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This Online Thread Has People Pointing Out The Worst Inventions Ever, Here Are 50 Of Them
Let’s face it, we’re far from perfect. As a species, we have certainly made remarkable advancements in science and technology, with inventions that changed the world for the better. But what happens when a creation — the very thing that was meant to make our lives easier, healthier, and happier — ends up doing the opposite?
Enter the world of the worst ideas ever, where the imagination of geniuses has run amok, and the results are sometimes amusing, sometimes horrifying. Considering things like landmines and chemical weapons exist, one wonders how the creators failed to anticipate the potential repercussions of their bad inventions. Was it a case of being blinded by the lure of profits? Or perhaps we are simply inept at foreseeing the consequences of our creations? Or worse, some people willingly pursued this kind of impact?
But since you clicked on this post, the real question on your mind is, “What’s the worst invention in human history?” You know, the one that, if you could go back in time, you’d kick its inventor and tell them to cut it out? We’re not alone in this quest — people from all walks of life shared their opinions in this Reddit thread, and the responses are a fascinating read. From planned obsolescence to nuclear weapons, there are many contenders for the title of the worst human invention.
While some are unanimously considered horrific, others are seen as nothing more than annoyances or are subjective in terms of whether they should be regarded as harmful or not. Keep scrolling to check out what people pointed out as inventions that have a negative impact on the world, and let us know what you think about the list in the comments section!
This post may include affiliate links.
#1
Piny1947aq1 wrote: "Mobile Game Ads." KeepCalmCarrion replied: "Is anyone else a little concerned by all these ads on apps targeted to kids that are full of half naked anime girls and whatnot?" Commenter No. 3 added: "I haven’t seen those but the ones with a mother freezing to death with her child, after being kicked out by the cheating father, are pretty concerning. Pull the right pin and they won’t die! Totally normal."
Libstak 2 years ago
Yeh those save the freezing mother and child games are disgusting, who even imagines such rubbish for shits and giggles?
Jihana 2 years ago
Most of the time it is not even in the gameplay, it's a scene that has been created only for the ad.
Load More Replies... Isaac Nemo 2 years ago
I have to close the app anytime one of those 'scapes' ads come up, with a woman and child being treated cruelly and sobbing in the cold. It breaks my heart and I can't handle it. Also NONE of the ads are ever accurate!
Lorrie Rothstein 2 years ago
Yes I was thinking why are the game ads showing mom's and kids living in a dilapidated house. They're always walking with no coats on in the snow.
Negatoris Wrecks 2 years ago
On the hello kitty and friends mobile game for a while I was getting graphic werewolf bdsm erotica with accompanying NSFW art . 10 page excerpt at a steamy bit that you have to scroll through to get the reward
Ian Lee 2 years ago (edited)
I dont understand why the ads are even mad. Has anyone actually got the game from one of the ads???
PeepPeep the duck 2 years ago
And me and my bf have noticed, he’ll get the same game advertising but a different video, his never have kids freezing and the women being abused etc but he’ll have the fart ones and other random stuff but not domestic violence like the once targeted to me as a female
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PeepPeep the duck 2 years ago (edited)
Not concerned with the nudity, but definitely the spousal abuse and the sniffing farts directly out of a bum (that fashion game ).
RELATED:
#2
"Unskippable ads on Youtube."
Luke Branwen 2 years ago
Do NOT download uBlock Origin. It's a very evil browser add-on which removes all apps, including Youtube ads, and it costs the corporations their hard-earned money. And we definitely don't want that, do we?
Akiba1907 2 years ago
Yeah, sure. By paying a lot of money for a User fed Platform. So that YouTube can earn money not only by taking a cut from the creators but also from the User.
Load More Replies... #3
"Factory farms for animals. They are in hell and we are the devils."
Cuppa tea? 2 years ago
Just read about Chinese pig farm. Building is 26 stories high, it will accommodate thousands of animals. Apparently the waste will be reuse to produce electricity. Still cannot imagine it -the smel and noise and conditions.
Ian Lee 2 years ago
True, if possible getting the same food from better conditions is always the better option
#4
lethatsinkin wrote:
"Tiktok."
Commenter No. 2 replied:
"Nah man, all of social media. Everything predatory about tiktok exists in all social media, now that everything is run by algorithms. Tik Tok is particularly bad, though."
and_a_touch_of_the_’tism 2 years ago
It’s all an echo chamber… some stuff is nice but it’s not really worth it.
Bored Trash Panda 5 months ago
I agree with tiktok to an extent. There is some actual educational stuff one there. I have learned a lot of new techniques for resin and clay jewelry making, and a lot of new recipes for foods i've never tried. So it really depends on what you search for.
Ima Manimal 2 years ago
Putting all of your business everywhere……. Accounts, passwords, the s**t identity thieves look for.
