# Stupidest product design you’ve experienced **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 25, 2023, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupidest-product-design-you-ve-experienced/981621 "2023-03-25T02:57:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 22
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2023, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupidest-product-design-you-ve-experienced/981621/421 "2023-05-02T17:42:14Z")
I keep a functioning pump or two from old bottles around, so that when I come across one that refuses to work I toss it and replace with the old one that works. – I wash them out before storing, as they may be around for some time. ---
**Author:** ![JohnGalt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johngalt/32/184_2.png) [@JohnGalt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnGalt)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2023, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupidest-product-design-you-ve-experienced/981621/422 "2023-05-02T22:09:21Z")
I do the same, but with pill bottle tops. My pharmacy started giving those “push down and turn” childproof caps, which are cumbersome in the least. (No children in the house.) I saved the tops of the last normal screw off caps; they’re probably five years old by now. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2023, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupidest-product-design-you-ve-experienced/981621/423 "2023-05-02T22:22:27Z")
No kids here either. I immediately remove any childproofing mechanisms from lighters, prescription vials, lawnmowers, lube, etc. If you visit me with your toddler, you’ll likely return home alone. ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2023, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupidest-product-design-you-ve-experienced/981621/424 "2023-05-02T23:01:15Z")
> [@JohnGalt](#): > > My pharmacy started giving those “push down and turn” childproof caps, which are cumbersome in the least. (No children in the house.) I saved the tops of the last normal screw off caps; they’re probably five years old by now. I think the pharmacy will give you new no-children caps, if you ask them. I’m pretty sure they can still be provided for adults who have trouble opening the “childproof” type. ---
**Author:** ![Cheesesteak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cheesesteak/32/3694_2.png) [@Cheesesteak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheesesteak)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2023, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupidest-product-design-you-ve-experienced/981621/425 "2023-05-02T23:45:52Z")
Many of the bottles now come double sided turn the cap upside down and it is a regular screw cap. ---
**Author:** ![JohnGalt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johngalt/32/184_2.png) [@JohnGalt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnGalt)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2023, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupidest-product-design-you-ve-experienced/981621/426 "2023-05-03T00:21:47Z")
Yep, that’s what they send out to me. I think they look kinda dorky, like a cap designed by a committe, which is one the reasons I kept the plain screw-on caps. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2023, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupidest-product-design-you-ve-experienced/981621/427 "2023-05-03T01:03:26Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > If you visit me with your toddler, you’ll likely return home alone. You collect toddlers? Now that’s a novel hobby. What do you feed them? 😁 > [@Asuka](#): > > … but you can’t unfold them with just your fingers because they’re locked in so tight to prevent leakage you need to get a pen or knife to pop it open? I think most of that is child-proofing. The nozzle is carefully surrounded by a guard so clumsy little fingers can’t get a good grip. And is stiff to move for the same reason. ---
**Author:** ![LurkMeister](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/3da27b/32.png) [@LurkMeister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LurkMeister)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2023, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupidest-product-design-you-ve-experienced/981621/428 "2023-05-03T01:16:07Z")
I have a standing order with my local CVS that my prescriptions come with regular snap-on caps. Every so often they forget, and once I get the bottle open I replace the childproof cap with the snap-on cap from the empty bottle. ---
**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:** [May 3, 2023, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupidest-product-design-you-ve-experienced/981621/429 "2023-05-03T16:33:49Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > I immediately remove any childproofing mechanisms from lighters, prescription vials, lawnmowers, lube, etc. Wood finishing products that come in metal cans with the child-proof screw tops are nearly worthless. You can open them the first time, but once the finish sets up on the lid, it is nearly impossible to get the lid off again without channel locks, a lot of downward pressure, and the required cussing. I’ve even buckled the cans trying to get them open. I’ve realized you can remove the shitty plastic notched cap and then get to a normal metal lid that is easy to open (at that point, if you do need channel locks, it is easy). Horrible design. The plastic notches are not large enough and too soft. I’m talking about these POSs: [![](https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/dJcAAOSw1HdjYqoI/s-l1600.jpg) ](https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/dJcAAOSw1HdjYqoI/s-l1600.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![garygnu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garygnu/32/2924_2.png) [@garygnu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garygnu)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2023, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupidest-product-design-you-ve-experienced/981621/430 "2023-05-03T16:57:29Z")
Wipe it off before you put the cap back on. ---
