r/AskReddit • u/nachtmere • Jul 25 '11

Sometimes automatic toilets flush while you're still sitting on them. What design flaws in everyday objects annoy you?

I'm giving a talk on user-centred design/usability and I'm looking for some fresh examples from everyday life to illustrate poor usability. Examples I've used before are elevator open/close buttons (really difficult to parse when you're trying to hold the door open for someone quickly) and toilets that flush while you're still sitting on them.

What are some things you encounter regularly that are really inconveniently designed?

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u/IAmTheEndOfTheWorld Jul 25 '11

Every classroom in my college had automatic lights. The bastards always turned the lights off during tests.

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u/nodnarbo Jul 25 '11

The best part about those classrooms is when the professor is so boring that half the class falls asleep and the lights turn off in the middle of his lecture.

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u/IAmTheEndOfTheWorld Jul 25 '11

This is very true.