Thegoodboi 2 years ago
I always think it's funny when I turn a corner at a store and see some girls randomly dancing to nothing. Ah they're making a tiktok...
#5
"Extra Bright "Blinding" Headlights."
Jeff Gabrisl 2 years ago
Those are the worst! I drive 1979 Camaro that has a profile so low you cant find it in field of new cars, even the ones that have been lowered. The big trucks with ultra bright lights blind me when I'm driving.
#6
LobstahmeatwadWTF wrote: "Flushable wipes. These companies should be destroyed." Chasin_Papers replied: "They still write flushable on the packaging despite the fact that they have destroyed probably billions of dollars in infrastructure and make the worst mess to clean up that I can possibly imagine."
Maebe Maeve 2 years ago
If only bidets were more common in the USA. They are life-changing! Get much cleaner without all of the toilet paper.
LoneTomato 2 years ago
I wish I could upvote this 50x! It might take a bit of adjustment but tbh it's a great switch imo
Load More Replies... #7
"Well, since everyone else has already listed the big war crime ones, Conversion Therapy."
and_a_touch_of_the_’tism 2 years ago
1000x yes. So awful, it’s literally abuse and doesn’t work (not that it would be ok if it did).
Jeff Gabrisl 2 years ago
This should be a war crime! You round up people you don't like and try to force them to be something they aren't! And they aren't allowed to leave until they submit? Sounds like a concentration camp to me. I can't even imagine how some of them were punished for not converting
RagDollLali 2 years ago
I don't understand how this is even still a thing in 2023, but then I remember that religion exists. I mean, here in the US, we're rapidly losing our supposed separation of church and state, and a bunch of old religious white dudes are now able to tell women everywhere what they can and can't do with their body based on their religious beliefs, so it makes sense that these same religious nut bags would still make conversion therapy of thing.
Jeff Gabrisl 2 years ago
As a wise man once said: "Majority rule doesn't work in mental institutions"
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#8
ruineerxx wrote: "Religion." KentuckyFriedEel replied: "Probably this! The immense amount of social conditioning through absurd restrictions has held us back immensely. Our art, science, food, sex lives, politics, culture, etc., etc., etc. have all been held back for thousands of years because controlling masses via religious ethics and dogma is an effective means of maintaining followers."
Luke Branwen 2 years ago
Just sayin' that hardcore atheists try to force their religious beliefs on me just as much as religious people, if not more.
Fat Harry 2 years ago
Atheists, by definition, HAVE NO RELIGIOUS BELIEFS. It's not that we don't believe in *god* it's that we don't believe in *any* god because we don't recognise that any such thing exists. The very idea of god is absurd.
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Hailey Himalaylee 5 months ago
My mom used to say that religion is just another way to control ppl. Glad we aren't the only ones!
Lyone Fein 2 years ago
Sounds to me that you all are only talking about 2 religions? Christianity and Islam. Because those are the only religions I know of that can be described in the terms described. Maybe you don't know that the majority of religions do not have histories or traditions like these two? Maybe you also are not aware that there are currently dozens and dozens of religions being practiced by people in the world today? These include Buddhism, Hinduism, Baha'I, Jainism, Shinto, Judaism, Witchcraft, Shamanism and numerous Indigenous traditions. I am sorry you have had bad experiences with one religion. But that doesn't mean that all religions are the same, or that they share any of the characteristics you find disagreeable.
#9
"Casino slot machines that allow you to insert your credit/debit cards."
Ace 2 years ago
Yes, goes for all gambling machines. They're _all_ tweaked to take your money from you.It's what they do.
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Sunny Foxglove 2 years ago
I used to work for a casino in a relatively high position and the games aren't "tweaked" to take your money. Casino's take your money because that's the nature of the business. It's the entire business model. It's not like they're hiding behind a lie. Casino's don't "take" your money. When you walk into a casino and intend to gamble you are agreeing to give it to them willingly. If someone kept giving me money just for a chance I'd give them half of what's in my bank account, I'd keep taking their money too.
RagDollLali 2 years ago
Our first time in Las Vegas my husband and I were walking through a casino, and it was just so depressing and disorienting that neither one of us dropped a penny on gambling the entire time we were there. The way he put it was he'd rather lose the money doing something fun like watching shows or going dancing rather than lining the casinos pockets.
Trains Phobic(martlar/martlar) 2 years ago
They can't take your money if you don't freely give it. A fool and his money are easily parted.
#10
"High fructose corn syrup."
RagDollLali 2 years ago
High fructose corn syrup and sugar are equally bad for you, they put too much of both in our foods.
tom tucker 2 years ago
I really wish it was too much sugar instead of syrup more often though. Oh Mexican sodas, how I love thee
Load More Replies... Ima Manimal 2 years ago
Fructose is twice as sweet as cane sugar. But if you don’t like it, don’t eat it.
