Trivia: Inventions that created more problems than they solved

[AM9]

In litter terms, vapes are probably an improvement on cigarettes. The same people who think it's okay to just drop one on the pavement would have also thought it's okay to scatter however many cigarette butts is the equivalent across wherever they go throughout the day.

... apart from the highly dangerous habit of littering the whole vape including lithium ion battery, which not only is a serious waste of precious materials, but has also been the cause of many bin and even waste site fires.

 

[najaB]

... apart from the highly dangerous habit of littering the whole vape including lithium ion battery, which not only is a serious waste of precious materials, but has also been the cause of many bin and even waste site fires.

Agree with the fire risk, but lithium is not particularly scarce or precious - while spot prices fluctuate it's averaged around $15USD/kg over the last few years. This compares to copper at around $10USD/kg or nickel at around $18/kg.

 

[GatwickDepress]

I was on Mounjaro for a year (pre the recent price hike) and I saved money on it. My food shopping bill reduced by more than the cost of the medication.

Lost 9 stone in a year and have kept all of it off since coming off it, but you have to be disciplined and learn new habits from the moment you start or else you'll put some weight on again when you stop.

If it was still the same price I'd still be taking it long-term via micro-dosing as the benefits other than headline weight loss are, without exaggeration, life changing.

I look forward to Retatrutide and eventually GLPs in pill form (much cheaper) being available in the UK, it'll be transformational for the general health of the population.

Congratulations on the weight loss and sustaining it as well!

I've known a lot of people lose weight through the likes of Mounjaro and get surprised when they put it all back on after stopping it. My doctor always says you can't outrun a bad diet.

I've considered Mounjaro, as I put on a lot of weight during the pandemic due to a combination of bad habits and poor mental health. I just couldn't justify the costs of a private prescription though so I've been doing it the old-fashioned way.

I have a lot of respect for your self-discipline. I've found that the hardest thing, especially when it comes to shopping and cooking. It's easy for me to buy unhealthy food impulsively when it's on offer or finish a shift too tired to cook, so I just bung a ready meal in the microwave.

... apart from the highly dangerous habit of littering the whole vape including lithium ion battery, which not only is a serious waste of precious materials, but has also been the cause of many bin and even waste site fires.

Always wondered if there's scope for a vape deposit scheme where you get a few pennies back if you put an old vape in a dedicated disposal bin designed to minimise risk in the event of a fire. My latest fire training notes there's a specialised extinguisher for lithium-ion batteries (Aqueous Vermiculite Dispersion, I think?), so I wonder if that's something you could equip there.

I have noticed fewer vapes on the ground since the disposable ban, mind.

 

[AM9]

Congratulations on the weight loss and sustaining it as well!

I've known a lot of people lose weight through the likes of Mounjaro and get surprised when they put it all back on after stopping it. My doctor always says you can't outrun a bad diet.

I've considered Mounjaro, as I put on a lot of weight during the pandemic due to a combination of bad habits and poor mental health. I just couldn't justify the costs of a private prescription though so I've been doing it the old-fashioned way.

I have a lot of respect for your self-discipline. I've found that the hardest thing, especially when it comes to shopping and cooking. It's easy for me to buy unhealthy food impulsively when it's on offer or finish a shift too tired to cook, so I just bung a ready meal in the microwave.


Always wondered if there's scope for a vape deposit scheme where you get a few pennies back if you put an old vape in a dedicated disposal bin designed to minimise risk in the event of a fire. My latest fire training notes there's a specialised extinguisher for lithium-ion batteries (Aqueous Vermiculite Dispersion, I think?), so I wonder if that's something you could equip there.

I have noticed fewer vapes on the ground since the disposable ban, mind.

There have been reports of the prices of rechargeable types falling to near the price of disposables since the ban, hence some smokers are disposing those irresponsibly.

 

[Thornaby 37]

If only because of the sheer amount of irresponsible users
E-bikes (ie, unlicensed uninsured unregistered electric motorbikes)
E-scooters

 

[brad465]

Weight loss jabs are something I can see really falling into this category down the line. At the moment they seem like an absolute miracle cure, and the below article live today really seems to hammer home a load of benefits to those injecting themselves with them. But it has a ring of "if it sounds too good to be true, it is", and in years down the line, I can see a catalogue of nasty side effects and consequences from their use arising:

Five ways weight-loss jabs are changing spending habits

With GLP-1 drugs rising in popularity, how are businesses adapting to a new type of consumer?

www.bbc.co.uk

While this needs further research, there's one possible harm coming from the rise in weight loss jabs in form of more gallbladder operations:

Could weight-loss jabs be behind rising gallbladder removals?

