sugar coating ... which you will be spitting out until New Years Day! HAP...PEEEE New Year!
Gotta get your minimum daily requirement of Plastic!
Load More Replies...They aren't. And anyway, you can always snap them and solve the problem
I would've bet money at least one woman would mention the tiny little pockets in their clothes.
Women do not need watch pockets. We need real pockets at the front of the outfit. I use mine for keys, chapstick, grocery lists, my credit card case, and other things. I hate having to carry a purse.
I refuse to carry a handbag! As I'm getting older (and grumpier), I don't want to give the fashion industry more money than I have to! If it doesn't fit in my denims pockets (which are tiny anyway), it doesn't go. So all I take with me are my bank cards, housekeys and mobile. And even the phone is a push to get it to fit.
Load More Replies...The stock photo is a bad example for this particular complaint! It's of a full size pocket with a bonus pocket. My key chain is simply an Airtag, an RFID fob, and a mailbox key. It fits perfectly in that bonus pocket in my jeans. Keeps the key chain isolated from all the c**p in my main pocket so I can access it quickly and it won't fall out accidentally if I'm pulling out something else.
That "bonus " pocket was originally designed to be used exactly as the picture shows, as a watch pocket.
Load More Replies...It's a conspiracy by Big Pocketbook / Purse to make women buy their stuff!
There needs to be a little colored mark on dental floss so you know the floss is about to run out.
There used to be, and it hadn't occurred to me that there wasn't anymore until I read your comment. There used to be a single copper-colored one about 10 from the end.
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The power button on the Kindle being on the bottom where my support finger goes. It's hard not to take that one personally.
The power button on my laptop/tablet is on he side of the keyboard. I accidentally bump it so many times in a day!
It's only on the bottom if you use portrait orientation - I've always set mine to landscape, much easier to read.
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My wife's 2025 Kia is riddled with design flaws. I'll pick one that pisses me off a lot:
When listening to music, there's a section of the 12" LCD which shows you the album art along with the artist and song name. This is limited to roughly the rightmost 3" of the screen, and the font size is such that you get maybe the first eight characters of each.
So, listening to Nathaniel Rateliff & the Night Sweats do "And It's Still Alright", the display will show:
**Nathan...**
And It's ...
It's infuriating enough that they bothered with this design in the first place, as there is a TON of wasted space, but at least that screen has some other useful functions.
Then there's a thing you can tap to make the music information take up the full screen. This shifts everything leftward and enlarges. But still, the area dedicated to the text is still relatively small, and due to the larger font size, you get *even fewer characters than before*:
**Natha...**
And It...
Pissing me off the most? A full 60% of that screen is just black except for a button "Enter Channel," which you can tap and then enter a station number on a numpad. A feature which I will literally never use.
Oh, and this full-screen music mode? It slides up from the bottom of the screen like it's some kind of accessory, and everything behind it darkens. The clock, outside temperature, and a few other things that would be useful remain visible on the edge of the screen, but because they're darkened, they're extremely hard to see, especially in bright light.
IDK who designed that screen, but they are not good at user interface design. At all. They're truly bad at it.
(I'm a software engineer, so bad software especially pisses me off.)
🤬.
Very understandable ... but life is way too short to waste even one precious second being pissed off about anything these days. I'm 91 and can't believe how quickly time has flown by, especially when my brain still feels and thinks I'm 35 and that my 4 kids are still in kindergarten... That's why I tell that old lady in the mirror to bug off and go away! So... be kind and never ever waste precious moments sweating the useless, stupid , unimportant small stuff!! Be happy while you can still think clearly, feel hugs and appreciate the world around you.
I had an audio screen scrolled the artist and title. I looked up once and read "asses at Night." I'd missed "Corey Hart Sungl" I still laugh at this.
On some devices, you have to tell them to marquee the text instead of showing the static display.
Websites with information in the footer that always disappears because the designers added infinite scrolling.
If a popup blocks my view before I've even determined if I'm on the right page, I leave.
"Enter your email to receive a 20% discount!" Bîtch, I haven't even had a look at your site yet or determined whether I even want to order from you.
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The last half inch of product in the deodorant bottle that won't push up because they made the screw too short.
At this point. It just takes it out of the dispenser, and rubs it on its skin. Or else it gets the hose again.
I bought a tub of Cerave moisturizing cream with a pump lid. The pump stopped dispensing product. When I opened it, there were nearly 3 cm of product left in the bottom.
They do that deliberately. It costs less to lose that last half inch than it does to give it to you because if they don't, you end up buying a whole new bottle.
