# Poor designs in everyday life **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 10, 2019, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poor-designs-in-everyday-life/832358 "2019-04-10T21:36:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 7
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2019, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poor-designs-in-everyday-life/832358/121 "2019-04-14T17:09:10Z")
> [@doreen](#): > > …there are people whose non-dominant hand is so useless that they can’t even use it to flush a toilet. That’s me, for twelve weeks. Hand surgery, and my non-dominant (left) hand is useless right now (in a hard plastic splint to keep fingers and thumb immobile). Damn, I had no idea how much I used to do with it! I’m constantly surprised by another easy task made almost impossible by having to do it purely right-handedly. ---
**Author:** ![Lare](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/53a042/32.png) [@Lare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lare)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2019, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poor-designs-in-everyday-life/832358/122 "2019-04-14T18:04:39Z")
> [@](#): > > Yep. There’s all kinds of stuff in everday life that that is not hand dominant that instead you just adapt to whatever makes the task more functional. Car door handles are not made lefty/righty. You just use the hand that the door will swing away from. Huh? I open my driver side door with my left hand (in U.S., left-hand drive) because I keep my hand on the handle to control how far the door opens/prevent the wind from catching it/etc. If I used my right hand, and held on, my arm would be in the way of entering the vehicle. ---
**Author:** ![doreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/858c86/32.png) [@doreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doreen)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2019, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poor-designs-in-everyday-life/832358/123 "2019-04-14T18:17:04Z")
> [@Lare](#): > > Huh? I open my driver side door with my left hand (in U.S., left-hand drive) because I keep my hand on the handle to control how far the door opens/prevent the wind from catching it/etc. If I used my right hand, and held on, my arm would be in the way of entering the vehicle. That’s what’s meant by whichever is more functional - you open the driver’s door with your left hand and presumably the passenger door with your right, because that’s more functional whether you are right or left handed. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk ---
**Author:** ![Lare](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/53a042/32.png) [@Lare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lare)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2019, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poor-designs-in-everyday-life/832358/124 "2019-04-14T18:29:27Z")
I agree, but the way I read \*\*Hampshire’s \*\* post was that one opens the door with the hand it swings away from. Full disclosure: I’ve had no Pepsi yet today so my Blood Caffeine Level and associated reading comprehension may be low. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2019, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poor-designs-in-everyday-life/832358/125 "2019-04-14T19:31:24Z")
I like my 2017 Chevy Malibu very much, but the USB port is badly positioned under the dashboard where it can’t easily be reached and you can’t easily see which way the plug should be oriented. The trunk also lacks an internal handhold to pull when you want to close it. Two annoyances in an otherwise-great car. ---
**Author:** ![sjankis630](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/7ea924/32.png) [@sjankis630](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sjankis630)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2019, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poor-designs-in-everyday-life/832358/126 "2019-04-14T19:45:41Z")
> [@Isosleepy](#): > > In almost every car, the gap between center console and seat is perfect to swallow any car keys, change or cell phone which might slide out of your pocket or otherwise get anywhere near it - this gap also has some sort of gravitational anomaly, attracting exactly those things you don’t have time for to recover, by pulling over the car, exiting, and locating from the rear seat. > > After decades of this, you’d think they designed this away by now. But of course not. Wow, I agree with this. It really is like a magnet exists in the floorboards of my car to attract anything I drop. You would think that they would have designed something that corrals the item more toward the center cup holder or some tray. I would also like to see a simple design which just sits up under the front seats on the floor. I am tired of anything i put on my backseat floor ending up under my front seat forcing me to go around to the back seat and reach under/thru to retrieve it. ---
