# 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:** 33
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2023, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupidest-product-design-you-ve-experienced/981621/641 "2023-05-31T22:20:25Z")
Almost no SUVs have separately opening glass on the rear hatch anymore. It used to be almost ubiquitous. Separately opening glass windows make the rear cargo area MUCH more usable. And if stuff shifts such that it will fall on the ground when you open the hatch, you can open the glass first and grab it. Also, you could pack much more stuff into the back. You could put in a bunch, close the hatch, then open the glass and fill the back right to the roof. Now half the cargo area has to remain unused for loads of smaller things. Form over function, I guess. I’m sure they spent more adding a powered liftgate than they saved deleting the second opening. But having that back would be way more useful. My 2005 Escape had that. The new one doesn’t. ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2023, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupidest-product-design-you-ve-experienced/981621/642 "2023-05-31T22:23:01Z")
> [@Sam\_Stone](#): > > Almost no SUVs have separately opening glass on the rear hatch anymore. It used to be almost ubiquitous. Separately opening glass windows make the rear cargo area MUCH more usable. I agree. I especially like the power rear window my dad had in his old 60s Buick station wagon. I guess carbon monoxide concerns put an end to that, but now with EVs, perhaps they could try again. ---
**Author:** ![doreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/858c86/32.png) [@doreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doreen)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2023, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupidest-product-design-you-ve-experienced/981621/643 "2023-05-31T22:23:23Z")
I’ve noticed a lot of things I buy are in bags with a slide , not the zip-lock where you press the sides together .And there’s no need for it - one item was a bunch of cheap costume earrings - there were five pairs on a card and they were sold in sets of 4 or 5 cards which were in a plastic bag with the slide. I suppose they wanted to package the cards together , but no reason they couldn’t have been packaged in a heat sealed bag. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2023, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupidest-product-design-you-ve-experienced/981621/644 "2023-05-31T22:30:37Z")
> [@Sam\_Stone](#): > > Now half the cargo area has to remain unused for loads of smaller things. Why? Are you hauling ping pong balls? I can tetris the cargo compartment in my Rogue to the ceiling, lift-door and all. Mixed camping equipment, serious Home Depot run, whatever. ---
**Author:** ![medstar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f07891/32.png) [@medstar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/medstar)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2023, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupidest-product-design-you-ve-experienced/981621/645 "2023-05-31T23:25:01Z")
Can the old style windows be put in after market? ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2023, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupidest-product-design-you-ve-experienced/981621/646 "2023-06-01T00:21:26Z")
Not that I know of. The hatches are sculpted and the glass is an integral part. ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2023, 6:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupidest-product-design-you-ve-experienced/981621/647 "2023-06-01T06:15:19Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > I want only the softest, most cushiony cotton touching my boys. No brass balls, eh? ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2023, 6:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupidest-product-design-you-ve-experienced/981621/648 "2023-06-01T06:18:51Z")
> [@Sam\_Stone](#): > > My 2005 Escape had that. The new one doesn’t. Ditto our 2006 and 2020 CRVs, respectively. While we didn’t need that lift glass all that often, it was indeed useful if we’d filled the car with things that might shift - like if we were loading up for a long trip and had a lot of oddly-shaped duffle bags or whatever. On a multi-night trip, where we needed to stop for a night en route, we could pile the “while we’re there” stuff in the bottom, and toss the “gotta grab for the hotel tonight” stuff on top. On the plus side: the old CRV’s gate opened to the side, versus lifting up as the new one does. Only, the hinge was on the right. Which meant that when I pulled up to the front of the grocery store to load a cartload of stuff, I had to go AROUND the door to put things in the back. The new one has a “hands free” opening system. If I’ve got the keys on me, I can wave my foot under the tail end of the car, and it’ll open up. Only… the spot is not always easy to hit just right. so I’m frequently balancing on one foot, waving the other one underneath, while trying to balance an armload of stuff. And when I DO get the spot, I have to dance a step backward to avoid it smacking me in the face. I’m surprised I haven’t fallen yet, or dropped anything, The one time that spot IS easy to find is when I don’t want it to. For some reason, loading stuff in from a Costco grocery run frequently leads to my inadvertently triggering the hands-free system, causing me to have to writhe out of the way as the door tries to close on me. ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2023, 9:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupidest-product-design-you-ve-experienced/981621/649 "2023-06-01T09:42:54Z")
> [@Sam\_Stone](#): > > Almost no SUVs have separately opening glass on the rear hatch anymore. It used to be almost ubiquitous. Separately opening glass windows make the rear cargo area MUCH more usable. Yup. Also not just packing the area full, but for longer items you can leave the window down. Both my Pathfinders had a window that lifted up. I was very happy to discover that my 4Runner has a gate window that rolls down into the gate. When I shop, I’ll often just put the window down and toss things right in when I come back from the store. ---