Every deodorant stick I've ever had pushes the product up until the carrier scratches my skin. There's more deodorant in the carrier because it has to attach somehow (otherwise it would just fall out when it got close to the end), but that's generally unusable, and, if you want to use it, you'd have to dig it out anyway.
Tiny tools like screwdrivers that have a tiny little handle you can barely hold onto. It’s ridiculous, you might need a small screwdriver for a tiny job, but your hand is still the same size!
That's the same with handles on retractable dog leashes. Just because I have a small dog, it doesn't mean that I have a small hand!
Retractsble dog leashes are my hill to die on. They are amongst the most useless things on earth. People let their dog run criss-cross over the bicycle path, suddenly you learn to do a salto with your bike. Dogs roaming ground breeding birds nests in nature preserves. A leash, and leashing rules, is/are meant to keep the dog close to the owner and on the foot path. A retractable leash is contradicting the function of a leash.
Load More Replies...Small screwdrivers have small handles to reduce the torque you can apply to attempt to prevent you from breaking the screwdriver or the s***w.
The article is about tiny screwdrivers, you toolless wonder.
Load More Replies... I’ll be watching a movie (or live Olympics) on my old Samsung TV, and suddenly, at the climatic moment, a window will pop up in the middle of the screen saying “Smarthub has updated. Do you want to start Smarthub?” and I will have to fumble around for wherever I put my remote down to dismiss it. When the revolution comes, there is a Samsung programmer somewhere who had better hide well.
[Because all humor will somehow be misinterpreted by someone on the internet: /j for the previous sentence.].
I play poker online, and that site has a nasty habit have putting pop-ups on screen in the middle of the games. Particularly annoying when I want to see what my opponent - I really don't care that I've got a new "quest" or just achieved one, tell me that after I've finished!
We have a Sony Bravia. I bought it after our 10 year-old Samsung died. Hate it. Picture is great, the sound is superb, but every time I want to watch TSN, the d**n thing resets to Netflix. We don't have cable, just streaming.
Office printers not having a big enough tray for one packet of paper.
Our home laserjet is designed to hold one whole ream, some offices cheaping out.
With shrinkflation, soon a "ream" of paper that should be 500 sheets will be 50 so, problem solved.
Printers in general, they always act up and you have to log into everything now.
My home printer only takes about 25 sheets, but that's plenty for the printing I do. At the factory, every station on the floor that has a printer takes a full 500 sheets.
it is very reasonable design, actually. Printer will overheat quite quickly, you can read max amount of pages in the manual. Want to print nonstop? You will need much more expensive printer
Do you have any source for this? Like, even just an example of a manual that claims a maximum number of sheets that can be printed at once? I have a counterexample, though. The HP MFP4101 comes with a 250 sheet tray. But you can buy an additional tray that will hold 550 sheets. I'm pretty sure the accessory tray doesn't include an air conditioner.
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I have a hydraulic log splitter. As a safety feature it requires 2 hands to operate, one to push a button and one to hold a lever down. The problem is that to do this I have to bend down and put my face distressingly close to the hunk of wood that it is trying to explode into 2 chunks. I've never gotten hit, but having my face that close to the violence fells like it should be avoided, like by not requiring to hands and just trusting people not to shove their hands in the way of an axe blade. .
I tied a strong string around the lever you hold down with the other end tied to a lever on the ground. Stepping on the lever frees one hand up and I use it as a clutch for the hydraulic motor. I agree about the design flaw but the intent was to keep both hands away from the crushy splitty parts.
I had a car, a Suzuki, which switched the engine off if the driver's seat belt wasn't fastened, or was accidentally released. Absolutely f***ing fantastic at 100km (63mph) on a motorway! My first, and last, Suzuki.
Trade it in. They make safer ones. Personally I use wedges and a heavy single jack.
Brooms, mops, swiffers, are all made for right-handed use. When you use them left-handed the head unscrew from the handle while you're using them. Infuriating.
It must suck for left-handed people, to encounter all these annoying little things because the world wasn't designed for them, because they are not the "default human". Similar to how lots of things are difficult for women because men are considered the default (and in a different way for queer people because straight and cisgender are considered the default).
I'm naturally left handed, but over the years I've had to adapt to using my right hand for almost everything. The only things I use my left for are writing and eating. It makes me mad that we have had to change hands to use anything.
Load More Replies...I've never had a problem with using both hands on a broom or mop. Maybe because they don't s***w into the handle that way?