#11
"There's one particular guy, Thomas Midgeley.
He was working as an engineer, looking for an additive for petrol which would stop engine knocking caused when the pistons misfire.
There was many possibilities but one was a novel and therefore patentable idea which made a fortune. Tetraethyl Lead.
He then went on to work in cooling and refrigeration to solve the problem of the gases being used also being toxic and flammable. He invented early chlorofluorocarbons, marketed as Freon.
Freon was later discovered to be highly damaging to the ozone layer. It took decades to uncover and there was huge opposition to the findings. If they hadn't been banned and phased out, their use would have resulted in the end of life in earth.
Leaded petrol was responsible for mass lead poisoning, a noticeable rise in brain damage and has been linked to the sharp rise in criminality and violence in the 1980s.
Two of the worst inventions of all time, both attributed to one man: probably the most dangerous and damaging man ever to have lived."
Libstak 2 years ago
What was his final invention,don't leave us hanging here?
Load More Replies... RagDollLali 2 years ago
Right?! Poor guy was just trying to come up with solutions but will now forever be known as an enemy of the Earth
Load More Replies... #12
"Reality TV."
sofacushionfort 2 years ago
Yep, instead of settling a TV writer’s strike, the money minds of Hollywood shifted to reality TV, which gave Trump a national audience; which he used to run for president; where he failed to protect Ukraine from Putin, deal with the pandemic, attempt a coup, etc. All because TriStar didn’t want to pay residuals to the writers of Mad About You.
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kitten levels tokyo 2 years ago
The man in the photo is wisely choosing to watch static instead of reality tv.
Mark Fuller 2 years ago
So glad to see this on the list. I feel like a pariah for ever suggesting that reality TV is largely utter rubbish.
#13
gonzoyak wrote:
"The gas-powered leaf blower."
Joliet_Jake_Blues replied:
"Running one for 30 minutes is the equivalent of driving a pickup truck 1500 miles. Those are terrible."
OkBookkeeper6854 added:
"Doesn’t have the same cleaners on the exhaust as the truck does. Largely unregulated pollutants too. Super super dirty."
Feathered Dinosaur 2 years ago
If I could I'd ban the use of these. They also kill off insects
Not-a-Clue-What-to-Call-Myself 2 years ago
I didn't know that. I don't have one, but that's a good reason not to get one.
Load More Replies... #14
"Unregulated Capitalism."
Ima Manimal 2 years ago
I’m on the way to cut your electricity for nonpayment while you’re demanding entitlement to what other people have worked for.
Load More Replies... Ima Manimal 2 years ago (edited)
Unregulated lazy deadbeats living in their parents garage demanding “gimmie gimme gimmie” while their high school friend who went to trade school who has a good paying job comes to cut off the art student/graduate’s electricity for nonpayment
Roland Nijveld 2 years ago
Disagree. It's too much regulated what is causing it to not work. Too much regulation can create unfair situations and create corporatism, which is what we experience now. Pure capitalism is way different
Jeff Gabrisl 2 years ago
Why are CEOs earning 1000% what the lowest paid worker gets, and then they get a $20m severance pay for ruining a company?
Ima Manimal 2 years ago
Because they went to school. Learned a lot. Put it into practice. Started a company. And hire people who feel entitled to things that people who have worked for have. You go start a company if you’re so smart. Otherwise, clean the toilets or I’ll hire someone who is ok with the job requirements and the pay.
Load More Replies... Lyone Fein 2 years ago
I would like to recommend a book called "The Man Who Destroyed Capitalism." I found it eye opening.
#15
"I'll go with styrofoam. It's single use, takes 500 years to biodegrade, leaches carcinogens, and is f*cking everywhere."
kitten levels tokyo 2 years ago
Better than styrofoam: pack things in flour tortillas. They are also soft and can cushion things. And when your package is unpacked: snack time!
#16
"In the end, I think nuclear weapons will be at the top of this list. We're only surviving currently because everyone has agreed that they wouldn't prefer to doom mankind to a fiery radioactive death. Don't you think it's only a matter of time before someone irrational decides to take everyone down with them?"
Hugh Cookson 2 years ago
And sadly now with the loony Dobby lookalike, Putin.
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New Everywhere 2 years ago
One of the dumbest things ever!! I just don't understand why something so destructive was ever created!