**Author:** ![HelenGawn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a88e4f/32.png) [@HelenGawn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HelenGawn)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2019, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poor-designs-in-everyday-life/832358/127 "2019-04-14T20:00:43Z")
The King of the On/Off Ramp Fustercluck: I-35 lower level in Austin. On-ramps have an incredibly short, curvy beginning with a slight rise, coupled with the concrete barrier to the left to contain freeway accidents. I say “beginning” because you can’t see that there is more dedicated lane - well, another shared one, even shorter than usual - just out of sight. If you’re a local, you know to accelerate through that blind curve so you have plenty of time to take your chances on the cross-stream merge. However, newbs don’t know this, so they go slow up the ramp. Now they can’t merge and have to wait for an opening, so you have a very good chance of plowing into them. This is why Molly Ivins said “The secret to happiness in Austin is to _never_ drive on I-35.” Really, I don’t know why people aren’t killed on a daily basis. ---
**Author:** ![Enola\_Gay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/3ab097/32.png) [@Enola\_Gay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enola_Gay)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2019, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poor-designs-in-everyday-life/832358/128 "2019-04-14T20:53:53Z")
> [@Isosleepy](#): > > In almost every car, the gap between center console and seat is perfect to swallow any car keys, change or cell phone which might slide out of your pocket or otherwise get anywhere near it - this gap also has some sort of gravitational anomaly, attracting exactly those things you don’t have time for to recover, by pulling over the car, exiting, and locating from the rear seat. > > After decades of this, you’d think they designed this away by now. But of course not. I saw a guy with this same complaint pitch this product on Shark Tank: [https://www.amazon.com/Drop-Stop-Original-Patented-Filler/dp/B00BYH6C1E](https://www.amazon.com/Drop-Stop-Original-Patented-Filler/dp/B00BYH6C1E) ---
**Author:** ![Anny\_Middon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/bc79bd/32.png) [@Anny\_Middon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anny_Middon)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2019, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poor-designs-in-everyday-life/832358/129 "2019-04-14T21:00:30Z")
> [@Lare](#): > > Huh? I open my driver side door with my left hand (in U.S., left-hand drive) because I keep my hand on the handle to control how far the door opens/prevent the wind from catching it/etc. If I used my right hand, and held on, my arm would be in the way of entering the vehicle. That’s the more natural way to open the door when exiting from the driver seat, too. However exiting that way is now considered wrong. I have been told (but no official verification) that if you take a behind-the-wheel test for your license here in Illinois, you’re marked down if you open the door to exit the vehicle with your left hand. Instead you are supposed to use the “Dutch reach” – cross over with your right hand to open the door. This forces you to look over your shoulder for oncoming bicycles and alerts you to not open the door in their path. I periodically try to remember to open the door like this, but using my left hand is such an ingrained habit and I’m always thinking about other things… ---
**Author:** ![Lare](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/53a042/32.png) [@Lare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lare)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2019, 4:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poor-designs-in-everyday-life/832358/130 "2019-04-15T04:01:38Z")
Uhhh, I thought (and originally replied to the thought) of it being opening the door from the outside. Until I read \*\*Anny Middon’s \*\* post I had never heard of this “Dutch reach.” ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2019, 9:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poor-designs-in-everyday-life/832358/131 "2019-04-15T09:09:38Z")
> [@MarvinKitFox](#): > > NOT for right-handed, that image of toilet you are linking is the one SPECIFICALLY ALTERED FOR LEFTIES! > > The vast majority toilets have the flush either as a depress button in the middle top, or AS A LEVER ON THE RIGHT side. [Uh, no.](https://www.google.com/search?q=toilet&client=ms-android-google&source=android-browser&prmd=sinv&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiI5IKA39HhAhUnwVQKHe-GA3sQ_AUoAnoECAwQAg&biw=640&bih=288) The vast majority of toilets I’ve ever seen have the flush handle on the left side of the tank. I’ve seen very few with push buttons, and I’ve never seen a toilet with the flush handle on the right. ---
**Author:** ![Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/son_of_a_rich/32/5439_2.png) [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2019, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poor-designs-in-everyday-life/832358/132 "2019-04-15T14:46:52Z")
Car manufacturers are really proud of touchscreen controls, but it seems like anything that requires you to take your eyes off the road would be a bad thing. ---
**Author:** ![Deltree](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/6de8d8/32.png) [@Deltree](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Deltree)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2019, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poor-designs-in-everyday-life/832358/133 "2019-04-15T14:49:02Z")
> [@echoreply](#): > > In many places emergency vehicles have a strobe light on them, which traffic lights detect, and will cause the lights to interrupt their cycle and go to green for the emergency vehicle. [According to this article](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Traffic_signal_preemption), there also acoustic, radio, and GPS based preemption systems, which makes sense. There is the occasional story of a private vehicle using one of these. About 25 years ago I lived in a city that had those on the lights. I always kept a bright flashlight handy. If I pointed it at the sensor and clicked the switch on and off quickly, I could get the lights to go green for me. ---
