Examples of bad design

[32475]

Oh yes. My job, as a nipper, was to belt the inside of the B post to unstick the nearside trafficator when me dad shouted it had stuck down.
My wife's current car is a bit posher. The sidelights flash when a turn is indicated. Unsurprisingly it confuses people occasionally.

I had exactly the same job in my Dad’s Austin A30 circa 1963!

 

[Old Yard Dog]

Beetham Tower Manchester - ugly and lopsided
New (ish) Ilkeston Town football ground - stand by the corner flag, social club on the halfway line rather than v.v.
Original seats in class 150 Sprinters - head rests rammed into shoulder blades of anybody over 5 ft 6 in
Some seats at Old Trafford, Bescot Stadium, Loftus Road, Elland Road and many others - legroom so tight, they make RyanAir seem luxurious
Cling film - impossible to tear neatly when taking off roll
Gents toilets - where the wall and your beer belly stops you leaning over far enough to see what you're doing
Manchester Victoria - no facilities on platform side of gates
Pizzas & Cornish pasties - why is there always an unappetizing crusty bit round the edge with no topping/filling?
McDonalds & KFC "fries" - horrible thin things - the Yanks don't know how to make chips
Musical instruments - why are they all so bloody difficult to play? (I never got past grade 3)

 

[61653 HTAFC]

Pizzas & Cornish pasties - why is there always an unappetizing crusty bit round the edge with no topping/filling?

This bit on a cornish pasty is effectively a handle, allowing you to eat the rest of the pasty without also eating a load of dust from the tin mine you're working in. Quite a novel solution to a niche problem!

 

[yorksrob]

This bit on a cornish pasty is effectively a handle, allowing you to eat the rest of the pasty without also eating a load of dust from the tin mine you're working in. Quite a novel solution to a niche problem!

There used to be a pastry partition and a dessert section in the pasty at one time as well !

 

[Strat-tastic]

Why were trafficators invented - surely the flashing indicator was much simpler from a design point of view.

And the car isn't running out of gauge

 

[xotGD]

Rugby balls.

 

[1955LR]

The trafficator was mounted in the pillar between the front and rear doors (what is called the 'B' pillar now) and it appeard in a similar position to a driver's hand signal so was easier to, be noticed. Flashing indicators required lamps and a flasher unit, - sounds trivial, but these things were not generally available in the 1930s.

My father was dead against flashers replacing trafficators ( Circa Middle 1950's) as you couldn't see them easily from the side but changed his mind when more motorways became the norm. He was right of course as side repeaters are now mandatory.

 

[Bletchleyite]

My father was dead against flashers replacing trafficators ( Circa Middle 1950's) as you couldn't see them easily from the side but changed his mind when more motorways became the norm. He was right of course as side repeaters are now mandatory.

Side repeaters have certainly avoided many collisions on motorways where two drivers decide to occupy the same lane at once.

 

[david1212]

Road vehicles where the red lights form a ring around the indicator (some buses in particular; I can't off hand think of a car like this). It's extremely hard in some lighting conditions to see whether the indicator is flashing or not.

IMO it should be a legal requirement for the indicators to be separated from all other lights front and rear by a certain distance and be near to the edge / side.
While as stated side repeaters are mandatory visibility from different positions varies. Maybe the front indicator should have to wrap-round so evenly visible from the centre further than a set distance e.g. 2m around to 2m back from the front bumper i.e. an arc of say 150 degrees.

 

[dgl]

Buying some batteries in Tesco, only their cheapest 8 AA alkalines, and they had a security tag. The bad design there is the batteries are in entirely cardboard packaging making it trivial to remove the tag if you so wish.

 

[Furrball]

IMO it should be a legal requirement for the indicators to be separated from all other lights front and rear by a certain distance and be near to the edge / side.
While as stated side repeaters are mandatory visibility from different positions varies. Maybe the front indicator should have to wrap-round so evenly visible from the centre further than a set distance e.g. 2m around to 2m back from the front bumper i.e. an arc of say 150 degrees.