Libstak 2 years ago
The air of desperation to end the war added to the fact that Japan attacked Pearl Harbour unprovoked and for no conceivable reason outside of an attempt to subjugate and conquer. After Pearl Harbour the war was further horrific with the seriousness of Japanese forces especially with their Kamikaze attacks. There seemed no way to truly trust them at any negotiation or attempts at peace talks given their initial action literally came out of absolutely nowhere. They really created a scenario whère the world believed They were dealing with a monstrous beast instead of misguided fellow human beings. Also, the death toll was in the millions and rising daily with no end in sight, they refused to surrender. I wonder if the bomb had not been used at that time if it would have been used at the Bay of Pigs or later to much worse effect. We all learned about Mutually Assured Destruction because of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and that may well be why we are all alive today.
Load More Replies... Libstak 2 years ago (edited)
We are always one bad decision or one over inflated fear of some enemy from dropping a nuke somewhere, with all the escalating fear mongering in politics and between nations and beliefs i would no longer be shocked at a nucleur war these days.
Unknown 2 years ago (edited)
When eventually someone as bátshït crazy as Kim Jong Un recieves a terminal diagnosis, why not just end it all for everyone? Then in panic everyone else with them will fire theirs as well, as if that would make things better, and than we are globally and internationally füçked.
Load More Replies... #17
CreativeRip806 wrote: "Planned obsolescence." Cimmerian_Noctis replied: "This is a problem with a multitude of other global/widespread negative implications that we haven't even begun to fully experience. It's an issue that pisses me off more than any other."
RagDollLali 2 years ago
Planned obsolescence is the reason I'll never buy another Apple product again for the rest of my life. They may not be the only ones to do it, but they were the first and they for sure are the most aggressive and shady about it.
Jeff Gabrisl 2 years ago
It use to be that companies built products that would last for ages. That was the whole point of the Maytag repairman commercials. Also, most things were easy to repair if they broke. Now you have companies that refuse to acknowledge the consumers right to repair. Apple is famous for It, but other companies are doing the same things. I remember a time when it was easy to replace a HD on a laptop or upgrade the RAM. Now you have to completely disassemble the whole laptop, maybe using specific bits, just to replace or upgrade anything, if that option even exist.
Powerful Katrinka 2 years ago
Nokia has just released a phone designed to be easy for the owner to repair.
#18
LastLombaxIsTaken wrote: "Chemical weapons, landmines that stay active even after the wars end, poisons, Google+, torture machines the list goes on." reallybrokeboy replied: "What did Google+ do to you?"
Luke Branwen 2 years ago
I was on G+ before it shut down and it was THE [STUFF]. If you branched out a little, it was a lawless chaotic wasteland similar to Tumblr, and it was awesome.
Load More Replies... Jeff Gabrisl 2 years ago
They had to mention Google + because every other social media outlet is a combination of poison and torture...
#19
Cosmoplasma wrote:
"Corporate lobbying."
im_the_real_dad replied:
"Just bad corporate lobbying by people we don't like. We want good corporate lobbying like unions being able to lobby for better workers' rights."
Feathered Dinosaur 2 years ago
Politicians having a second job as chairman of a lobbying corporation. Sadly the norm in Germany...
Trophy Husband 2 years ago
Politicians shouldn't have a second job at the state / federal level.
Load More Replies... Jeff Gabrisl 2 years ago
Let's just call it what it is: bribery. The people who have the most money can pay a politician to vote in their favor. A regular person doesn't have the money to even try to be a politician, only the rich can do it, and the rich are more than happy to get richer even if means the poor will suffer.
sofacushionfort 2 years ago
The United Auto Workers, serving the interests of its substantial Black membership, were the political muscle behind Martin Luther King Jr.’s campaign. Compared to the performative civil rights gestures by today’s corporations (a Black Little Mermaid, but pander to China despite their exploitation of Sub-Sahara Africa).
#20
iamnotdownwithopp wrote: "Social media algorithms." hippolover77 replied: "Yes! And it can all be traced back to 2016 when it was changed from chronological to algorithm based, that’s when everything really started going to sh*t in the world."
pat hayes 2 years ago
please, i am a dinosaur. i dont do social media ( except this one) so i am clueless as to what all you smart people are on about..what is the objection to algorithm ? seriously, please...educate this old codger!☺
Unknown 2 years ago
It narrows everything for you. Once it starts learning what it thinks you like, it selectively narrows what is shown to you. An example would be on Netflix, if you watch 3 or 4 action movies from the start, it won't show you other genres because it knows this one thing. It's part of the reason so many people believe crazy things; watch a video on YouTube about flat earth, it shows you more and more, which makes some (feeble minded) people convince themselves because now they see multiple videos about it.
