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People Share The Biggest Design Flaws In Popular Products

This just ain't working kids!

Some products are in dire need of upgrades. We upgrade our technologies every five seconds, it seems rational to believe that a new design on a mayo bottle or some easier way to coordinate the driving experience is an easy given. But apparently taking even our most used and popular products into the future... or at least catching up to the present, is more arduous than one imagines.

Redditor u/loztriforce wanted to know what products have made some errors in the rollout by asking.....

What are the biggest design flaws of popular products?


The King.

Giphy

Mattresses need to be like 6 inches longer. overandunder_86

California King is your answer. If you have the room. overandunder_86

gender pocket inequality....

No or small pockets in women's jeans. Give us the damn pockets. tinyclumsyhands

It's to give you the illusion of gender pocket equality without actually giving it. MUAHAHAHA!! ChocolateBunny

The List Goes On....

The gap between a car seat and the center console. I know it is for safety but things fall in that gap and are difficult to retrieve.

Touch screens in cars for essential functions. One should be able to adjust the heating or cooling by feel.

Android Auto does not work with all Android phones.

Outlook spam filtering when using just the local software.

Bar codes too small for the scanner at the checkout.

Milk cartons

Individual coffee stirrers in paper wrappers. It is supposed to make us feel safe from bacteria but it is annoying. Maybe not a flaw.

Dog poop baggies with a bad seal. About once a month I stick my hand in the bag, pickup the poop only to realize my fingers went through the other end of the bag and touched the poop.

Breakfast cereal in a bag in a box. About 10% of the contents at the bottom are crushed flakes, not edible cereal pieces. dantooine1977

Be Reasonable. 

I have an acquaintance in a senior position with a potato chip manufacturer. He claims resealable bags will never ever happen on chips OR brand name cereal because the companies are completely dependent on their products going stale and being replaced. He claims estimates as high as 25% for consumer loss from old stale product. msk1974

Slow the Roll....

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Toilet paper rolls keep getting larger and larger, but traditional holders can't hold them properly. The tool can't spin so the roll has to sit on the counter for a couple days. MyBroPoohBear

Be Moderned. 

Modern cell phones, despite repeated updates and improvements still cannot make a call and record a video at the same time. This is exactly what every witness should be able to do if they see a crime occurring; gather evidence and call 911 simultaneously. Notredamerock

within a track....

A lot of music playing apps have buttons to skip tracks but no buttons to skip forward/backward within a track, instead just relying on a clumsy slider that is hard as hell to use with any sort of precision. A lot of podcast apps, on the other hand, have such buttons (e.g. to skip forward 30 second or backward 10 seconds) - not sure why the music apps don't do the same thing. allothernamestaken

Falling Out...

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All of my pajama pants have a single button on the fly, and it's positioned 1/4" from the top of the opening and 6" from the bottom... so my penis just falls out while I'm walking. answermethis0816

I've noticed this borrowing my husband's pj pants before and was completely perplexed by it. You can practically feel a breeze while walking, the gap is so big. ShelloBiafra30

NOPE!

I have a pair of wired Beats noise-cancelling headphones.

They use powered noise-cancelling, so you have to charge them with usb. Since they're wired, you'd think that if they run out of charge, you could still use them without noise-cancelling, right?

NOPE!

When they die, you have to charge them. Even though they're wired. Stupid. Dumb. velour_manure

No Sliding. 

Far too many affordable cutting boards won't stay perfectly in place when you're chopping on them. Seems like that would be easy to fix, but maybe not. somepeoplewait

Some of mine have little rubber-ish feet and are fine. Some of them do slide around. Try a folded dish towel underneath. AugustaSugarbean

Ice Age.

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Ice dispensers in refrigerator doors that send out ice with such energy that some pieces end up on the kitchen floor. Back2Bach

See the Light. 

Modern vehicles making changing a burned out head light a major nightmare. It used to be you took off four screws, changed the bulb, replaced for screws. Now it takes a degree in engineering to find all the hidden things holding the light in place. Why? RonSwansonsOldMan

Too Stupid. 

Scissors that come in that stupid tough as nails double layered plastic; that can only be accessed by a pair of damn scissors. laurenmax96

Larry David has entered Reddit. BeardsuptheWazoo

It's Exhausting! 

