Our brains just love symmetry! So much so that when we see a fine example of things just falling nicely into place just as they should, it satisfies us deep within our souls.
Of course, when we encounter the opposite - the wonky, the askew, the lop-sided - it triggers a vague feeling of discomfort. This reaction is stronger in some than in others, but even those of us who would consider themselves chill about imperfections can get fixated on certain mistakes.
Can't understand what I mean? Well, as a follow up to previous efforts here and here, Bored Panda has collected another list of things that aren't quite right and are sure to set the alarm bells ringing. Scroll down below to check them out for yourself, and let us know how they made you feel in the comments!
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What The Actual Mother ******* **** Is This *******
So what lies behind this fascination with all things symmetrical? Well, according to an article in HowStuffWorks, it comes from the fact that most objects in the real world are symmetrical. "This is particularly true of nature: the radial symmetry of starfish or flower petals, the symmetrical efficiency of a hexagonal honeycomb, or the uniquely symmetrical crystal patterns of a snowflake," they write. "In fact asymmetry is often a sign of illness or danger in the natural world."
People Whose Desktops Look Like This
Preth Any Button
"And, of course, human beings are symmetrical, at least on the outside (some internal organs like the heart and liver are off-center). Decades of research into sexual attraction have proven that both men and women find symmetrical faces sexier than asymmetrical ones. The leading explanation is that physical symmetry is an outward sign of good health, although large-scale studies have shown no significant health differences in people with symmetrical or asymmetrical faces."
"The simple explanation for our attraction to symmetry is that it's familiar. Symmetrical objects and images play by the rules that our brains are programmed to recognize easily."
This Neighborhood I Saw On Google Maps Really Hits Me Hard
Well You're Not Wrong
In an essay called The Symmetrical Universe, Alan Lightman, American physicist, writer, and author of The Accidental Universe: The World You Thought You Knew, writes:
"Symmetry leads to economy, and nature, like human beings, seem to prefer economy. If we think of nature as a vast ongoing experiment, constantly trying out different possibilities of design, then those designs that cost the least energy or that require the fewest different parts to come together at the right time will take precedence, just as the principle of natural selection says that organisms with the best ability to survive will dominate over time."
How The **** Does This Happen?
It’s Like They Want Me To Have An Aneurysm
So try to relax whilst perusing this list - your sense of discomfort or even anger at the asymmetry of things is fully justified, and is an appropriate human reaction to these design outrages. Good symmetry is good organization and our brains are hardwired to appreciate that!
This Chandelier At A Restaurant I Ate At Bothers Me So Much
This Stove
this would drive me nuts. would end up only cooking half of my food...
That. One. Pole.
Someone Thought It Would Be Funny To Do This At The Corner Of Every Page Of This Notebook
This Teacher Doesn’t Erase The Board Fully And Continues To Use It
These Lights
Just Re-Pave The Damn Road At This Point
My Grandfather Doesn’t Peel The Plastic Off Of Anything And Won’t Let Me Peel It Off. I’m About To Have A Heart Attack
When You Play The Sims But Forget To Rotate
Meanwhile In Supermarket
The Way This Pizza Has Been Cut
Okay What The Hell
My Friend's New Front Door
Even worse the new door and the sidewalk don't line up. You would step wrong every time use went through the door.
911 - I'd Like To Report A Crime
that's a clue, in a find the treasure game. You can imagine that was more effort to insert that piece in that position than to place it perfectly
At My Closest Train Station. I Think I Need To Move
ON Is Red, OFF Is Green
why not one button for both? Where is the zero? What is FN? It gets worse the more you look at it!
My on is red and off is white. I had to hide it in the drawer and not use it. Ever.
On most pieces of industrial equipment, the off button is green because that indicates that machine will be in a 'safe' state (OFF), and the on button is red to indicate the machine is being put into a 'dangerous' state (ON). So basically, the red button indicates "be aware" and the green indicates "you're clear" to someone who can't read what the controls do.
I work in a highly technical industrial setting, and it's the same way for all the equipment start stop buttons and running/stopped indicating lights. I'll I can figure is someone colour blind f****d it up years ago and they've had to keep it that way for consistency. It drives me f*****g crazy.
There's a story about someone dying from this type of faux pas on a defibrillator.
You must've gotten this at a dollar store. That's where most f****d up stuff ends up. We just don't notice stuff like this until we get home to use it. hahaha!
One cannot just go against the laws of nature, you see, now we have chaos.
I have never understood why I press the button with the red phone to turn the phone on.
Actually, that makes sense. Red is associated with heat, with anger, with emotion, with action. Electricians talk about hot wires; politicians talk about hot buttons. Red is a good choice for a button that makes something happen. At the same time, the symbols for ON and OFF on many electrical devices always seem silly to me. The ON symbol is a short straight line, like a dash, and the OFF is a circle. But the circle is more appropriate for ON, since turning the device on completes a circuit. Nagawa makes a good point. No 0 means you have to go straight from 9 to 11. Reminiscent of superstitious builders who used to omit 13 from elevator buttons, going from 12 to 14.