The head screws onto the handle with a right handed thread, and using it a certain way will tend to unscrew it. I've been there
Load More Replies...my biggest pet peeve about left/right hand use is a counter cheese grater that works really, has many different sizes/shapes but is made for right hand use
I must have a left-handed broom then because it keeps unscrewing itself.
Left-hander and never had any problems. I've simply had to adapt. Not American but have used American saying: Righty-tighty, lefty-loosie. Like: Spring forward, fall behind, for daylight saving.
Why the hell do I have to reauthenticate every phone application after it’s been updated? And why is it so difficult?
I simply don’t understand why I am constantly reauthenticating. I use different passwords for each app so having to constantly go look up the password in my vault is incredibly annoying.
I hate it too, but the reason is... if you don't secure everything you own, rotten scamming thieves will steal it out from under your nose before you can blink!
And now it's a 2-step authentication process for turning on Apple TV. Have to go find my phone and download a QR code and enter my username/password to open the app on my TV. Makes me go "ugh" every time.
This is why I avoid those types of tv like the plague.
Load More Replies...You think that's bad, more than once I've had a shopping site force me to recreate my account because they upgraded their system. That is the laziest approach ever. If they can't port the data from the old system to the new, it scares me what kind of monkeys they have working their tech.
Every time i urgently need an app, llke to pay for something online, it says Hold on there while I just update this app.
I’m currently locked out of my phone that I literally need for work and won’t be back in for A WEEK! Xfinity didn’t seem to understand why I wasn’t okay with waiting a week for Apple to reset my password. I kept telling them I can’t afford to buy a new phone and take week off waiting for it to F***ing activate!!
This is why I refuse to own 20 apps. I can find the web without them.
For the life of me I do not understand the packaging bacon comes in. What jerk made the decision for every company to put bacon into a non resealable plastic pouch and then shroud it in cardboard or paper or whatever. Any time I make bacon I just make the entire package and put the leftovers in the fridge for later.
Just as puzzling as to how they 'make bacon'. Thought that was the butcher's job! 😉
Load More Replies...Oftentimes I end up cutting it in half (since the half slices are perfect sandwich sizes), and putting the other half in a sandwich bag. Bacon = natures candy!
buy the thick slices that have a zipper seal if you don't use it all at once
I hate GM for making theirs cars' REVERSE LIGHTS come on after it's been PARKED and actually isn't REVERSING at all. This "feature" makes crowded parking lots very annoying.
I hate cars that have daytime running lights that go on automatically and I especially hate the new bright LED lights. Every car with those headlights needs to be recalled and have those lights replaced with something not as bright.
Daytime running lights save lives. Super bright LED lights do not.
Load More Replies...Ah, but look at all the wasted space in this car park. If parked at 45° you can get almost double the cars in, because lanes don't need to be 2 cars wide. One way lanes, easy to enter and exit spaces. It's an incredible waste to park at 90°.
Until the arrows fade and you have to stop and check if it it an up or down lane.
Load More Replies...I know car manufacturers got rid of that little triangular window in the front seat of cars, but I still want just that blast of air, not the entire cabin or the multiple vents. I also hate that a car's speedometer sometimes goes up to 140 mph--like that realistic for 99% of street drivers.The increments should be every 5 miles: 5,10,15,20 not 10, 20, 30 where you have to guess where 35 mph actually is. Do we need a huge tachometer that competes with all the other stuff on the dashboard? Agree LED lights are the pits.
Thank God GM stopped making right hand drive cars! This is not a problem for us.
Oh, I didn't realize GM had sold off Vauxhall and Opel.
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This is so absurdly niche, but it annoys me no end.
A website I occasionally use, has a log in screen that dramatically shakes if you enter the wrong details.
Like a big "nuh uh uh". Then after a couple of seconds, has a pop-up window to tell you, that you used the wrong password.
Such a weird thing to design into a website.
On a similar topic. "Your email or password is incorrect". For God's sake, tell me which one! This ambiguity may be intended to thwart scammers, but it also encourages me to write my password in a notebook, next to my computer!
Well, hopefully you can easily tell whether you've spelled "Hippopotamuses" correctly, and there may well be someone who signed up as the "Hipppotamuse" that you might have accidentally mistyped.
Load More Replies...Or the ones that go all dramatic "Your entry isn't long enough! It needs to be at least 8 digits!" while you're still typing. Yeah dude, I know it's not long enough yet after I've only typed in the first letter, I can't type all the letters instantaneously, give me more than 0.001 second before you start panicking. I always feel like some software have an anxiety disorder, panicking long before it's necessary.