Last year, there was a 15% annual increase in the operations and surgeons want more research.

www.bbc.co.uk

More research is needed into whether there may be a link between weight-loss injections and an increase in gallbladder removals, specialist doctors have said.
The number of gallbladder surgeries recorded by NHS England in 2024-25 was at its highest peak in the past decade.
The president of the British Obesity and Metabolic Specialist Society, Ahmed Ahmed, said he was doing more of these operations with "more and more" people telling him they had taken weight loss injections.
Gallstones are listed as a common side effect of the jabs and the UK's official medical licensing body said they were kept under "continual review".
On Thursday, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) updated its guidance on GLP-1 injections, like Wegovy, regarding the risk of acute pancreatitis, which is often linked to gallstones.
The makers of weight loss injections Mounjaro, Wegovy and Saxenda, said patient safety was a top priority and they monitor reports of adverse drug reactions.
Ahmed, who is a consultant surgeon and also carries out gastric band surgeries, said: "We don't know whether it's the injections that are causing the gallstones, or is it because the injections are causing rapid weight loss, which then in turn causes the gallstones?
"Clearly this area needs further research to find out if it's causative or not."

 

[styles]

While this needs further research, there's one possible harm coming from the rise in weight loss jabs in form of more gallbladder operations:

Could weight-loss jabs be behind rising gallbladder removals?

Last year, there was a 15% annual increase in the operations and surgeons want more research.

www.bbc.co.uk

Tip of the iceberg.

People who stop taking weight-loss jabs regain weight in under two years, study reveals​

Analysis finds those who stopped using medication saw weight return four times faster compared with other weight loss plans

People who stop taking weight-loss jabs regain weight in under two years, study reveals​

Analysis finds those who stopped using medication saw weight return four times faster compared with other weight loss plans

Tobi Thomas Health and inequalities correspondent
Wed 7 Jan 2026 23.30 GMT


People who stop taking weight loss jabs regain all the weight originally lost in under two years, significantly faster than those on any other weight loss plan, according to a landmark study.

Weight loss medications, known as GLP-1 agonists, were originally developed as treatment for diabetes and work by mimicking the glucagon-like peptide (GLP) 1 hormone which helps people feel full.

The study, led by academics at the University of Oxford and published in the BMJ, included a review of 37 existing studies regarding weight loss medication, involving 9,341 participants. The average duration of weight loss treatment being 39 weeks while the average follow up period was 32 weeks.

On average, weight was regained at a rate of 0.4kg per month for people who had stopped taking the medication, the analysis found, with participants returning to their original weight within an average of 1.7 years after stopping any type of weight loss medication.
https://www.theguardian.com/society...g-weight-loss-jabs-from-social-media-channels
Specifically, people on any kind of weight loss medication lost an average of 8.3kg during treatment, but regained 4.8kg within the first year,

The rate at which weight was regained after stopping these medications was almost four times faster compared with behavioural programmes, which may include a specific diet or physical activity plan, regardless of the amount of weight that was lost during treatment.

Dr Sam West, of the Nuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciences at the University of Oxford, said the rapid weight gain seen after stopping weight loss drugs was not due to the medication itself.

“These medicines are transforming obesity treatment and can achieve important weight loss. However, our research shows that people tend to regain weight rapidly after stopping – faster than we see with behavioural programmes,” West said.

He added: “This isn’t a failing of the medicines – it reflects the nature of obesity as a chronic, relapsing condition. It sounds a cautionary note for short-term use without a more comprehensive approach to long-term weight management, and highlights the importance of primary prevention.”

Previous studies have suggested weight loss medication can also have a beneficial impact on other areas of a patient’s health, as seen in the study into drugs that could halve heart patients’ risk of an early death.

However, this study also found that the benefits weight loss drugs can have on cardio-metabolic health markers, such as on blood pressure and cholesterol, also returned to their original level within 1.4 years of stopping treatment.