I lived in a rental house that had the water lines switched in the kitchen. Literally - blue on the (left) should be the hot faucet & red on the (right) which should be cold. So, not only were the lines wrong - the faucet labels were switched as well. Yeah, try teaching a 4 year old how to use the freaking sink without causing 3rd degree burns. When I pointed it out to the owner, she looked at me with a completely blank stare.
Should be one tap for both where is that house in? stone age?
Load More Replies...That’s like Dayquil is red and Nyquil is green, and they come in double packs of one each and I can never remember which. Shouldn’t the one you can take and stay up, be green?!?
My work (a university) gym is like that. You swipe your ID and the light turns red to open the door and green if you do not have access. The entire university is the opposite.
Actually, it makes sense. RED signals danger and activity (color of blood, it's hardcoded in our brains). GREEN signals safety and calmness (color of leaves).
But red signals stop in our brains so it makes no sense!
Load More Replies...I Was High In The Road And Was Not Sure If It Was The Weed Or Not So I Took A Picture For Later
You Had One Job
This Building Where Nothing Lines Up
Looked Down During My Shower Today. Can’t Unsee It Now
I'm Literally Screaming Inside
Finished Laying The Bricks, Boss
Did they literally just throw it on the wall and see what stick.
Not Only Is The First Light Different, The Last Light's Fixture Is Upside Down
Why Write The ‘S’ Like That? The More I Read It, The More It Mildly Infuriates Me
The Way My Mom Watches TV With Things Obscuring The Screen
How These Pipes Were Installed
Askew Angles
Cut It Wrong. I Think They
I Am Forced To Look At This Every Time I Get Up
I Put The Manhole Cover Back, Boss
But How?
Found This In Louisiana
Doesn't suprise me. I lived in LA for a year and people there are not very bright.
Why Not "Intense Raspberry"?
YOu have to know your european chocolate history ^^ The brand "Intense Raspberry" is the property of "Côte d'Or" who is the belgian equivalent of "Lindt" who is Swiss :p Thanks for listening.
This Apartment Building
If I Could Not See Them At The Same Time I Would Not Care
The Door On This House
Why?
This Stripe On My Friend's Car
Why?
Well Done
If this is a manhole cover like the other one, can't it just be pulled back up and put down correctly?
I'm Just Gonna Leave That Here
Do I Even Have To Say Anything
Horrible Cut-Out
Note: this post originally had 128 images. It’s been shortened to the top 50 images based on user votes.
Me too! ... or maybe I am just a masochist who likes to view aggravating pictures of stupidity.
Load More Replies...It's an absolute nightmare trying to find replies to comments now as it just sends us down here so it hardly seems worth it to search back through over a hundred posts.
I'm waiting on approval on a post asking BP to fix this. We'll see if it works.
Load More Replies...Most of these construction projects look like they hired me to do them.
Why did they change the title to "slightly annoying"? Those were actually super annoying!
quietly sobs in a corner rocking back and forth, so entirely triggered
yes, at least 4 twitches, 5 groans and the rest are urges to put my hands through the screen and turn those mislaid tiles/manhole covers around to where I can relax again.
Most of these pictures evidence laziness, stupidity and incompetence of the designers or workers. As evidenced in one of the pictures: "No job is too simple that it cannot be done wrong" !
Im glad i they dont bother me. But Im kind of a slob.
Load More Replies...I have it when people call 'someone they know' to do work around the house (usually family), because something is bound to go wrong and you can't say a thing so you don't ruin family relationships. Long story short, my mother-in-law's uncle (!) layed tiles in my husband's flat, I wanted to hire a proper contractor, but nooooo, why bother when the abovementioned person can do the job. I can put pictures in 2 days (away from home atm), but trust me, that is going to haunt me for the rest of my life (or marriage lol).
This post just goes to show that people have no pride in their work anymore - they just could not be bothered. Unfortunately there are more of them than those of us who do care and give a fly....g f.....
Me too! ... or maybe I am just a masochist who likes to view aggravating pictures of stupidity.
Load More Replies...It's an absolute nightmare trying to find replies to comments now as it just sends us down here so it hardly seems worth it to search back through over a hundred posts.
I'm waiting on approval on a post asking BP to fix this. We'll see if it works.
Load More Replies...Most of these construction projects look like they hired me to do them.
Why did they change the title to "slightly annoying"? Those were actually super annoying!
quietly sobs in a corner rocking back and forth, so entirely triggered
yes, at least 4 twitches, 5 groans and the rest are urges to put my hands through the screen and turn those mislaid tiles/manhole covers around to where I can relax again.
Most of these pictures evidence laziness, stupidity and incompetence of the designers or workers. As evidenced in one of the pictures: "No job is too simple that it cannot be done wrong" !
Im glad i they dont bother me. But Im kind of a slob.
Load More Replies...I have it when people call 'someone they know' to do work around the house (usually family), because something is bound to go wrong and you can't say a thing so you don't ruin family relationships. Long story short, my mother-in-law's uncle (!) layed tiles in my husband's flat, I wanted to hire a proper contractor, but nooooo, why bother when the abovementioned person can do the job. I can put pictures in 2 days (away from home atm), but trust me, that is going to haunt me for the rest of my life (or marriage lol).
This post just goes to show that people have no pride in their work anymore - they just could not be bothered. Unfortunately there are more of them than those of us who do care and give a fly....g f.....