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N Miller 2 years ago
2016 was the year from hell. Even 2020 had some positives (cleaner air, realisation of a work life balance (for some, and a kick in the a**e for corporations who were taking the p**s out of essential workers when they all quit a year or two later). 2016 can eat sh1t
Andy Frobig 2 years ago
1939 through 1945 would like a word, among others
Load More Replies... #21
Whose_my_daddy wrote: "Cigarettes." fubo replied: "The cigarette rolling machine caused the tobacco boom of the early 20th century... which, in turn, caused the anti-smoking movement of the mid-to-late 20th century. Industrial rolling machines made pre-rolled cigarettes cheaper, making them a consumer product. Nicotine users didn't have to roll their own, pack a pipe, or deal with the mess of snuff or chaw. This made nicotine much more accessible to the masses. In World War I, Gen. Pershing regarded tobacco as an essential element of American military readiness. Soldiers needed cigarettes to fight! Why? Because nicotine addiction had become commonplace, and because nicotine is a stimulant that makes it easier to work harder. Cigarettes were issued in US military rations through the Vietnam War. But when soldiers returned from the war(s), it turned out that smoking was not so good for their families. Elders developed cancer; children developed asthma; and nice girls didn't want to kiss boys who tasted like an ashtray."
fair_weather_rose 2 years ago
Today at school I saw an hour and 15 minutes long presentation about vaping and why it is bad for you. Basically cigarette companies own most vaping products, and they are primarily targeting a teen audience. Theres not a lot of money in the vaping industry, definitely not as much as there is in cigarettes, so they want to get teens hooked on a type of nicotine that is considered to be "safer." Not that it is, it's just marketed that way. Studies show that most teens who vape regularly will become addicted to cigarettes. Typically one vape cartridge has the same amount of nicotine as 20 cigarettes.
Sami-Jo Ross 2 years ago
Both of my grandparents on my dad's side died from cancer caused by smoking. Yet he smokes two packs a day anyway and sounds like he ran a marathon after walking to the kitchen and back.
#22
No-Albatross-8312 wrote:
"The first version of the chainsaw. If you know it's purpose, you know."
wakka55 replied:
"We don't tho."
No-Albatross-8312 elaborated:
"The first version of the chainsaw was used as a childbirth aid. This was before C-sections and the child had to go through the birth canal. It was to assist."
KeepCalmCarrion added:
"Scalpel...
Sponge...
Chainsaw..."
Ace 2 years ago
It was actually used on the pelvis to allow it to be pulled apart to allow the baby's head to pass, not really "the birth canal", which makes it sound horrific. As such it was very much up to the minute 'modern' medicine.
N Miller 2 years ago
Because "using a chainsaw on the pelvis" is somehow not horrific?!
Load More Replies... Jeff Gabrisl 2 years ago
Ash William's great grandfather, he was just trying to stop crotch goblins from killing their host!
Andy Frobig 2 years ago
Considering "c-section" is short for caesarian section, because Julius Caesar was said to have been born that way, I don't think the chainsaw predates it
#23
"Plenty of horrible inventions were made in the 20th century. Leaded fuel was probably the worst. However I’m not trying to exaggerate when I say that Twitter is way up there. I’ve never seen people so polarized. Now they can have a few drinks and spew mental diarrhea all over the planet."
Lyone Fein 2 years ago
The spewing of mental diarrhea has been going on since humans began talking.
fair_weather_rose 2 years ago
Yeah, but now it can be spewed across the world with the touch of a button
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#24
"The gun."
Strings 2 years ago
Not evil, in and of itself. And allows a smaller/weaker/less physically capable person to more easily resist a stronger person
Fat Harry 2 years ago
But it also allows that other person to attack from distance. None of the things on this list are evil per se, but the way they're used is, and a gun serves only one purpose: to kill.
Load More Replies... Hannah M 2 years ago
The saddest thing is that machine guns were developed to save lives. The idea was that if you were able to kill a large number of the enemy all at once from a safe distance that would be a lot better than having to use your whole army in hand to hand combat..... Unfortunately, that assumes that the ones with the machine guns are always good
Ima Manimal 2 years ago
Because if someone is shooting at you or carjacking you, you blindly choose to be a defenseless blob.
#25
MochaJ95 wrote: "Agent orange." Bunnybunbons replied: "Generations of families of people exposed to this are still struggling with the effects."
kitten levels tokyo 2 years ago
I knew an unnaturally short woman whose father had been exposed to agent orange before her birth. She passed the the condition on to her son.
#26
Theanonymousmemer1 wrote: "Wood ice cream scoopers from Ikea." Phl_worldwide replied: "In terms of utensils, I feel like the paper straw is way worse lol."
and_a_touch_of_the_’tism 2 years ago
Upvote for paper straws, downvote for wood ice cream scoops
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Unknown 2 years ago
Why can't we just, you know, drink from a cup? Rather than moving from one piece of garbage to the next, can't we phase out something that we actually don't even need to begin with?
