# what inanimate objects do you hate? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [January 18, 2013, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-inanimate-objects-do-you-hate/647644 "2013-01-18T19:43:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![usedtobe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ec9cab/32.png) [@usedtobe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/usedtobe)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2013, 7:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-inanimate-objects-do-you-hate/647644/41 "2013-01-19T07:17:10Z")
> [@InternetLegend](#): > > … install a GIANT GREEN GLOWING LIGHT that’s brighter than any night light … If the lamp is too large and/or bright and you don’t/can’t/won’t simply disconnect it, put a bit of tape (any opaque) over it. If you want a light, put a hole in the tape. Then find something else to hate. If you must hate a thing. Why do people let _things_ bother them? If it bothers you and is within your control, why do you have it? If it is not within your control (traffic lights et al), get over it - life is too short! ---
**Author:** ![Nzinga\_Seated](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/b5ac83/32.png) [@Nzinga\_Seated](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nzinga_Seated)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2013, 7:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-inanimate-objects-do-you-hate/647644/42 "2013-01-19T07:21:05Z")
> [@InternetLegend](#): > > You can call that a “utility belt” all you want, but it’s a fanny pack… I guess you’re right. A double fanny pack at that. ---
**Author:** ![andrewbub](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b9e5f3/32.png) [@andrewbub](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/andrewbub)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2013, 9:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-inanimate-objects-do-you-hate/647644/43 "2013-01-19T09:02:21Z")
the 2000’ rolls of plastic wrap in the restaurant industry. someone in the front of house always tears it so it gets stuck and i have to fight the damn thing to fix it. ---
**Author:** ![chizzuk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e36b37/32.png) [@chizzuk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chizzuk)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2013, 10:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-inanimate-objects-do-you-hate/647644/44 "2013-01-19T10:01:07Z")
Clamshell packaging. You know, the really tough plastic kind with no obvious “open here” tabs that requires an X-acto knife and industrial work gloves in order to open without your hands getting slashed to ribbons. Whoever invented this should be imprisoned. One-ply toilet paper. Having to use twice as much because it’s so flimsy and thin you might as well be wiping your butt with your bare hand kind of defeats the purpose. I hate this stuff. ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2013, 1:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-inanimate-objects-do-you-hate/647644/45 "2013-01-19T13:01:56Z")
low flow toilets. ---
**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:** [January 19, 2013, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-inanimate-objects-do-you-hate/647644/46 "2013-01-19T16:57:39Z")
Overhead projectors. Nothing wrong with their function, but they are always big, blocky things on big, blocky carts and IN MY WAY. ---
**Author:** ![jayrey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/47e85d/32.png) [@jayrey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayrey)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2013, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-inanimate-objects-do-you-hate/647644/47 "2013-01-19T17:25:41Z")
> [@Enola\_Gay](#): > > My Roomba. It has a mind of it’s own, but it is retarded. Once it smeared dog vomit all over my house. Today it got lost and fell down the steps :mad: Maybe it’s just so ashamed of itself, it’s trying to commit suicide. I would if I realized I unententionally spread dog vomit all over the house. :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2013, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-inanimate-objects-do-you-hate/647644/48 "2013-01-19T17:48:41Z")
> [@hogarth](#): > > I save all of my hatred for push doors that have pull handles, and vice versa. I hate those with the fury of a thousand suns. Ditto. Might post a GQ on the legal status of those. ---
**Author:** ![Sahirrnee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sahirrnee/32/13937_2.png) [@Sahirrnee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sahirrnee)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2013, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-inanimate-objects-do-you-hate/647644/49 "2013-01-20T00:18:52Z")
Air fresheners. Plug in, tube, spray, doesn’t matter. They all stink worse that what they are supposed to be covering up. They give me a headache and make me queasy. ---
**Author:** ![colander](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e8c25b/32.png) [@colander](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/colander)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2013, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-inanimate-objects-do-you-hate/647644/50 "2013-01-20T00:47:16Z")
Pillowcases, blanket covers and “fitted” sheets. Used kitchen sponges. Locks and keys. Those bullshit fake “pockets” they put on women’s pants sometimes that don’t actually lead into pouches. Why are those even legal? You know the potential buyer wants a pocket, you want the pants to look like they have pockets, but you don’t want to actually put a goddamn pocket in there? _Fuck you._ I never remember to check for these until after I’ve already bought the pants. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2013, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-inanimate-objects-do-you-hate/647644/51 "2013-01-20T02:41:54Z")
Sock monkeys. [sub]why’d it have to be sock monkeys[/sub] ---
**Author:** ![InternetLegend](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/internetlegend/32/13154_2.png) [@InternetLegend](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/InternetLegend)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2013, 5:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-inanimate-objects-do-you-hate/647644/52 "2013-01-20T05:37:26Z")
> [@Troppus](#): > > Black electrical tape, Sharpie, duct tape…cover it up. I tried the black electrical tape, but it gets pretty hot around the light, so the adhesive melted onto the top of the humidifier. I’ll take a Sharpie to it tonight, though. > [@usedtobe](#): > > If the lamp is too large and/or bright and you don’t/can’t/won’t simply disconnect it, put a bit of tape (any opaque) over it. > If you want a light, put a hole in the tape. > > Then find something else to hate. > > If you must hate a thing. > > Why do people let _things_ bother them? If it bothers you and is within your control, why do you have it? > > If it is not within your control (traffic lights et al), get over it - life is too short! But it’s so much more satisfying to hate inanimate objects than, say, injustice in the world. In my case, if I get really pissed off about the humidifier, I can throw it away or donate it to Goodwill (assuming there aren’t wires sticking out from where I tried to take vengeance on the light, which is very firmly imbedded at the top of the heating element) and I’m out fifteen bucks. If I didn’t spend time complaining about this, I’d just end up thinking about something else, like the problem of long-term housing for my elderly father-in-law and the impossibility of finding a solution that will make everyone happy. Humidifier it is! ---