Although previous studies have suggested people on weight loss drugs regain all the weight they have lost within a year of stopping medication, this is the first study which provides the rate of weight regain and estimated time frames for weight and metabolic reversal.

Wegovy can be prescribed on the NHS for up to two years, while there is no prescription time limit for Mounjaro.

“Weight loss drugs can be effective tools for managing weight and type 2 diabetes risk – but this research reinforces that they are not a quick fix, according to Dr Faye Riley, the research communications lead at Diabetes UK.

“They need to be prescribed appropriately, with tailored wraparound support alongside them, to ensure people can fully benefit and maintain weight loss for as long as possible when they stop taking the medication.”

Katharine Jenner, the executive director of the Obesity Health Alliance, said regaining weight after stopping treatment was not a failure of individuals, but rather “reflects the reality of living in a food environment that continually pushes people towards unhealthy options.”
“These drugs can create a window of opportunity to improve the food environment at scale and pace – from junk food marketing to the affordability and availability of healthier food – otherwise many people will struggle to sustain the health benefits of weight loss drugs over the long term,” Jenner said.

An NHS spokesperson said: “While these new treatments are an important new tool for supporting weight loss, they’re not a magic fix and must be paired with behavioural and lifestyle wraparound support including advice on healthier diets and physical activity to keep the weight off in the long term.
“The NHS continues to implement innovative ways to support people to lose weight safely and sustainably as well as offering a range of weight management services, including the NHS digital weight management programme, which will be expanded to 125,000 more people per year as part of the 10-year health plan.”

People who stop taking weight-loss jabs regain weight in under two years, study reveals

Analysis finds those who stopped using medication saw weight return four times faster compared with other weight loss plans

www.theguardian.com

I'm not against pharmaceuticals to treat obesity, but we probably do need to come up with a treatment pathway which doesn't result in people taking the medications for their entire lives.

 

[brad465]

Tip of the iceberg.

People who stop taking weight-loss jabs regain weight in under two years, study reveals

Analysis finds those who stopped using medication saw weight return four times faster compared with other weight loss plans

www.theguardian.com

I'm not against pharmaceuticals to treat obesity, but we probably do need to come up with a treatment pathway which doesn't result in people taking the medications for their entire lives.

Weight loss jabs thrive on two things: human psychology and the motive for profit. Humans usually try to take the path of least resistance to get somewhere; with obesity the hardest path to treating it is diet and/or exercise. When a so-called miracle drug comes along with minimal effort required, it's no surprise it's taken off at rocket speed.

The profit motive is more cynical admittingly but I think a factor - diet and exercise has much less money-making potential, both in general and especially in the pharmaceutical industry. One wonders how long it will be before one of McDonalds or Eli Lilly buys the other, then the resultant conglomerate can make money both getting people fat AND then selling them the drugs to get thin again.

 

[BrandanM]

The Post Office Horizon IT system?.

 

[Howardh]

The Post Office Horizon IT system?.

Yes!

On a personal level, those biodegradable plastic bags for dogpoo. The bushes near me (including those at the bottom of my lawn which I have to clear out regularly) contain dozens of bags, some hanging there like xmas decorations, and have been for over a year. It's absolutely horrible. The alternative would be for dogs to do it on the pavement or grass verge, but if they did at least nature would destroy and wash it away.

Therefore a solution has caused a problem, dog owners who are happy to bend down and pick the stuff up, but too lazy to bin it at home.

 

[najaB]

The Post Office Horizon IT system?.

I don't think that counts as an invention. It was just a badly-implemented POS system, there wasn't anything particularly new or innovative about it.

 

[AM9]

I don't think that counts as an invention. It was just a badly-implemented POS system, there wasn't anything particularly new or innovative about it.

... severely aggravated by a toxic management attitude to resolving dispute over anomalies reported by the system.

 

[styles]

... severely aggravated by a toxic management attitude to resolving dispute over anomalies reported by the system.

This was the real issue.

Software has bugs.

Accounting software may have a higher tolerance for bugs than say a chemotherapy machine; but bugs in accounting software don't normally lead people to kill themselves - that was preventable by proper investigation rather than what appears to have been brushing under the carpet.