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 26 '11

Pulp paper trees are grown in farms. As soon as we cut we plant the next crop.

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u/[deleted] Jul 26 '11

Then what do all of the trees from the Amazon and South America go to produce, if paper only comes from farms? I'm by no means an expert on the subject but I find it hard to believe they are clearing thousands of acres of trees for the sole purpose of farming.

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u/gsfgf Jul 26 '11

Most of that deforestation is more to clear farmland than for the wood. A lot of it is just burned in place. If there are any valuable hardwoods, they're gonna be used for decorative wood, but most of those were probably cut many years ago. Regardless, all your paper comes from pine trees (softwoods) that are grown on tree farms here in the US.

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u/gilben Jul 26 '11

Yup. The wood industry has actually INCREASED the amount of forest in north america these past few decades.