It does seem that "anything goes" now with lights on cars, especially on the rear. More of a design flourish than being visible!

Weird positioning, e.g main light cluster in a usual position but indicators in the bumper

Tiny Indicators and brake lights

 

[Peter Mugridge]

How about drainpipes that don't go anywhere near the downpipe...?

 

[PeterC]

Pint glasses that hold exactly a pint.

Either you get a head on your beer and less than a pint or a full measure of flat beer.

Oversized glasses with a line please.

Flat means stale, not an absence of froth

 

[XAM2175]

My work laptop has the Ctrl and Fn keys in the bottom left corner of the keyboard the other way round i.e. Fn Ctrl. Every other keyboard ever has them as Ctrl Fn - which idiot thought swapping them was a good idea?

There’s generally an option to swap them back. But I agree, it is a pain in the derrière.

Actually, it was IBM that first used the Fn - Ctrl - Alt layout, on the ThinkPad 750 in 1993. Other manufacturers subsequently chose to use the Ctrl - Fn - Alt layout.

The exact reasons for IBM's choice are shrouded in the mists of time, and probably not really applicable in the modern age anyway, but ThinkPad users were for a long time fanatically loyal and - having become accustomed to it - resolutely refused to accept a change to the new standard. The depth of passion is such that Lenovo are still unwilling to just bite the bullet and do it, despite having cheapened or totally changed pretty much every other IBM-developed aspect that earned ThinkPads that loyalty in the first place.
(and, to put the longevity into perspective, Lenovo bought IBM's PC business in 2005)

 

[Fleetmaster]

Those 3 in 1 hand washing stations in public toilets - you weren't paying attention and missed the water and now you need to wait for the machine to go through the entire routine again!

There is a row of four in my local Tesco.

It's so nice that they took the time to figure out the optimum number needed to properly wash your hands.....

Bay 1 - apply soap and then water, step back and lather your hands while it dries fresh air

Bay 2 - dodge soap, then apply water, rinse your hands, then step back while it dries fresh air

Bay 3 - dodge soap, then apply water again, finish rinsing your hands, then dry

Bay 4 - dodge soap and water, before finishing your hand drying.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 10 Mar 2023 ==

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Dual function power/mode push buttons on DAB radios which take a second to power up.

Is the cost of an extra button really worth infuriating most customers and completely baffling the tech averse older generation?

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Britain. All of it.

 

[Doctor Fegg]

Pint glasses that hold exactly a pint.

Either you get a head on your beer and less than a pint or a full measure of flat beer.

Oversized glasses with a line please.

They’re for cider…

 

[dangie]

They’re for cider…

That poses another problem. Filled to the brim results in spillage over the bar floor when carrying back to the table. Simple solution of course is to have a gulp before leaving the bar. That’s ok for your drink but friends may not be too keen that you’ve had your mouth in their glass

 

[Bletchleyite]

They’re for cider…

Still no good unless you like throwing it all over the floor.

 

[Lucan]

Pint glasses that hold exactly a pint.
....
Oversized glasses with a line please.

That has been tried. I have been served with such glasses in pubs, some time ago. However I gather that many customers would argue with the barman that it was short measure.

Reminds me of my brother-in-law. He would moan if his wife served him a cup of tea what was not so full it was running down the side ; "That's not a cup of tea!" he would say. I won't talk about the state of their carpets and his favourite armchair. Fortunately he never visited us, never left home in fact.

 

[dangie]

.
Reminds me of my brother-in-law. He would moan if his wife served him a cup of tea what was not so full it was running down the side ; "That's not a cup of tea!"

Well the simple answer to that is “If you’re not satisfied make it yourself….”
That’s what my wife would say.

 

[AM9]

There is a row of four in my local Tesco.

It's so nice that they took the time to figure out the optimum number needed to properly wash your hands.....

Bay 1 - apply soap and then water, step back and lather your hands while it dries fresh air

Bay 2 - dodge soap, then apply water, rinse your hands, then step back while it dries fresh air

Bay 3 - dodge soap, then apply water again, finish rinsing your hands, then dry

Bay 4 - dodge soap and water, before finishing your hand drying.
-------
Britain. All of it.