**Author:** ![Patch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a183cd/32.png) [@Patch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patch)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2019, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poor-designs-in-everyday-life/832358/134 "2019-04-15T14:59:21Z")
Fuck handedness for toilets. How about toilets in public places that don’t have handles at all, but a foot pedal? Sorry, but I’m doing a number on your john and have to flush while I’m still sitting on it, and now I have to grab the foot pedal with my hand to flush it. Or the ones with no handle at all but just in IR sensor behind your back which flushes when you get up to leave. _I’m still sitting here, you stupid toilet!_ Now you have to fish around behind you for the little tiny button next to it that will flush it, or try to lean to the side to get it to trigger. ---
**Author:** ![wguy123](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wguy123/32/3161_2.png) [@wguy123](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wguy123)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2019, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poor-designs-in-everyday-life/832358/135 "2019-04-15T15:53:08Z")
> [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](#): > > Who are you people whose non-dominant hand is so flaccid that you can’t flush a freaking toilet with it? > > It would not even cross my mind that placement of the flush lever - whether left or right side - is any sort of inconvenience. > mmm This is the point I tried making starting in post 32. I don’t understand how hard it is to flush a toilet with either my left or right hand, and it doesn’t matter which way the lever is pointing. It’s one of the easiest mechanical manipulations to make. ---
**Author:** ![SmellMyWort](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ea5d25/32.png) [@SmellMyWort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmellMyWort)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2019, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poor-designs-in-everyday-life/832358/136 "2019-04-15T19:32:26Z")
> [@wguy123](#): > > This is the point I tried making starting in post 32. I don’t understand how hard it is to flush a toilet with either my left or right hand, and it doesn’t matter which way the lever is pointing. It’s one of the easiest mechanical manipulations to make. Right. It’s like saying every door with the handle on the left side is also “poorly designed.” ---
**Author:** ![Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eyebrows_0f_doom/32/3119_2.png) [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eyebrows_0f_Doom)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2019, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poor-designs-in-everyday-life/832358/137 "2019-04-15T19:35:45Z")
> [@Patch](#): > > Fuck handedness for toilets. How about toilets in public places that don’t have handles at all, but a foot pedal? Sorry, but I’m doing a number on your john and have to flush while I’m still sitting on it, and now I have to grab the foot pedal with my hand to flush it. :dubious: Why do you have to flush while sitting on it? ---
**Author:** ![robby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robby/32/11048_2.png) [@robby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robby)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2019, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poor-designs-in-everyday-life/832358/138 "2019-04-15T19:54:19Z")
> [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](#): > > :dubious: Why do you have to flush while sitting on it? Sometimes you have to flush twice. As the middle-school joke goes, it’s a long way to the cafeteria. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![purplehorseshoe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/purplehorseshoe/32/2996_2.png) [@purplehorseshoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/purplehorseshoe)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2019, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poor-designs-in-everyday-life/832358/139 "2019-04-15T21:45:21Z")
> [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](#): > > :dubious: Why do you have to flush while sitting on it? It’s called a courtesy flush. You know more is on the way, but you flush the current output so everyone else, including you, doesn’t have to smell it. ---
**Author:** ![Hampshire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hampshire/32/4887_2.png) [@Hampshire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hampshire)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2019, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poor-designs-in-everyday-life/832358/140 "2019-04-15T22:53:31Z")
> [@Lare](#): > > Huh? I open my driver side door with my left hand (in U.S., left-hand drive) because I keep my hand on the handle to control how far the door opens/prevent the wind from catching it/etc. If I used my right hand, and held on, my arm would be in the way of entering the vehicle. Yes, that’s what I meant. If the door swings to the left, away from your left hand, you use your left hand. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poor-designs-in-everyday-life/832358.md?page=6) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poor-designs-in-everyday-life/832358.md?page=8)