Worse are the ones that don't tell you anything in the first place then complain that it has to be between 16 and 412 characters long and include capitals, numbers, something on your keyboard which doesn't appear to do anything and 3 Egyptian hieroglyphics.
Load More Replies..."INCORRECT PASSWORD." Fine, reset my password. "YOU CAN'T REUSE THE EXISTING PASSWORD."
When I'm trying to actually enter my address. It always tells me that it's an invalid address. Then shows me 2 to 4 choices that are the same d****d thing.
I love the "invalid date format" message, after entering ONE number. Seriously, give me a bloody chance!
Or when you change your password and it errors and says there is a problem with the new password - please, please, please - tell me why? too short, too long, reused old one, bad character, etc.
Phones having their charging port at the bottom instead of the top so the cable bends and breaks faster while also not letting you orient your phone upside down to solve this issue.
Lots of people use their phone in a car stand as gps, and then the best position for the charging port is a the bottom.
This. Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr
"while also not letting you orient your phone upside down"
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Sleeping bag bags. While I appreciate the 1 inch of fabric saved by making it so the sleeping bag can only be easily put in if factory new and squeezed through a toothpaste tube, the weight restrictions on my backpacking gear do not facilitate me to bring the necessary equipment.
See also: sleeping pads
EDIT: Ya'll are amazing! I have thoroughly appreciated all the insight, advice, and gossip on the backpacking game.
Stuffing in a sleeping bag is better for the sleeping bag anyway. If you do the 'fold and roll' you tend to create a permanent crease where the stuffing will start thinning. When stuffing it in, you will never create a crease at the same location twice.
The newer ones seem to be called stuff bags, because the only way to get them in is to stuff them in. Beautifully rolled won't work.
I was taught with the old sleeping bag bags, you had to roll them perfectly to fit them in the bag. My mum overcame this problem by sewing us larger bags, so on school camps I was always ready before everyone else. Now the ne sleeping bags, you can't roll them, you have to stuff them in or they won't fit.
I roll mine smaller than the bag by rolling it very tightly then it slides right in.
I like to cook, nothing is made of solid metal anymore. Everything is cheap plastic or it has a plastic handle that breaks in two seconds. I’ve bought probably three different potato mashers and various price points over the past five years and they all keep breaking, melting, or are impossible to clean.
Interesting.... I've had no problems finding entirely metal utensils.
I bought my mother a potato masher at an antique store. She still has a ridiculous number of pots, pans and utensils from her wedding...in 1962! She's got a jar opener that she bought that same year, in an antique shop. This kind of durability turned out to be self defeating, as no one ever needed to replace their Revere or Corning Ware
Shop at thrift stores for older kitchen items for this very reason. My potato masher is 40 years old and works way better than any "new" one.
Microsoft outlook- when I search for a word give me the MOST RECENT TIME THAT WORD WAS USED FIRST.
Oh Microsoft..I hate the taskbar in w11. It can't be moved to the side anymore, why? And why can't I choose small icons? And why when I search in the startmenu, it shows some Webb result first and not the application that is already installed on my PC? If I want to look something up on the internet, I'll start a browser. If I search in the startmenu, I want to only search in my PC.
I spent a couple of hours after installing 11 going through all sorts of settings, turning stuff off, altering the registry etc so that it would work how I wanted it to, not Microsoft.
Load More Replies...Err, OK, if that's what you want, but I doubt you'll find many other people wanting it as the default.
Idk it's what I want. I don't want to see emails from 8 years ago when I'm trying to find one from last month..
Load More Replies...The pour spout on my glass measuring cup. If I don’t take my time and pay attention half of the contents will land on the counter instead of where I want it.
And I have to handwash my Pyrex glass measuring cups because putting them in the dishwasher will eventually wear down the measurement paint. Didn't used to happen on the old ones.
I read that they stopped making them from borosilicate glass, so they are not as good as they used to be.
Load More Replies...Same with pitchers. Most waitstaff at restaurants that refill your water at the table will actually pour out of the side of the pitcher rather than risk the mess.
Those pitchers are designed for the spout to hold back the ice or you can use the edge to put ice along with the water.
Load More Replies...I always thrift old stuff that is made so much better than modern products!!
Example:: Ottoman-period cezve (those little handled pots that make Turkish coffee) NEVER dribble; every modern one I've tried does. Go figure.
Load More Replies...If you watch professional cooks, they will almost always pour so that the bottom of the cup is still above what they're pouring into. That is, they pour very close to the opposite side.
If you hold a spoon across the top of the measuring cup with the bowl of the spoon upside down over the spout, the liquid will pour where you want it to pour.