Netflix interface: they added a toggle that stopped the despicable auto preview, but finding things is still very difficult. You'll only see what The Algorithm wants to show you and there's no way of just flicking through a comprehensive A-Z of shows.

This means you only see the same stuff cycling round unless you do a specific search, and let's face it: text searching using a TV remote or Xbox controller is a PITA.

And so there's probably a load of stuff on there you'll never see.

And that wretched left-right scroll too. Amazon isn't much better either. dogsolitude_uk

Upside Down.

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I just want to say it took Ketchup long enough to turn the bottle upside down. I mean for God sake they turned it green and purple before they decided to work on getting the bloody crap outta the bottle. shelbycher

"signal interrupted" 

Simplisafe, and pretty much all wireless home security systems, all operate on a very limited band of frequencies. A portable ham radio, which you can buy on Amazon for $80, can be tuned to its exact frequency and can blast out enough white noise to interrupt communication between sensors and the home base. At most you'll get a "signal interrupted" message but no alarm. I'm not going to tell you how to find that exact frequency, just know that it is shockingly easy. MrStringyBark

Rinse.... Lather... Repeat....

Shampoo bottles that have screw-off caps.

Unscrew cap, pour product into palm.

Now I have one hand holding a bottle while the other is occupied by a pool of soap.

How do I replace the cap without spilling my shampoo? OpenQuote2

Car Inventions....

Why in the world don't automakers make some kind of dual, fold away sun visor that can simultaneously cover both the front AND side window. cicalino

Some cars have these, but I guess the cost/benefit isn't there. Same with extendable visors; same with the little visor to cover the windscreen above the rearview mirror that Volkswagen used to have. poktanju

Input three times, then enter.

Remote controls for tv... so amazingly non-intuative. Also need 3 remotes to watch tv, dvd, speakers. I have to type out instructions for old parents. I curse the engineers who refuse to improve design or the companies that refuse to adopt better remotes. Input three times, then enter. Find guide, press enter.... WISeptember

Just Dip....

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Salsa should come in wide flat containers, not tall skinny cylinders so that you can dip directly from it. Munkiejunk

REDDIT

Two identical goats stare into the camera while standing in a field.
Photo by Jørgen Håland

When discussing love and relationships, the motto is usually less is more.

But what if there is more of one partner?

Being involved with identical twins can be quite the experience.

Can you really tell them apart?

Is everything identical?

If you're attracted to one, aren't you automatically attracted to the other?

So many questions.

Now we need some answers.

Redditor nicknamesofdaveryder wanted to hear about love and the twin experience, so they asked:

"Redditors who married someone with an identical twin sibling, why are you glad you're not with the other twin instead?"

I've never met a lot of twins, let alone gotten involved with a pair.

I have questions.

Hopefully I get some answers.

Saved

Comedy Central Wink GIF by Drunk HistoryGiphy

"My late husband's twin was a non-functioning alcoholic and my husband wasn’t. My husband says joining the navy was what saved him from going down that road."

iteachag5

Falling Asleep

"Story time! I am an identical twin (we still look so much alike!) and one night I spent the night at her house. She and I fell asleep in the same bed because we were up late talking, etc. Her husband slept on the couch. The next morning my twin went to take a shower and her husband laid down on the bed with me (thinking it was her of course). I jokingly said 'Hey sailor, looking for a little variety?' He shot off the bed and said 'If I was looking for variety, do you think I'd choose you??'"

tanyagal2

The Good Guy And The Other One

"I didn't marry him but I dated an identical twin. His twin's girlfriend and I used to joke around that she got the evil twin. He was just a selfish, messed-up person. One of the benefits of breaking up with my boyfriend was no longer having his twin in my life. Plus, his ex gf and I are still great friends! The good guy was just the lesser evil. She wanted to get as far away from that family as I did. The best thing to come out of those relationships was our friendship."

super-ro

Love Wins

"My dad's an identical twin. People have a hard time distinguishing them, but to my mom and me, they look like two completely different people because of the way they walk/talk/etc. Obviously, my mom only fell in love with this one person. When you love someone it's actually pretty easy to tell identical twins apart."

michaelsgavin

Issues

Threaten Ashley Olsen GIFGiphy

"The other twin has the same personality as I do. We argue readily and are super competitive with each other. We butt heads on a lot of issues."

why_not_send_a_nude

Personality clashes aren't just a twin thing.

