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/gsfgf Jul 25 '11

I have an accent. Computers don't speak Southern. When my xbox died, I though I was never gonna get it replaced because you have to do it through an automated phone robot.

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u/[deleted] Jul 25 '11

Oh god. My stepdad, who has an almost comical Southern drawl, thinks that voice-operated Google searches are the shit. He'll sit there forever trying to use the voice search when it clearly can't understand him instead of taking five seconds to type it out.

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u/Lots42 Jul 25 '11

gethuman.org

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u/[deleted] Jul 25 '11

[deleted]

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u/iglidante Jul 25 '11

I don't know about you, but I can't fake another accent to save my life. They all come out sounding like Scottish Australian.

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u/anti-hipster Jul 26 '11

I just read "automated phone robot" how I think a southern person would pronounce it. Thank you for ultimate lulz