**Author:** ![Silver\_Tyger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/fbc32d/32.png) [@Silver\_Tyger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Silver_Tyger)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2013, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-inanimate-objects-do-you-hate/647644/53 "2013-01-21T20:57:05Z")
> [@colander](#): > > Those bullshit fake “pockets” they put on women’s pants sometimes that don’t actually lead into pouches. Why are those even legal? You know the potential buyer wants a pocket, you want the pants to look like they have pockets, but you don’t want to actually put a goddamn pocket in there? _Fuck you._ I never remember to check for these until after I’ve already bought the pants. ☹ On pants is bad enough, but on a jacket, I get stabby. It’s a coat! I should be able to put things in it! Or they’ll be basted shut and you go through the trouble of opening them and it’s a little chiclet pocket. Printers. My old cellphone I hated enough that I saved it to destroy it with a hammer once I got my new one. ---
**Author:** ![Seanette](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/seanette/32/9139_2.png) [@Seanette](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Seanette)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2013, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-inanimate-objects-do-you-hate/647644/54 "2013-01-21T21:07:28Z")
> [@colander](#): > > Those bullshit fake “pockets” they put on women’s pants sometimes that don’t actually lead into pouches. Why are those even legal? You know the potential buyer wants a pocket, you want the pants to look like they have pockets, but you don’t want to actually put a goddamn pocket in there? _Fuck you._ I never remember to check for these until after I’ve already bought the pants. ☹ Women’s pants, jackets, or skirts that lack pockets altogether. I do NOT always want to have to juggle a purse, TYVM. Self-snarling yarn/thread. Remote controls, keys, etc., that like to hide from me. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2013, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-inanimate-objects-do-you-hate/647644/55 "2013-01-21T23:08:06Z")
Living hinges - that is, hinges (usually) made of a single piece of creased plastic that bends, rather than two parts that swivel on a pin/axis. Although they’re supposedly designed to flex many more times than would be required during the lifetime of whatever object they belong to, in practice, they often just split or snap. The other day, I bought a jar of Horlicks which had a lid fitted with a living hinge, which broke the second time the lid was opened - now I’ve got a full jar with a lid that just falls off - and I didn’t even need a damn hinged lid in any case - a conventional screw-top jar would have been just fine. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Devil\_s\_Grandmother](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/74df32/32.png) [@The\_Devil\_s\_Grandmother](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Devil_s_Grandmother)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2013, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-inanimate-objects-do-you-hate/647644/56 "2013-01-21T23:42:59Z")
> [@Shakes](#): > > low flow toilets. Amen, brother! [sister?] Once upon a time we had to move from our old offices to a new space. The new space was ok, but in renovating the building, the landlord had put in low-flow toilets on top of old-school, high-flow pipes. Because of regulations, or something, he couldn’t swap out the toilets. After a few weeks of cussing, plunging, and double flushing we ended up \*smuggling \*in high-flow toilets from out of state, because you can’t buy them in California anymore. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2013, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-inanimate-objects-do-you-hate/647644/57 "2013-01-22T01:14:40Z")
Power cords on electronics. It’s 2013, why do we still have cords that tangle as soon as you look at them funny? I also hate all the shelves in the closets in this house. Nothing ever stays on the damn things which are too narrow. ---
**Author:** ![romansperson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/romansperson/32/17100_2.png) [@romansperson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/romansperson)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2013, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-inanimate-objects-do-you-hate/647644/58 "2013-01-22T19:50:42Z")
> [@chizzuk](#): > > Clamshell packaging. You know, the really tough plastic kind with no obvious “open here” tabs that requires an X-acto knife and industrial work gloves in order to open without your hands getting slashed to ribbons. Whoever invented this should be imprisoned. … and used for medical experiments. I second the check engine light mentioned upthread also. Damn thing can mean anything from ‘the gas cap is loose’ to ‘you are about to drop a lot of cash at the dealership!’ and you can’t tell the difference. Why not flash the error code instead? ---
**Author:** ![bouv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bc8723/32.png) [@bouv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bouv)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2013, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-inanimate-objects-do-you-hate/647644/59 "2013-01-22T21:10:44Z")
My computer speakers. They are CONSTANTLY picking up interference. I have to put my phone into airplane mode when I charge it at night or else they made a God awful sound. And they often pick up some random radio station. They’re cheapish speakers, but a decent brand (Logitech,) so you’d think they would have gone through the trouble of putting on $0.10 ferrite cores on the wires, but nope. In theory, I can go out and just buy a couple and put them on myself, but effort. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2013, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-inanimate-objects-do-you-hate/647644/60 "2013-01-22T21:17:20Z")
Lack of pockets are definitely high up on my list. Unfair that most things I own have no pockets. romansperson, take your car to an advance auto parts. They have a machine there they can plug into your car. Then, they don’t just get a “check engine light” but they actually can give you an error code. Then you go home and google the error code. I used to do this with my old car. My advance auto parts was so nice, I ended up giving them all my business for incidentals. (Now my new car has all specific codes. a few months ago it told my my tire pressure was low. In the winter, it’s been flashing the anti-lock brakes whenever they go into affect. When the oil is low it will tell me. I love my car.) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-inanimate-objects-do-you-hate/647644.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-inanimate-objects-do-you-hate/647644.md?page=4)