Widely-Used Products That Have Frustrating Design Flaws

I'm one of those people who has favorite pieces of silverware because the design just feels right in my hand. The weight, the balance, and the shape are all spot on.

I also choose my cellphone based on how it feels to hold it. It's an autism thing in my case, but I'm sure everyone has this same reaction to some extent.

Like, I've never been a gamer, but even back in the days of joysticks as the only controllers, my friends would express the same sort of sentiments.

But if there are things that have a design that appeals to you, there are invariably going to be designs that don't. I have an overabundance of these, because autism. So I'm not a great judge of what's a true design flaw and what's just me being overly sensitive.

Reddit user QuarantinedRabbit asked:

"What widely used product has a frustrating design flaw that the manufacturer has never addressed?"

Zipper Bags

" Food packages that are resealable with a zip closure, but the glue they use to adhere the seal zip to the bag is weaker than the seal."

"So when you go to re-open the seal, the seal zip pulls away from the bag and there goes the resealable feature."

~ Brilliant_Joke7774

"I see this a lot on shredded cheese bags and I think it's been getting more frequent over the last few years. Once you zip it closed, there's about a 50% chance the bag will rip away from the zipper instead of opening it."

"I think companies have been thinning out the plastic in the packaging as much as possible without revisiting the zipper seal design."

~ Enginerdad

Pump Bottles

"Hand soap or lotion or cleaning product pump/spray bottles with the tube inside the bottle is not long enough to get out all the product."

~ Jf192323

Push Here

"The ‘push here’ perforated part of a cardboard box (like a box of kosher salt or corn starch) that NEVER works and instead just dents the box and makes it even harder to open."

~ Elimdumb

Battery Compartments

"I understand that battery compartments needed to be made more difficult for small children to open (specifically the type of small children who put everything into their mouths)."

"But was a screw the best idea? A microscopic screw, threaded into plastic, and made of the softest metal available?"

~ HawaiianShirtsOR

Deli Stickers

"The sticker they put on deli meat/cheese bags and it being stronger than the plastic bag they put it on."

~ Tobeck

"The sticker incorporates/covers the opening/closing part and the whole thing rips when you try and get the sticker off to open it."

~ Sad-Consideration103

LED Headlights

"Blinding LED headlights!"

"On newer vehicles."

~ yelofoley

"In the US, this is due to the differences in regulations across the country. Because different states have different headlight adjustment regulations the manufacturer instructs the dealership to adjust the headlights on delivery to the state and local regulations.

"The dealership never does, and the owners never know better so they drive around with whatever default level was set at the factory."

"Then certain users change the height of the vehicle without adjusting the headlights to match."

"In Europe, at least some projector headlights have an automatic leveling system to account for differences in vehicle load and I think also road slopes. The US regulations are seriously out of date compared to the state of the art for headlights and we suffer as a result."

"Properly designed and adjusted LED projector headlights provide significantly better driver visibility without blinding incoming traffic. The huge vehicles behind you are a different story."

~ azgli

Sticky Labels

"Any product that has removable stickers that don't peel off easily and leave residue that requires Goof Off (Goo-B-Gone) to remove. Idiots."

~ Impossible-Grab9889

"We bought 300 folding chairs for our large American Legion Hall. Each one had three stickers that left paper and glue when removed."

"It took three or four of us a whole weekend to get them off. What kind of a sadist allows that‽‽"

~ Distwalker

"This makes me crazy. I shop at Marshall's and TJ Maxx and they place all of their price stickers on the front of their products or in a place that can be seen by all. They are impossible to remove."

"I mean, why would you put a price sticker on the front glass of a picture frame?"

~ Overall_Captain_4217

Shampoo Bottles

"Shampoo bottles that flip open so easily in luggage but NEVER when you’re in the shower with slippery hands."

~ Oninemo

Cereal Bags

"The bag in the box of cereal should be a zip lock type closure for kids."

~ badhairdad1

"But that would cost an extra $0.02!"

~ Apprehensive-Log8333

"And yet, ironically, the cheaper cereal comes with it included!"

~ lostinthought15

Automatic DRLs

"All the daytime running lights (DRLs) that turn on automatically, but only turn on the front lights, so people drive around in the rain or other bad weather or at night with just those DRLs on in the front and don't have any lights on in the back."

"You would think if they can make automatic lights, they should make them actually turn on all the lights so people can F'ing see you."

~ No-Understanding-912

Stick Deodorant

"Deodorant caps are smooth plastic and impossible to open with wet or recently moisturized hands."

"Would it kill them to put a couple ridges on those caps?"

~ SciFi_Wasabi999

"Also they are very top heavy."

"Multiple times I have accidentally gently tapped my deodorant & watched it toboggan through the sink and swan dive into the toilet."

~ katekohli

Skip Intro/Play Credits

"'Skip Intro' should be a setting on streaming services, not something I need to select every 21 minutes."

~ bavmotors1

"And 'play credits' should be the same. Sometimes I want to watch the end credits."

~ CranberryDistinct941

"Apple is especially bad about this. 'Stay tuned after the credits for a behind-the-scenes feature', they say."

"Then it minimizes the credits screen and autoselects whatever show they're promoting, and after hitting back on the stupid Apple remote about three times, I finally give up and turn the whole TV off."

~ austex99

Shower Products

"Make the words 'shampoo', 'conditioner' and 'bodywash' on bottles bigger and easier to read."

"I get that your light green against dark green is a visually pleasing ascetic for store shelves, but I can't wear my glasses in the shower!"

~ Paxdog1

File Storage

"Where are my goddam files‽‽

"Windows, Apple, everything tries to hide the location where they're storing their files. No, I don't want to default to storing on onedrive."

"I just want to be able to find my goddam files!"

~ KnoWanUKnow2

Easy Open Packaging

"Anything ever marked 'easy open' is guaranteed to not be easy to open."

~ MohawMais

"This reminds me of bags of water softener salt I get from Costco. It has a big bold 'Easy Open' written next to a poorly perforated line. It takes some real strength to rip those fuckers open.

"'Easy Open' just seems to be there to mock me."

~ No_Balls_01

What would you add to the list?