# 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:** 85
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2025, 10:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupidest-product-design-you-ve-experienced/981621/1681 "2025-05-16T10:09:46Z")
One thing about the low battery beep of a fire alarm - It’s so annoying it makes you replace it (or just remove the battery). Once at a party one started going off. Waaaaayyyy up their on the vaulted ceiling. Had to get an extension ladder. ---
**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 16, 2025, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupidest-product-design-you-ve-experienced/981621/1682 "2025-05-16T15:55:49Z")
> [@enipla](#): > > One thing about the low battery beep of a fire alarm - It’s so annoying it makes you replace it (or just remove the battery). Yup. And apparently a significant number of people who remove the battery never put another one in. So the designers thought they’d solve that problem. (I presume. I don’t know why else they did this.) The alarms on the market now, at least in New York State, have ten year batteries – and they’re not replaceable. When the thing starts beeping – whether because the ten years are up or because the battery was defective or because the detector’s defective (and I have had multiple detectors become defective, though I don’t know what it was in them that failed) – the only way to shut it up is to break a tab which . . . permanently breaks the detector. So they’ve prevented people from removing the battery and then not replacing it – by forcing people to break the detector. But the people who wouldn’t replace the battery aren’t going to replace the entire detector, either. And many of the people who would have taken out a battery did replace the battery; but some of those won’t replace the entire detector, which costs more and of which they’re less likely to have a spare in stock right there in the house. Their “fix” is bound to result in fewer people with a working detector, not more. ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2025, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupidest-product-design-you-ve-experienced/981621/1683 "2025-05-16T16:20:31Z")
> [@thorny\_locust](#): > > Their “fix” is bound to result in fewer people with a working detector, not more. Right. I’m the tall guy around, so the duty is always mine, I see the beeping detectors a lot. ---
**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 16, 2025, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupidest-product-design-you-ve-experienced/981621/1684 "2025-05-16T17:29:45Z")
I was once staying in a rental house. After we went to bed, I heard the dreaded beep of a smoke detector with a low battery. Since I was unfamiliar with the house, I had the double problem of locating the smoke detectors and determining which one was beeping. I spent some time standing in different places and waiting for the occasional beep, but finally I gave up and just slept with earplugs, but I could still hear it. The next day I was determined to find it, so I probably spent a good hour standing in different places, listening for that goddamned beep. Finally I located the smoke detector m in a closet. Who the hell puts a smoke detector in a closet? I called the house owner who sent someone over to remove it. When he got there he mentioned that they recently replaced all the smoke detectors in the house, but “I guess we forgot about that one”. Grrrr. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2025, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupidest-product-design-you-ve-experienced/981621/1685 "2025-05-16T19:05:59Z")
A decade or so ago, one Saturday night I heard the beep-beep from the smoke detector in my apartment. What freaked me out a bit was that this was the Saturday night before the end of Daylight Saving Time, so I was wondering how the thing knew to alert then? There is or was an ad campaign in America advising people to change their smoke detector batteries at the beginning or end of Daylight Saving Time but I’m sure that it was just a coincidence that mine started to beep just at that time. ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2025, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupidest-product-design-you-ve-experienced/981621/1686 "2025-05-16T22:58:11Z")
I guess I’ll put this here. It could go into ‘Things that infuriate you…’ But when a design, a simple design works perfectly well and has for ~75 years, and every house has one or two now adays. Most every guy that has a tool box can install or adjust in just a little time. And then comes along a better mouse trap. I’m talking about toilet flush valves. The ones with the float ball are very simple, and work very well. BUT, about 15 years ago, I did replace one. The only thing the building center had was some new fangled design. So I bought it and installed it. About every 10th, 20th or 50th flush you had to pull the lid of the tank off and fiddle with it to get it to work. It was a bizzarro design. After 15 years of cussing at the thing about twice a month, I finally replaced the entire unit. With one that was the standard good ole design that every one knows. Interestingly the ‘new’ design was no where to be found (same building center) ---
**Author:** ![Briny\_Deep](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/briny_deep/32/17188_2.png) [@Briny\_Deep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Briny_Deep)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2025, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupidest-product-design-you-ve-experienced/981621/1687 "2025-05-25T15:46:10Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > I agree that CD jewel cases are/were anoyingly prone to breakage, but I never had any issues removing the CD from them. Nobody laugh, but I’ve got a vast DVD library which I use most evenings. Last night the thing finally happened which I’ve been expecting for decades: a disc was so firmly stuck on its little spindle that I shattered it trying to get it out of the case. Now I’ll never know how _Star Trek: Discovery_ Season 2 ends. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2025, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupidest-product-design-you-ve-experienced/981621/1688 "2025-05-25T16:12:00Z")
> [@Briny\_Deep](#): > > Now I’ll never know how _Star Trek: Discovery_ Season 2 ends. Every cloud has a silver lining… ---
