# 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:** 37
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2023, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupidest-product-design-you-ve-experienced/981621/721 "2023-06-14T16:11:37Z")
> [@thorny\_locust](#): > > To portray people who don’t want to live with the hassles of 20’ ceilings as all going in terror of the outdoors is absurd. For my mom, it had nothing to do with 20’ ceilings, but that people could see in. She got rather paranoid as she aged, but she had become quite frail. understandable. ---
**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 14, 2023, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupidest-product-design-you-ve-experienced/981621/722 "2023-06-14T17:23:37Z")
> [@thorny\_locust](#): > > I really don’t understand the architectural enthusiasm for rooms multiple stories high in residential buildings. Nobody can get at the light fixtures or the windows. I love the high ceilings. _BUT_, the damn fire code requires a smoke detector at the highest point. In our case that’s a tower about 25 feet above our front door. There’s no way for us to change the battery. (and you know it would start beeping at 2:00 a.m.) Don’t tell anyone, but we inactivated that particular smoke detector (we have many others around the house) ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Drake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Dr.Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Drake)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2023, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupidest-product-design-you-ve-experienced/981621/723 "2023-06-14T18:40:03Z")
We had our smoke detectors wired into the mains. I’m sure there’s a battery backup, but it basically eliminates the need for changing those batteries. (Bonus: they also speak, and since this is Canada, they say “fire! feu!” or “carbon monoxide! monoxyde de carbone!” I’m sure the order is reversed in Quebec.) Not exactly a design issue, but the things wrong with our house are legion. Maybe I should start a “stupidest house design issues the previous owners came up with.” ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2023, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupidest-product-design-you-ve-experienced/981621/724 "2023-06-14T18:48:47Z")
> [@Dr.Drake](#): > > I’m sure there’s a battery backup, but it basically eliminates the need for changing those batteries. But the dang thing _will_ beep if the battery backup goes dead. I’d rather have the extra square footage than the extremely tall ceilings. Those ceilings make the rooms echo-y and loud, too. Some builders put them in houses where the rooms are not all that big. Then, those rooms feel like you’re in the bottom of a well. Not my cup of tea. ---
**Author:** ![echoreply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/echoreply/32/3641_2.png) [@echoreply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/echoreply)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2023, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupidest-product-design-you-ve-experienced/981621/725 "2023-06-14T19:07:50Z")
> [@carrps](#): > > I’d rather have the extra square footage than the extremely tall ceilings The house I grew up in went for both a high ceiling and extra space, which meant the worst of both. A nice 18 foot ceiling in the living room. That let the heat rise and probably kept it cooler down there. All the heat went up to the top of the ceiling, over the balcony, and into the kids’ bedrooms. Extra space! The ceiling isn’t vaulted over the kitchen, so now there is an odd shaped pocket that can be made into a big closet. The ceiling starts at normal height, but immediately starts sloping down to about 4 feet high. Also, nobody bothers to run a duct to a closet, so it would be 100F in there during the summer. I’m sure some architect computed that changing the roof to convert the closet into another bedroom would have been more expensive than the expected price increase of a house with an additional bedroom. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2023, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupidest-product-design-you-ve-experienced/981621/726 "2023-06-14T19:40:47Z")
I prefer ceilings that are _slightly_ lower than average for both homes, businesses, and commercial foyers. It feels cozier to me. At 6’1", I wouldn’t want ceilings so low that I would be in danger of hitting my head if I jumped even a bit, but I prefer smaller than average to higher than average, which feels oppressively grandiose. I understand that businesses have higher ceilings in general, plus they are _meant_ to feel less cozy since they are less like a home, so being higher than homes is okay for them as well. Amongst other complaints about it, people complain that the Contemporary at Disney World feels like an office, and I think that one of the reasons is that the first floor is lower than average for a hotel lobby. And I love it! The hallways aren’t overly high, either. For a while before the pandemic, I worked in an office that people complained was showing its age, but I loved it for its cozy ceilings. Now, I could have used a couple _more_ inches in my office (not unlike a certain person who identifies as a female pronoun is rumored to have reported,) but it was better small than large. I guess what is just as important is that architects _avoid_ ratios that are too close to the Golden Ratio because they also feel unwelcoming in their pomposity. For instance, I didn’t _dislike_ the main office building at UCF, but what would have made it great rather than good is a less-perfectly-ratioed hallway. I think that is also why I tend to dislike the lobbies of medium-or-high-rise contemporary buildings, not only due to the absolute height of their lobbies, but also the ratio of height to length and breadth, which echoes classical harmony in a very subconscious way and _won’t let you forget_ that you’re in a _very important building_, and it isn’t yours. ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2023, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupidest-product-design-you-ve-experienced/981621/727 "2023-06-14T21:02:12Z")
> [@Ludovic](#): > > (not unlike a certain person who identifies as a female pronoun is rumored to have reported,) Damn, I don’t know whether to applaud or roll my eyes… ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2023, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupidest-product-design-you-ve-experienced/981621/728 "2023-06-14T21:43:00Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > I was guessing a “Spurger” was a tool for removing spurge, a type of flat spreading weed that commonly invades lawns: Is that related to purslane? Because I’d love to have purslane taking over my lawn: That stuff’s delicious. > [@Ludovic](#): > > I guess what is just as important is that architects _avoid_ ratios that are too close to the Golden Ratio because they also feel unwelcoming in their pomposity. Aside: The Golden Ratio might be aesthetically pleasing in geometry… but not in music. Two notes with frequencies in the golden ratio to each other will be as dissonant as it’s mathematically possible to be. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2023, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupidest-product-design-you-ve-experienced/981621/729 "2023-06-17T19:10:10Z")
