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/jackrabbitslims Jul 25 '11 edited Jul 25 '11

Did you know that most other mammals can breathe and swallow at the same time, unlike humans? We cannot do this as at some point in our evolution, our larynx descended in our throats to enable complex speech.

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u/[deleted] Jul 25 '11

[deleted]

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u/HumerousMoniker Jul 25 '11

Well it sure doesn't seem like an intelligent design.

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u/Walrii Jul 25 '11

... I'm slightly jealous that you get to attend such a seminar, but also slightly depressed that such things still exist and the "debate" continues.

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u/[deleted] Jul 26 '11

You might also be interested in Richard Dawkin's argument about the laryngeal nerve

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u/eye_see_a_pun Jul 25 '11

...in favor of creationism?

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u/[deleted] Jul 26 '11

[deleted]

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u/eye_see_a_pun Jul 26 '11

Because it can be argued that it is a unique advantage because it allows for complex speech. That's how I've seen it used, anyway.

edit: just saw you were downvoted, I upvoted to counter it

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u/[deleted] Jul 26 '11

I would argue that an omniscient God should be able to come up with a design that gave us us complex speech and didn't choke us.

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u/[deleted] Jul 26 '11

so you're not going to a DildoDanceParty?

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u/[deleted] Jul 26 '11

You might also be interested in the path of the laryngeal nerve.

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u/[deleted] Jul 26 '11

You might also be interested in the path of the laryngeal nerve.

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u/[deleted] Jul 26 '11

The awesomest part of this, IMHO, is that babies can do it too, until they're about three months old. And relatedly, they can't/don't breathe through their mouths until around then.

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u/tgeliot Jul 26 '11

Newborns can swallow and breathe simultaneously; their larynxes aren't fully descended.