**Author:** ![WildaBeast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wildabeast/32/6_2.png) [@WildaBeast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WildaBeast)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2025, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupidest-product-design-you-ve-experienced/981621/1689 "2025-05-27T17:53:08Z")
Ben & Jerry’s “Topped” ice cream. It’s a pint container of ice cream, with an extra layer of “stuff” on top. Since a pint is more than one serving, if you scoop the ice cream like I normally do, the first serving gets all the topping, and subsequent servings get just ice cream. If you want to split the topping across multiple servings you have to divide up the ice cream vertically instead of horizontally. I wonder, does Ben & Jerry’s think most people treat a pint as a single serving? On a different note (and this might be a better fit for the “worst software design” thread, but I don’t feel like finding that thread and bumping it), at some point YouTube add a feature where you can preview a video by placing your cursor over the thumbnail. That’s maybe not bad in and of itself, except it counts that portion of the video you previewed this way as “watched”, so if/when I actually watch the video it starts playing from that point rather than from the beginning. This is especially annoying when I accidentally leave my cursor on a video and go away for a few minutes. Now YouTube thinks I’ve watched the first five minutes of that video, and when I do want to watch it I have to rewind it back to the beginning. ---
**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 27, 2025, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupidest-product-design-you-ve-experienced/981621/1690 "2025-05-27T18:00:33Z")
> [@WildaBeast](#): > > I wonder, does Ben & Jerry’s think most people treat a pint as a single serving? But of course. Toss the lid - it ain’t goin’ back on anyhow. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2025, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupidest-product-design-you-ve-experienced/981621/1691 "2025-05-27T18:13:33Z")
When I was in college, a Ben & Jerry’s pint _was_ a single serving ---
**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 27, 2025, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupidest-product-design-you-ve-experienced/981621/1692 "2025-05-27T19:33:35Z")
Or maybe the first half of a single serving. ---
**Author:** ![commasense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/commasense/32/3017_2.png) [@commasense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/commasense)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2025, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupidest-product-design-you-ve-experienced/981621/1693 "2025-05-27T22:14:17Z")
> [@WildaBeast](#): > > If you want to split the topping across multiple servings you have to divide up the ice cream vertically instead of horizontally. I wonder, does Ben & Jerry’s think most people treat a pint as a single serving? I just dig down and eat about a third each time, straight from the carton. But if you have three friends around, you can do this: https://www.tiktok.com/embed/v2/7324726908694842656 ---
**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:** [May 27, 2025, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupidest-product-design-you-ve-experienced/981621/1694 "2025-05-27T22:23:36Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > Toss the lid - it ain’t goin’ back on anyhow. That’s what @Eve said a decade ago. A little more elegantly. ---
**Author:** ![pirviii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pirviii/32/3233_2.png) [@pirviii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pirviii)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2025, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupidest-product-design-you-ve-experienced/981621/1695 "2025-05-28T02:43:32Z")
> [@WildaBeast](#): > > does Ben & Jerry’s think most people treat a pint as a single serving? Any size is single serving if you’re hungry enough. ---
**Author:** ![sunacres](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4491bb/32.png) [@sunacres](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sunacres)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2025, 12:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupidest-product-design-you-ve-experienced/981621/1696 "2025-05-28T12:35:02Z")
> [@WildaBeast](#): > > …I have to rewind it back to the beginning. Yeah, that click and drag can be exhausting. ---
**Author:** ![pjd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pjd/32/3009_2.png) [@pjd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pjd)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2025, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupidest-product-design-you-ve-experienced/981621/1697 "2025-05-28T14:35:28Z")
Pressing the zero key is quicker. (Either one works, top row or numeric kb) ---
**Author:** ![Railer13](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/railer13/32/9742_2.png) [@Railer13](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Railer13)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2025, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupidest-product-design-you-ve-experienced/981621/1698 "2025-05-28T14:38:44Z")
> [@pjd](#): > > Pressing the zero key is quicker. I did not know this. Thanks! ---
**Author:** ![pjd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pjd/32/3009_2.png) [@pjd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pjd)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2025, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupidest-product-design-you-ve-experienced/981621/1699 "2025-05-28T14:44:30Z")
Also, pressing other numbers will jump to a corresponding point in the video. (eg pressing 5 will go to the middle etc.) ---
**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:** [May 28, 2025, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupidest-product-design-you-ve-experienced/981621/1700 "2025-05-28T20:46:58Z")
You are _not_ just some random British bloke! You’re a bringer of great hacks. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupidest-product-design-you-ve-experienced/981621.md?page=84) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupidest-product-design-you-ve-experienced/981621.md?page=86)