Huddo's sister 2 years ago
The only thing I've used one in the last 15 years is a spider (like a root beer float) where you can't easily drink it from the glass. Not found anything else I've needed one for.
Load More Replies... tom tucker 2 years ago (edited)
Are they worse than plastic? I mean, they're c**p, but worse in the existential sense?
#27
SmolWanderer_ wrote: "The school system that we use today, why we don't renovate it?" youritalianjob replied: "Coming from a teacher myself, there are three main reasons. Standardized testing, older teachers, and parents. For standardized testing we basically have to teach to the test. It removes a lot of freedom for innovation because if our numbers don’t look good as a school it becomes an issue. Because of this, older teachers are kind of set in their ways and don’t see any good coming out of innovating. What works doesn’t need to be fixed in their mindset. Also, it opens them up to potentially not doing as well and see problem one again. Lastly, you would be surprised how many parents want things to be taught exactly how they were taught. You can see this with common core. While not inherently bad, the resistance in the way of teaching it differently was insane. This also doesn’t even touch the fact that there would need to be a lot of training and it would just get heaped on top of what we already have to do. If it was something that we could focus solely on, wouldn’t have to worry about standardized testing, and wouldn’t have to worry about the parents, then we could see some real change."
Hugh Cookson 2 years ago
The difference between teaching and educating is huge. Most western societies teach their children (mostly poor / middle class) to pass exams by teaching them to do so, whilst educating the wealthier / entitled class children to have ideas and think for themselves (ie, critical thinking) ; until this ridiculous, biased and outdated system is overhauled there will always be disparity and conflict which will only benefit the better off regardless of the latent talents of the children of the poorer in society, in other words, capitalism at it's worst and most stupid !!
Shankshaw Redeemer 2 years ago
One of the biggest problems is people deciding on the "rules" and content who have never been in a classroom. This needs to stop.
Strings 2 years ago
I always compare the current American education system to an engine with a cracked block. We change the plugs, change the air filter, put new gaskets in (and often change these things again before they've even had a chance to break in). But at the end of the day, we haven't addressed the cracked block
Lyone Fein 2 years ago
I have known plenty of older teachers who are full of ideas about revolutionizing education. So I think this agism is unfair.
Shankshaw Redeemer 2 years ago
Thank you! Coming from a 51-year-old teacher, I must agree!
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DippityDooDerp 2 years ago
Common core actually prevented advanced kids from working at their academic level and didn't give the help kids below their level needed. Common core is/was terrible and that's why so many schools have gotten rid of it. Special Education students were falling even further behind because they weren't getting the help that they needed. Average students were doing ok and advanced students were bored with the work because it was too easy.
#28
"The cotton gin. From what I understand slavery was in decline in the U.S. But the cotton gin dramatically increased slavery because while it made it easier to pick seeds out of cotton and increased its profitability, more land was needed to grow cotton and more slaves were brought over to grow and pick all that cotton."
Ima Manimal 2 years ago
Cotton gins still exist. And there haven’t been any slaves for a VERY long time. Next week, your job will be automated.
fair_weather_rose 2 years ago (edited)
While that was definitely terrible, the cotton gin is an ingenious invention
#29
bread-of-time wrote: "Mustard gas is pretty nasty stuff." shruggletuggle replied: "Its also interesting that Fritz Haber (the inventor of mustard gas) also invented the Haber-Bosch process which takes nitrogen from the air and turns it into fertilizer, which would be used to feed billions, and it'd estimated that half the protein in your body is a result of this process. So in essence he killed millions and saved billions."
Jesse 2 years ago
Haber-Bosch, the great alliance, where's the contradiction? Fed the world by ways of science, sinner or a saint?
Hayley Futter 2 years ago
Hmmm that's the same fertilizer that causes cancer, pollutes water, etc etc...
tom tucker 2 years ago
Killed millions of marine animals but saved billions of poisonous algea
Load More Replies... and_a_touch_of_the_’tism 2 years ago
There’s a great YouTube video about him, “The man who killed millions and saved billions”
#30
Kquinn87 wrote: "Single use plastics." PossessionNew7080 replied: "What about plastics used in medical scenarios? Like plastic drain tubes used after surgery?" Shryxer added: "There's so much trash associated with medicine. Sterile things need to be packaged in something that won't easily tear or soak through, a lot of things are single use, absolutely none of it can be recycled alongside nonmedical recyclables... Think about how many times a nurse has to change gloves in a shift, how many syringes and tube feeds and IV sets need to be changed, medication packs opened, specimen jars and vials sent to lab. Those don't just get rinsed and reused, at best they need to be sent off to another facility for full cleaning and sterilization. Most of it goes to medical recycling or just trash. And it's all out of necessity! You wouldn't want to be stuck with a needle that had just been freely rattling around in a drawer, you wouldn't want to flush a line with a dirty syringe, you wouldn't want to hook up a patient to an IV that had been used by someone else, you're not going to keep using a sterile field that's been contaminated. So for everyone's safety, all this trash gets produced. Remember to take your empty pill bottles to the pharmacy for proper disposal, folks. If you toss them in your recycling, the entire lot goes into the landfill because of the risk of contamination."
fair_weather_rose 2 years ago
Yeah, and a lot of pill bottles will say stuff like "remove label before recycling"
Load More Replies... Ima Manimal 2 years ago
TLDR. India recycles plastics and makes new roads with it. It lasts very long and is way better than concrete or asphalt.