Actually, the recommended sequence for washing hands from medics is:

1) wet hands with clean water​

2) apply soap​

3) lather soap and wash hands clean​

4) rinse hands​

5) dry hands​

Having just one water phase either means that the soap cannot be lathered properly, or the time runs out and the lather can't be rinsed off.
Clearly designed by somebody who doesn't wash their hands properly!

 

[DelW]

Dual function power/mode push buttons on DAB radios which take a second to power up.

Is the cost of an extra button really worth infuriating most customers and completely baffling the tech averse older generation?

I have two radios which have a dual function button. One of them shares (waveband change) with (power off), the other shares (setup menu) with (waveband change).

In both cases, the function I use more often needs press-and-hold, while the one I use more rarely is short-press. The first one is particularly annoying, as it's a bedside radio that I usually turn off twice a day, and press-and-hold needs both hands to stop it sliding off the table .

 

[MotCO]

Actually, it was IBM that first used the Fn - Ctrl - Alt layout, on the ThinkPad 750 in 1993. Other manufacturers subsequently chose to use the Ctrl - Fn - Alt layout.

The exact reasons for IBM's choice are shrouded in the mists of time, and probably not really applicable in the modern age anyway, but ThinkPad users were for a long time fanatically loyal and - having become accustomed to it - resolutely refused to accept a change to the new standard. The depth of passion is such that Lenovo are still unwilling to just bite the bullet and do it, despite having cheapened or totally changed pretty much every other IBM-developed aspect that earned ThinkPads that loyalty in the first place.
(and, to put the longevity into perspective, Lenovo bought IBM's PC business in 2005)

My Lenovo laptop (not ThinkPad) is Ctrl-Fn-Windows-Alt

 

[Railcar]

Showers found in hotels - now, which knob adusts the water and which the temperature? (at which point, you get deluged with cold water). Also, shower heads that are clamped too high so that they pour down on the head (I don't like water running down my face) Yes, Premier Inns, I'm talking about you!

 

[32475]

Showers found in hotels - now, which knob adusts the water and which the temperature? (at which point, you get deluged with cold water). Also, shower heads that are clamped too high so that they pour down on the head (I don't like water running down my face) Yes, Premier Inns, I'm talking about you!

Ah yes. Every hotel, house, Airbnb you go to it seems that every shower is different. It’s a game you play- will it be hot, will it be cold, ah it’s freezing cold so how long do I want to dash into the freezing jet to reach the controls to try and make it hot?!

 

[Mcr Warrior]

How about drainpipes that don't go anywhere near the downpipe...?

Is that bad design or (maybe) just bad installation?

 

[XAM2175]

My Lenovo laptop (not ThinkPad) is Ctrl-Fn-Windows-Alt

Yes, it's ThinkPads alone that persist with Fn in the leftmost position. For a long time Lenovo basically treated them as an entirely separate business to their own laptop ranges - IIRC at one point they even had separate websites.

 

[Peter Mugridge]

Is that bad design or (maybe) just bad installation?

Probably both given it's likely to have been the same person doing both the planning and the execution of the job...?

 

[DaleCooper]

I don't understand why CD/DVD players have an eject button on the remote control unless it's accompanied by a "put disc back in case" button.

 

[Springs Branch]

I don't understand why CD/DVD players have an eject button on the remote control unless it's accompanied by a "put disc back in case" button.

Some time ago I noticed my DVD/HDD recorder (a Panasonic) has no "disc eject" on the remote. You need to get off the couch, walk over and physically push an eject button on the front of the machine.

I rationalised this as some 'Elf & Safety bod had done a Risk Assessment, then concluded that, with a remote capability, an adult might press the button whilst a child was near the machine, disc tray pops out unexpectedly and has an eye out!

I'm always up for a good H&S Gone Mad conspiracy - but of course it makes sense if you're ejecting or inserting a DVD, you will need to be in front of the machine at the time.