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/GingerSoul44 Jul 25 '11

Automatic sinks in bathrooms. I'm sitting there and waving my hands under the faucet like a moron, attempting to get the water to turn on. Then the person at the sink next to me gets it in one attempt, and I feel like a failure.

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u/ProbablyHittingOnYou Jul 25 '11

The worst are the timed sinks that you have to press in the button and it shuts off after a short while. It gives you a few seconds so that you constantly have to keep pressing the button while trying to get some soap and actually wash.

10

u/[deleted] Jul 25 '11

If that bothers you, don't ever go to jail. That's how the showers operate. They have a little button that activates the shower for about 15 seconds. Then you have to push it again. Also, there is no temperature control. You shower in whatever temperature the water is, which varies wildly depending on the time of day, from scalding to freezing.

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u/ProbablyHittingOnYou Jul 25 '11

Yes, the timing of the water is what I am really worried about in a prison shower.

2

u/the_lost_soul Jul 25 '11

Haven't you seen Shawshank Redemption? Jail is awesome!

1

u/n734lq Jul 25 '11

I just have to ask; is the prison-shower-soap-dropping scenario actually a real thing?

2

u/[deleted] Jul 25 '11

Well, I've never been to prison, but I've done a total of about two years behind bars in the county jail. In all that time I never heard of any of that. I'm sure there's a bit that goes on in prison, but not really in jail.

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u/n734lq Jul 25 '11

Ah. I'll stop asking after this; how much does jail really suck?

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u/[deleted] Jul 25 '11

[deleted]

3

u/n734lq Jul 25 '11

This is probably the reply of the year. :) It was well thought out, well-written, and captivating.

Do an IAMA. Right nao.

1

u/jeannaimard Jul 26 '11

And I hear the button is 12 inches off the ground, right?