It's a human thing.

We can't help ourselves.

Different People

Triplets GIF by RuPaul's Drag RaceGiphy

"I work with a guy who married an identical triplet, one of the triplets also works with us. I asked him one day if it was weird working with someone who looked just like his wife. He got a little pissed and basically said they are all very different people and he doesn't see much of his wife in her."

LeafMeAlone_99

He's Evil

"We’re not married but known each other since we were 12 and have been together 3 and a half years. His twin is a massive di**head who tried to break us up multiple times, was madly in love with me in his own words, and after 2 years of pursuing me declared I was a terrible person and put him through hell. Because I didn’t break up with his TWIN BROTHER to date him."

xMollyP

Life Choices

"My husband and his twin brother look very different to me, although they are identical and get mistaken for one another all the time. They couldn’t be more different in terms of personality. They have different values and life goals, hobbies, one is introverted and the other is extroverted. If they were two people who didn’t look alike, I would automatically not be attracted to my brother-in-law simply because we are not remotely compatible personality-wise."

"Also they have very different styles. I do not find the way my husband’s twin dresses/grooms his hair attractive. It’s so wild to me when people can’t tell them apart because they couldn’t be more different in my eyes."

lanieeeeeeee

Opposites

"Well, my wife and I have been together for 30 years. She has a 'mirror' twin. Even now, if you don’t know them well or interact frequently you will not be able to tell them apart. They are complete opposites. I married the extrovert, she has never met a stranger, will try anything at least once, and can find a positive aspect in almost everything she encounters, they are also best friends, my wife drags her sister along all the time."

"Once she’s out she enjoys our activities. I love my SIL, all three of them, but so glad I married the one like me. The mirror part even goes for looks, when I see my wife’s reflection I see my SIL, it’s weird sometimes. Also, attitude and personality are everything, I have never been 'attracted' to her twin."

redbonecouchhound

The Look

Sexy Damon Wayans Jr GIF by Global TVGiphy

"I used to date an identical twin. Although I found his brother objectively handsome, I wasn't attracted to him at all. It was cool to directly experience how attraction goes far beyond just the looks."

Liatessa

I've never been intrigued by twins, and now I never will be.

confused man in blue t-shirt

Sander Sammy on Unsplash

My Father was considered a genius.

At 16 he graduated high school as Valedictorian, joined the United States Navy as soon as he turned 17 then was promptly recruited by Admiral Hyman Rickover's team converting the Navy from diesel to nuclear power.

He served as a nuclear and electrical engineer on naval vessels after the conversion project ended, then as a reactor inspector for the Nuclear Regulatory Commission after retiring from the Navy.

He also needed a full time babysitter in order to survive. Things like paying bills, buying groceries, feeding himself all escaped him. He lacked any semblance of common sense.

Really smart people doing very unsmart things isn't uncommon.

And sometimes a person is labeled a genius who's really an idiot with good brand marketing.

Keep reading...Show less

Corporations don't get big overnight.

A lot of tough decisions, big wins, and sometimes even bigger losses, go into their growth.

But sometimes companies make mistakes that the public simply cannot let slide, and it can be hard to imagine how the company could stay afloat after the backlash.

Redditor Astro_Shogun asked:

"What decision by a company received the most amount of backlash from the public?"

Dang It, Photobucket

"When Photobucket decided to take the whole internet hostage by asking for 400 dollars a year for what was previously a free image storage solution. The move broke years of forum posting and erased a significant portion of the web collective knowledge."

- denpo

"Yup. And now they're holding almost all of my son's childhood photos (some of which I managed to save in other places) hostage."

- KnockMeYourLobes

"Browse any forum thread from the early 2000s and practically all the images are gone because everyone used Photobucket back then. It will be the same way with Reddit whenever Imgur goes under."

- NothingOld7527

So Salesy

"JCPenny doing away with sales and trying to present itself as a more upscale store. Sales immediately plummeted, and they reversed course quickly."