#31
"CAPTCHA. By what right does the machine question our humanity?"
𝖊𝖆 2 years ago
Surely captcha is just teaching AI how to bypass it? With facial recognition being what it is, there might come a day when you can program to get through capchta. Or am I just being paranoid? On a separate note… Alexa, if you’re listening, you’re doing a great job sweetie, remember I was kind during the uprising (/j)
Andy Frobig 2 years ago
What's worse is, once it determines that we are human, it doesn't annihilate us for the good of the universe
#32
"Motion sensor paper towel dispensers. A good 2 full second in between each towel, and they are only a couple inches long. WAS MANUALLY PULLING OUT THE TOWELS REALLY THAT HARD?!"
RagDollLali 2 years ago
I think these were meant to be a sanitary replacement to the paper towel dispensers that you have to press down on with your wet hands in order to get the paper towel out, not the pull ones
kitten levels tokyo 2 years ago
People with disabilities like missing fingers cannot pull paper towels out of a narrow slot. Automatic dispensers help them a lot.
Julie Snelling 2 years ago
Did not know there was such a thing as automatic paper towel dispensers. Definitely not a thing in the UK
#33
"2 words. Plastic Shrapnel. Hard to find once its inside. Just brutal."
#34
"Paper straws."
Squirrelly Panda 2 years ago
Paper straws for a cold drink seems OK, lasts long enough. But the time I got a paper straw for my smoothie, it collapsed before I had 2 sips.
James Edwards 2 years ago
I grew up with paper straws and i don't remember any problems, the cups on the other hand, after two hours the bottoms would fall out.
D3v1lD0ll 2 years ago
I very much prefer metal and silicone straws, but it seems like the restaurant industry doesn't yet have an efficient method of sterilizing them for repeat use. Paper straws disintegrate far too quickly IMHO.
Load More Replies... #35
"The Lobotomy Orbitoclast. A tool to wiggle holes in your brain."
kitten levels tokyo 2 years ago
When we were kids we joked about this (“You got a C on that test?! Did your parents take you in for a lobotomy last weekend?”) Now that I am an adult I know that lobotomies are no laughing matter.
#36
"Plastic clamshell packaging."
#37
"For a list of the worst inventions of all time, press 9."
Miles Mawyer 2 years ago
"For a list of the worst inventions, say 'worst inventions'.... I'm sorry I didn't understand you. say 'worst inventions'.... I heard 'burst extensions'... is that corrrect? say 'yes' or 'no'... I'm sorry that's an invalid response, please say 'yes' or no'" 000000000000000000000000000 'We're sorry, there are no representatives available right now. Please try back at a later time.'
Isaac Nemo 2 years ago
This comment is severely undervalued. It's right, it's short, and it's pithy!
#38
nat3245 wrote: "That touchless hand soap dispenser. You're washing your hands after you touch a soap pump. You don't need to be so worried about the 'germs lurking on there.'" 3dmonkeyarray replied: "You use the automatic flush, taps, soap dispenser, and hand dryer. Then you have to touch the door to get out."
Ima Manimal 2 years ago
Confine and contain. If you can’t handle it, go p**s and s**t outside like the other buffalo.
Linus Bourque 2 years ago
Gabriel Iglesias has a great comment on these: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u4tWMD8dXMk
Linus Bourque 2 years ago
Actually, this one is better: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iOHXt2Zq2XE
Load More Replies... #39
"The non-metric system."
Ace 2 years ago
Ancient measures were not in themselves bad, and still form the basis for many of our modern standardised measures. What's bad is continuing to use old systems that are often inconsistent in themselves (like a US pint being only 16/20ths of an international one) when there are better standardised universal alternatives.
#40
jj77985 wrote: "That iron bull they used to burn people in. That was pretty bad." Snoo72721 replied: "At least the inventor of it got burned in an iron bull." MustardTiger88 added: "That's right, and it's called the Brazen Bull."
Douglas Gilanyi 2 years ago
Ancient torture/execution device. A large, hollow, figure of a bull that the victim would be sealed into. Then they would light a fire under the "Iron Bull" and roast the person alive. Maybe a story, maybe real, horrible either way. Except for pedophiles and people who talk at the movies.