Took me two read to understand what i am supoosed to fo here. I am almost certaing trying all this will result it castastrophy for us that are clumsy.
Load More Replies...Doesn’t bother me now I’m used to it, but dad complains about the design of the thermos jug for my cuisinart grind and brew. He’s right, you have to turn the thing almost entirely upside down to pour coffee if the lid is on. Now I think about it, last cup/mug, I just take the lid off, still doesn’t bother me though as I rinse the jug out as soon as it’s empty in an attempt to minimize buildup.
My coffee pot same way. Sometines dribbles but I havent figured out why so i can prevent it.
Load More Replies...Had to get the gas cap on my car replaced, and the new one doesn't have that little strap holding it to the car. It's also a fraction of an inch too big to put into the hook on the cover. So now I just have to stand there, holding a gas cap while I wait.
One can rest it on the car...just remember to replace it before driving off.
Don't do it. Gasoline is not good for the outside of your car. Ask me how I know...
Load More Replies...One car I had (3 years old, bought used) had that little strap break in the first year I had it so I got to enjoy trying to not forget the cap. My current car doesn't even have a cap, just the door. If that's possible, why isn't every car like that?
Maintaining the pressure in the gas tank is important for the car. They moved a simple system that's easy to replace, a cap, to a complicated system that will cost an arm and a leg when it fails. I'm sure all cars will have this overcomplicated system before too long.
Load More Replies...My plastic string on the gas cap broke with no way to fix it, so now I have to remember to unscrew my gas cap and put it on the car while filling up.
That reddit share or award button i keep hitting with my thumb as I’m scrolling.
Almost everything on BP comes from Reddit. I prefer this format better though.
Load More Replies...I bought a package of disposable razors. The blades weren't covered and I sliced open one of my fingers. Sent the company a strongly worded email telling them I wouldn't be able to type the next day. Using only one hand, of course.
Most of these design fails happen because the people who design things don't actually use them and may not even understand what their intended purpose is. The poster who said that CEOs should be made to publically use the things their company sells is spot on.
Here's one I'm sure everyone can relate to: Buescher and Bundy alto saxes that have the high E key pass under the left-hand stack keys! You get the left hand keys installed (six of them on one rod, already annoying) and then you realize you have to take them all off again because you forgot the high E key
My washing machine beeps when it's done, and doesn't stop beeping until you push a button, even if you've already opened its door. I'm pretty sure that everyone who opens its door and starts taking the laundry out of it, is aware that the washing machine is done, you can stop beeping now.
Usually you can turn sounds off. It might be a "hidden" code - e.g. Open the door, set the program to 40°C, then press and hold hold the start button for 30 seconds and then dial your program k**b two clicks back.
Load More Replies...A sound design issue rather than other kinds of design: why is the sound of televised live sporting events (in the US, so primarily American football) so screwed up? The crowd noise is so loud that you cannot even hear the announcers who are calling the game! Not to mention how much louder commercials are than the TV program you are watching.
Do you just hate it when you buy a pair of scissors that are tie wrapped to the packaging and you need scissors to cut them off? 🙄 🙄
I bought a package of disposable razors. The blades weren't covered and I sliced open one of my fingers. Sent the company a strongly worded email telling them I wouldn't be able to type the next day. Using only one hand, of course.
Most of these design fails happen because the people who design things don't actually use them and may not even understand what their intended purpose is. The poster who said that CEOs should be made to publically use the things their company sells is spot on.
Here's one I'm sure everyone can relate to: Buescher and Bundy alto saxes that have the high E key pass under the left-hand stack keys! You get the left hand keys installed (six of them on one rod, already annoying) and then you realize you have to take them all off again because you forgot the high E key
My washing machine beeps when it's done, and doesn't stop beeping until you push a button, even if you've already opened its door. I'm pretty sure that everyone who opens its door and starts taking the laundry out of it, is aware that the washing machine is done, you can stop beeping now.
Usually you can turn sounds off. It might be a "hidden" code - e.g. Open the door, set the program to 40°C, then press and hold hold the start button for 30 seconds and then dial your program k**b two clicks back.
Load More Replies...A sound design issue rather than other kinds of design: why is the sound of televised live sporting events (in the US, so primarily American football) so screwed up? The crowd noise is so loud that you cannot even hear the announcers who are calling the game! Not to mention how much louder commercials are than the TV program you are watching.
Do you just hate it when you buy a pair of scissors that are tie wrapped to the packaging and you need scissors to cut them off? 🙄 🙄