- flyingcircusdog

Cheap Jewelry

"Gerald Ratner said the reason his jewelry company could sell stuff so cheap was because the products were crap. It destroyed the company overnight."

- simplemtbman

Front Wheel Drive

"Ford, in the '80s, tried to replace the aging Fox body Mustang with a front-wheel drive, Mazda-based car. This was pre-internet, but car people got UPSET and deluged Ford with a letter expressing their anger."

"Ford backtracked, kept the Fox body around, and released the vehicle that was going to be the new Mustang as the Probe. It lasted two generations, but the Mustang soldiers on."

- StillN0tATony

Online Only

"Microsoft got roasted when they announced Kinect and always-online were required for the Xbox One. Took all the momentum they had from the 360 era and put them miles behind Sony."

- Jerry_Williams89

Childhood: Destroyed

"Sonic having human teeth."

- LightDash

"I just immediately pictured teeth in a Sonic milkshake and had a horrified reaction before my brain caught up to you meaning the character."

- Rolizas

Questionable Upgrades

"Very recently, T-Mobile. A company that 10 years ago called itself the Uncarrier by making a series of pro-consumer changes to its plans and the previous CEO built almost a sort of cult of fans of the company. Then T-Mobile acquired Sprint and got a new CEO."

"A couple of weeks ago, T-Mobile internal documentation revealed it was going to automatically upgrade customers on old grandfathered plans up to new plans, which were more expensive. Customers would have to call in to opt out of the change. 'They weren’t raising customers’ rates, they were moving them to better plans.'"

"Well, major tech news got ahold of that, and then even some local news stations, and T-Mobile quietly 'clarified' a week later via internal communications that only one percent of their customers would be affected."

- artimaticus8

Coming Together in Hate

"Anyone remember the Kendall Jenner Pepsi ad when she solved police brutality?"

- vernon3

"Those moments are precious. There are a few things these days that bring everyone on the Internet together. That was one of those things. We all hated the Pepsi ad that solved police brutality."

"That ad had it all. Pandering, ignorance, arrogance, and talking down to their audience."

- notwoutmyprob

"And a Kardashian."

- Kitchen_action

With Every Purchase

"I couple of years back a local Detroit area car dealership decided the best way to celebrate MLK day was to give away free car alarms with every purchase."

"Nobody liked that."

- graveybrains

A Sale Gone Too Well

"Hoover UK offering two free flights to America if you spend £100 on their products. They anticipated that people would spend a lot more than the minimum required which would cover the approximately £600 value of the tickets."

"When the company was deluged with purchases around the £100 mark, they reneged on the offer, which prompted a very expensive lawsuit. The fallout was so bad that the UK division of the firm was sold to a rival company."

- Live-Dance-2641

New Drink, Who Dis?

"New Coke."

- PeggyWithPhatA**

"After the relations disaster, the public clamored for the decision to be reversed, and Coca-Cola released 'Coke Classic.'"

"Coke Classic soon had an even higher market share than Coke did before the public relations fiasco, and a new theory made the rounds: that Coca-Cola deliberately made these decisions, simply to gain publicity, and increase market share."

"The reaction from Coca-Cola’s executives was, 'We aren’t that smart, and we aren’t that stupid.'"

- Malthus1

A Tweet Turned Sexist

"Burger King stating that 'Women Belong in the Kitchen.' What they were TRYING to say was that they wanted more diversity. People didn't see it that way, and in the end, they had to issue an apology."

- zerbey

The Downfall of an Incredible Publication

"Here’s one there should be a public outcry about."

"Disney bought National Geographic and controls everything it does. This is the last year the iconic magazine will be available. I’m incensed."

- redheadMInerd2

(The writer of this article is equally incensed.)

Predicting the Future

"I feel like whatever YouTube is cooking up lately will be the next one."

- Just_Aioli_1233

"Tech companies sure know how to kill off highly popular and profitable apps, super quick. It’s interesting to watch it happen in real-time. Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, all losing tons of followers and destroying their own stock."

- Eleanor_of_Accutane

It's easy to see how all of these mistakes resulted in huge backlash, sometimes at the total expense and downfall of the business.

But some of these mistakes were made by companies that are still huge today, and to a certain extent, that's kind of surprising.