**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:** [June 1, 2023, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupidest-product-design-you-ve-experienced/981621/650 "2023-06-01T15:17:55Z")
> [@enipla](#): > > Yup. Also not just packing the area full, but for longer items you can leave the window down. We had various Jeep Liberties as my late first wife’s cars for most of ~2000-2020. With the relatively short bed even with the back seats folded, being able to leave the window hatch open with the tailgate up was essential to carry anything longer than about 5 feet or wider than the space between the interior fender wells. If the current Liberty or Liberty-equivalent vehicles have an integral glass that can’t open separately that utterly nerfs the vehicle as a cargo hauler. I’m no longer in the market for that class of vehicle so don’t know what’s on offer today. But I sure hope the window part of the tailgate opens. ---
**Author:** ![alovem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b38774/32.png) [@alovem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alovem)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2023, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupidest-product-design-you-ve-experienced/981621/651 "2023-06-02T16:05:07Z")
Some 20 years later, I still remember a stovetop grill that I ended up tossing. Just a thick slab of metal with very low sides, a ridged bottom (to keep the food out of the released grease) and (here’s the flaw) a handle that was just a steel rod bent into a handle shape. You’ve probably already guessed that the handle would get very hot every time I used the grill. It was disappointing because I was looking forward to using it regularly. Not a big deal, because I got it new for cheap (which should have tipped me off). Oh well: twice burned, lesson learned. ---
**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:** [June 2, 2023, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupidest-product-design-you-ve-experienced/981621/652 "2023-06-02T16:13:10Z")
My scout troop has a cabin in a camp that has a couple of amenities. The one in question is a built-in propane stove, 5 burners with nice heavy cast iron grid support. The heavy grid support is in 3 pieces that sit on tiny little rubber feet that sit in tiny little depressions in the stove top. This means, of course, that anyone trying to move a heavy pot or pan is likely to knock the supports out of alignment, so the user has to move all the pans off and reset all three fiery hot cast iron supports back into their designated position. Second is the “no touch” paper towel dispenser. The ones with literally no way to access the paper if the batteries die. My work also has these. Very convenient for drying hands when they work, wall decorations when the battery is out, which seems to happen a lot. ---
**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:** [June 2, 2023, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupidest-product-design-you-ve-experienced/981621/653 "2023-06-02T16:28:35Z")
> [@Cheesesteak](#): > > Second is the “no touch” paper towel dispenser. Remember decades back when some public restrooms had a cloth towel that you dried your hands with, then the dispenser rolled the wet towel away and new towel emerged? Who the heck thought that was a good design? What became of the used towel material? ---
**Author:** ![Tride](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tride/32/13907_2.png) [@Tride](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tride)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2023, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupidest-product-design-you-ve-experienced/981621/654 "2023-06-02T16:33:35Z")
Cleaned by a laundry service. ---
**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:** [June 2, 2023, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupidest-product-design-you-ve-experienced/981621/655 "2023-06-02T16:33:38Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > Who the heck thought that was a good design? What became of the used towel material? I know this answer! My dad had one in his shop. The used towel got rolled up and is taken away by a service that washes it and brings back rolls of clean dry towel for the machine. ---
**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:** [June 2, 2023, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupidest-product-design-you-ve-experienced/981621/656 "2023-06-02T16:52:37Z")
Wow. … ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2023, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupidest-product-design-you-ve-experienced/981621/657 "2023-06-02T16:55:24Z")
Inspired by a 2:00 a.m. incident last night, I’m going to nominate smoke detectors. How about a flashing light or something a few days before the beeping starts? The detector in our bedroom is about 20 feet up. So, at 2:00 a.m. I had to go get the big ladder and find a battery. ---
**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:** [June 2, 2023, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupidest-product-design-you-ve-experienced/981621/658 "2023-06-02T19:29:18Z")
> [@Procrustus](#): > > The detector in our bedroom is about 20 feet up. So, at 2:00 a.m. I had to go get the big ladder and find a battery See, I’d never hear the beep, and my gf would feel bad about waking me. ---
**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:** [June 2, 2023, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupidest-product-design-you-ve-experienced/981621/659 "2023-06-02T19:54:41Z")
Sometimes deef is good! ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2023, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupidest-product-design-you-ve-experienced/981621/660 "2023-06-02T19:56:37Z")
I hear you. Cathedral ceiling in bedroom. Smoke alarm went off in the middle of my morning shower. At least the cats were amused (after they got used to the noise.) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupidest-product-design-you-ve-experienced/981621.md?page=32) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupidest-product-design-you-ve-experienced/981621.md?page=34)