> [@WildaBeast](#): > > I guess having the knobs at the back makes it virtually impossible for a small child to reach them, but then why do gas stoves put them on the front, where a toddler could easily reach them and turn on the gas when the adults aren’t looking? [Not just human toddlers](https://twitter.com/theevilwriter/status/1392631100976025603) ---
**Author:** ![TRC4941](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trc4941/32/6792_2.png) [@TRC4941](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TRC4941)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2023, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupidest-product-design-you-ve-experienced/981621/730 "2023-06-21T16:05:17Z")
About a year ago I treated my self to 2 new 9X13 pans. I had been using the ones we got as wedding gifts back in 1982! I ordered them from Amazon. They were either Faberware or Nordic Ware - nonstick. These are the worst pans I’ve ever dealt with. They have diamond-cut textured interior bottoms. So, even though they’re nonstick, particles get stuck in the textured bottom. I make my husband an egg bake every week for his breakfasts. I always line the pan with aluminum foil and spray it with a cooking spray. The last few times there must have been a little pinhole in the foil (maybe from my fingernail) so some of the egg seeped underneath the foil. What a frickin’ mess. It’s nearly impossible to get the pan clean. I soaked and scrubbed and I still couldn’t get all of it out of those teeny diamond crevices. I am DONE with those pans. I just ordered two new pans with nice smooth interiors. ---
**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 21, 2023, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupidest-product-design-you-ve-experienced/981621/731 "2023-06-21T16:50:53Z")
> [@TRC4941](#): > > I just ordered two new pans with nice smooth interiors. I have had a nice porcelain nonstick pan. I used it daily. I wiped it out with a paper towel after use. Damn, I loved that pan. My gf would complain about me not washing it, but I told her that’s how I like to maintain my pan. One day I couldn’t find it. She’d placed it in the dishwasher. After, I told her she could have the pan, I was done with it. She used it and the food stuck. Man, I would do the spatula-free egg flip with no problem. Anyway, she bought me an identical replacement and doesn’t ever touch it. ---
**Author:** ![Toxylon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f05b48/32.png) [@Toxylon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Toxylon)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2023, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupidest-product-design-you-ve-experienced/981621/732 "2023-06-21T19:49:54Z")
Yeah, there’s tons of just such laptops. ---
**Author:** ![Horatius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/horatius/32/3572_2.png) [@Horatius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatius)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2023, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupidest-product-design-you-ve-experienced/981621/733 "2023-06-22T15:58:16Z")
Does “Serious overpackaging” count as a stupid product design? I just bought a new brand of wafer cookies today. Every other brand of these I’ve ever bought just had one layer of outer foil-type packaging. But this one? I open the foil. Oh, there seems to be some kind of box inside the foil. I open the box. Well, it seems there’s two sub-packages of foil wrapped cookies inside the box. Three layers of packaging when one suffices for every other brand I’ve ever seen. ---
**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 22, 2023, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupidest-product-design-you-ve-experienced/981621/734 "2023-06-22T16:30:14Z")
> [@Horatius](#): > > Does “Serious overpackaging” count as a stupid product design? I worked in a neurophysiology lab during my undergrad years. We used tetrodotoxin (TTX) in our work. TTX, the toxin in puffer fish, is 1200 times more toxic to humans than cyanide and has no antidote. We were careful when using it. When we ordered it, FedEx delivered it in a box the size of a large microwave oven. The box was marked **BIOHAZARD** and was taped securely shut. Once the tape seal was cut, a _slightly_ smaller box could be removed, which was also securely taped shut. Several more iterations went on from there. Eventually a tough plastic clam-shell type package was removed. Inside this was a tin can. A can opener was used to open it and we finally got to the TTX, roughly 2 milliliters. Your wafer cookies were pretty easy to extract in comparison 🤪 ---
**Author:** ![Pleonast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pleonast/32/1183_2.png) [@Pleonast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pleonast)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2023, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupidest-product-design-you-ve-experienced/981621/735 "2023-06-22T18:21:26Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > Your wafer cookies were pretty easy to extract in comparison What’s the LD50 of wafer cookies? 🤔 ---
**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 22, 2023, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupidest-product-design-you-ve-experienced/981621/736 "2023-06-22T18:27:22Z")
Hey kids! Take the wafer cookie challenge! ---
**Author:** ![Horatius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/horatius/32/3572_2.png) [@Horatius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatius)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2023, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupidest-product-design-you-ve-experienced/981621/737 "2023-06-22T18:28:58Z")
> [@Pleonast](#): > > What’s the LD50 of wafer cookies? I can report that it’s greater than 100 grams. ---
**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 22, 2023, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupidest-product-design-you-ve-experienced/981621/738 "2023-06-22T18:30:56Z")
Well, maybe not. Maybe you were just in the lucky 50% who did not expire from that cookie overdose. ---
**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 22, 2023, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupidest-product-design-you-ve-experienced/981621/739 "2023-06-22T18:35:55Z")
Our induction cooktop has a 14" burner, so I thought I’d order a non-stick pan to match. A Gotham Steel pan had good reviews on Amazon, and it’s a nice pan, except… The induction inserts in the aluminum are only 11" in diameter, so the outer inch and a half of the pan doesn’t heat up except by conduction. WTF? ---
**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 22, 2023, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupidest-product-design-you-ve-experienced/981621/740 "2023-06-22T19:03:42Z")
> [@Cheesesteak](#): > > 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. I first heard of these in one of the Little House books, of all places - “roller towels”, they were called. I got the impression that you’d use your bit, and eventually that same bit would come around for someone else to use - hopefully having air-dried in the meantime. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupidest-product-design-you-ve-experienced/981621.md?page=36) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupidest-product-design-you-ve-experienced/981621.md?page=38)