**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:** [May 3, 2023, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupidest-product-design-you-ve-experienced/981621/431 "2023-05-03T17:15:53Z")
I’ve tried, I still find them difficult to open. I find it easier to pop off the plastic cap 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![markn\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@markn\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markn_1)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2023, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupidest-product-design-you-ve-experienced/981621/432 "2023-05-03T17:28:55Z")
Yeah, those things really suck. I’ve resorted to putting hte can in a vice and using pliers to turn the cap. Removing the plastic cover seems the only way to do it once the cap is cemented on by dried finish. I recently saw a suggestion to wrap the threads with PTFE (Teflon) plumber’s tape before putting the cap on, but I haven’t yet had occasion to use a can of finish since reading that. I’m going to try it next time. ---
**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:** [May 3, 2023, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupidest-product-design-you-ve-experienced/981621/433 "2023-05-03T18:54:57Z")
> [@markn\_1](#): > > I recently saw a suggestion to wrap the threads with PTFE (Teflon) plumber’s tape before putting the cap on, I hadn’t thought of that. Seems like that might be the ticket! ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2023, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupidest-product-design-you-ve-experienced/981621/434 "2023-05-03T19:11:39Z")
Thorough wiping and maybe using a bit of whatever solvent is appropriate to get both the male & female threads completely clean of product will solve this problem. Metal lids could be glued on too. They could just absorb a little more unskilled abuse removing them before they became permanently unusable. ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2023, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupidest-product-design-you-ve-experienced/981621/435 "2023-05-03T19:28:56Z")
> [@peccavi](#): > > My 2002 Acura had this same “feature” lock and then open the car (or even roll down the window) in the wrong sequence and the alarm would go off. The only way to silence it was to get out of the car, close the door, and lock/unlock it with the key! I think some lady did that yesterday. She opened her door and the alarm went off. She couldn’t figure out how to turn it off so she drove out of the parking lot and turned onto the street with her alarm still on. I thought alarms were supposed to shut down your car so a thief couldn’t drive off in it. ---
**Author:** ![Crafter\_Man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crafter_man/32/458_2.png) [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2023, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupidest-product-design-you-ve-experienced/981621/436 "2023-05-03T22:30:29Z")
How about those cheap, plastic, 5-gallon gas cans? [The nozzles on those things are junk.](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-these-new-green-gas-cans/627299) ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2023, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupidest-product-design-you-ve-experienced/981621/437 "2023-05-03T23:34:34Z")
Re: New gas spouts. I was going to mention those. (I may have already carped about them here). First spring mow/trim the other day. Time to fill up things. Reg. gas and gas/oil mix in a few things. Just an absolute nightmare. Spills all over the place. I’m not sure that if I had 3 hands I could still use them. **These are not solutions to the problem.** They make things worse. ---
**Author:** ![Heracles](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heracles/32/487_2.png) [@Heracles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Heracles)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2023, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupidest-product-design-you-ve-experienced/981621/438 "2023-05-04T00:43:25Z")
> [@Shoeless](#): > > My work laptop is an HP z-book. The little box (hub? dock?) that the laptop and monitors and stuff plug into is a sort of rounded cube. All of the ports for plugging things in are on one side of the cube. Where’s the power switch? The entire top of the cube is the power switch! We had these HP hubs for our laptops at work. The guy in the adjoining cubicle was one of the first to get one, and he put a tiny potted plant on top of it as a decoration… before he realised it was an unlabeled power switch. ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2023, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupidest-product-design-you-ve-experienced/981621/439 "2023-05-04T02:43:01Z")
> [@ftg](#): > > Re: New gas spouts. > > I was going to mention those. (I may have already carped about them here). > > First spring mow/trim the other day. Time to fill up things. Reg. gas and gas/oil mix in a few things. Just an absolute nightmare. Spills all over the place. I’m not sure that if I had 3 hands I could still use them. > > **These are not solutions to the problem.** They make things worse. Agreed. I used gas cans for years before they came out, and rarely spilled any. Then the new ones appeared, and shortly after that my old gas can rusted through. The new ones, supposedly designed to prevent spills, were impossible to use without spilling. – my neighbor had one we used last week that actually worked; though he had to hold a button down the whole time he was pouring. But most of them don’t. ---
**Author:** ![Asuka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@Asuka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asuka)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2023, 8:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupidest-product-design-you-ve-experienced/981621/440 "2023-05-04T08:02:54Z")
I don’t know if this is product or software, but I really hate when grocery stores have those things on shopping cart wheels that automatically freeze the rear cart wheels in place if you take it out of the parking lot, to prevent people from stealing the carts. However I have noticed any place that does this it only covers half the parking lot, if you park anywhere near the back of the parking lot the cart wheels will lock up despite still being in the parking lot. They really need to expand the radio range on those things. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupidest-product-design-you-ve-experienced/981621.md?page=21) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupidest-product-design-you-ve-experienced/981621.md?page=23)