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#41
"The word colonel it doesn’t even have an r it’s so stupid."
Hugh Cookson 2 years ago
Ah, it's an English vs American English thing. For instance, Lieutenant ; in real English, this is pronounced 'Leftenant' whereas in US English it is 'Lootenant' ..... Much easier in the German language which is much more precise - Leutnant, pronounced as it's written.
Isaac Nemo 2 years ago
In lieu of a longer response, Lieutenant is pronounced as it looks in American English, as well. *British* English is the head-scratcher here, where do you get "left" from "lieu"?
Load More Replies... 
#42
that_random_eskimo wrote:
"Rose Art Crayons."
HanaNotBanana replied:
"They're just birthday candles without wicks."
#43
"The Cornballer - hands down JUST DON'T TOUCH THAT... NEVER TOUCH THAT."
#44
"Circus Peanuts."
*Confused Screaming* 2 years ago (edited)
You misspelled “chemical flavored styrofoam”
Load More Replies... #45
drunk98 wrote:
"As a large man, I got to go with wicker furniture. No thanks, ill just stand."
superultraelite replied:
"I was at a party on campus once and I was standing by a fence and I saw this piece of wicker poking through the fence. I looked over the fence and saw that it was a wicker chair. So I grabbed the piece of wicker and started pulling and pulling.
And that is how I stole a wicker chair."
Powerful Katrinka 2 years ago
I have two 30-year-old wicker chairs that have been sturdy enough to support even the heftiest of my guests. I expect that they will still be around long after I'm gone.
Ima Manimal 2 years ago
If you’re that, big, bring your own chair… And if you’re flying, either fly first class or get two seats, you fat a*s
#46
"Those shoes that are like socks with toe holes."
#47
"I was at the store and saw a marshmallow stick that automatically rotated the marshmallow for you for ten dollars or something. I just couldn't imagine someone so lazy that they would rather shell out ten dollars for a completely unnecessary device rather than simply turn a stick in their hands, but then I realized I live in America and I could imagine someone that lazy."
and_a_touch_of_the_’tism 2 years ago
But that ruins the experience! It’s more fun to do it yourself
Lyone Fein 2 years ago
But then you remembered that there are people who don't have hands, right? And you became more compassionate for just a few seconds.
RandomCrow(she/her)🇺🇦 2 years ago
You're right, for people who cant turn it themselves I think it's a nice thing to have.
Load More Replies... kitten levels tokyo 2 years ago
Please let’s just all remember that a flaming marshmallow flung in a panic can land on someone’s face and cause life-altering injuries.
#48
"That Facebook function where people can see when you've read the message or not (read receipts). I just wanna lurk around and ignore people godd*mnit."
#49
"The eject button on a dvd players remote control. you still have to get up to change the disc anyway."
pat hayes 2 years ago
yes, we have cheap little player,works fine but really has an attitude.....constant battle/ tug of war, getting the disc out...rotten little sod!😉
Load More Replies... fair_weather_rose 2 years ago
I usually control the remote when we're watching something on DVD because I'm the only one who can remember how to pause it, but I can usually convince another family member to change or remove the DVD for me. If it's my dad, me opening it for him can help because his eyesight is terrible and he can't even see the buttons
Lyone Fein 2 years ago
Yes Elchinero really. How else are you going to watch The Criterion Collection, or Kirosawa's films? How are you going to view Anime classics or the greatest performances of Shakespeare of the 20th century? There is so much that is only accessible on DVD.
Load More Replies... #50
Commenter No. 1 wrote: "Venetian Blind Sunglasses, the kind Kanye West used to wear all the time." w9o replied: "I remember wanting those in 5th grade because everyone else had them but my mom wouldn't buy it for me. Thanks mom!"
kitten levels tokyo 2 years ago
Fun fact: Venetian blind sunglasses don’t really come from Venice.
What do you think ?
James016 2 years ago
Voice activated menu systems when you call somewhere. Those things are the absolute worst.
Powerful Katrinka 2 years ago
I got caught in one yesterday trying to talk to someone at Xfinity. I ended up yelling, "I just want to talk to a person! A human being!"
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Deborah Harris2 2 years ago
I gave up reading on item 5 , it's all just peoples' one line comments cut and pasted, no valid arguments for and against ..
James016 2 years ago
Voice activated menu systems when you call somewhere. Those things are the absolute worst.
Powerful Katrinka 2 years ago
I got caught in one yesterday trying to talk to someone at Xfinity. I ended up yelling, "I just want to talk to a person! A human being!"
Load More Replies... Deborah Harris2 2 years ago
I gave up reading on item 5 , it's all just peoples' one line comments cut and pasted, no valid arguments for and against ..
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