Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

Products Made By People Who Clearly Never Use Them

A pair of sunglasses, their case and an iced espresso coffee are placed on top of a counter
Photo by Tamara Bellis

"Reddit user DongLaiCha asked: 'What products are clearly made by people or companies who never actually use them?'"

Do you ever use a product and wonder... "Who in the world thought this would work?"

That seems to be an issue with a lot of items in life.


Like, who designed all these extra dinner forks?

It's all too confusing when you just want to eat a salad and a steak.

Let me keep my fork.

You're wasting water on all the cleaning.

Think before you create.

Redditor DongLaiCha wanted to discuss some products that may need more in-field research, so they asked:

"What products are clearly made by people or companies who never actually use them?"

Remember CDs?

It was easier to break into the Pentagon than open that plastic wrapping.

Who thought that idea up?

Too Dry

Hair Bathing GIFGiphy

"I swear that people who design some shampoo and conditioner bottles have never tried to use them while wet."

danarexasaurus

Assessments

"Elementary state assessments. They are the most obtuse, poorly written, unrealistic questions on earth. They enrage me. They are clearly written by people who either have zero experience in elementary education or haven’t had any in a decade or so."

meadow_chef

"I have a BA in English and couldn't figure out one of the answers to my child's third-grade ELA state test practice. I spoke to the teacher about it and she sounded so defeated about the testing. There's no way to prepare children for a test when the questions and answers are so poorly written that the students, their teacher, and the parents can't pick the correct answer."

DistractedHouseWitch

Cheap and Expensive

"A few years ago we wanted a coffee maker with a slightly larger carafe. The only 14-cup one we could find at a reasonable price was branded with Drew Barrymore's name. Whatever, we bought it. It was the worst kitchen device I've ever owned. The interface to set the clock, program it, etc. was absolutely baffling to use, never seemed to do the same thing twice."

"The instructions were apparently written by whatever guy at the factory had a cousin who'd seen an American TV show once. And when it actually did somehow make coffee, it came out shriekingly hot, to where I would put a couple of ice cubes into my travel mug when I left for work just to get it down to drinkable temperature."

Fabulous-Quality-282

Flip It

"Those who make the 'pull this flip to open' on plastic packaging of cold cuts."

MissNatdah

"Similarly, the people who make 'resealable' packages of food products where you have to cut it open in a certain place, but cutting there either results in: A) the package still being sealed closed, or B) ruining the internal sealing zipper. I have this issue with the frozen dumplings I buy and no matter what I do, I have NEVER been able to reseal the package as advertised and have to resort to a chip clip."

pls_send_caffeine

Punch a Hole

Mac And Cheese Eating GIF by Megan BatoonGiphy

"The 'push here to open' spot on Kraft Mac and Cheese."

coop_doop

"Whenever I get a different brand I just punch a hole in the same spot out of habit. It’s about exactly as hard to do as with the Kraft ones. So they might as well take out the perforating step and save .001¢/box in the production process."

Reaper_Messiah

Why do they want to keep our Mac and Cheese from us?

Give me my meal!!

Tearing Sheets

office paper GIFGiphy

"Those toilet paper holders in public toilets that cut off at two sheets."

theshortlady

"Same area: those paper towel dispensers that require a two-handed pull, commonly leaving you with two little torn-off triangles of paper in your hands."

repowers

Useless

"Zebra printers. I swear Zebra customer service is useless. I've had to call the help desks for the specific companies I've worked for because the Zebra CS is just like 'Huh!?'"

monotoonz

"We wrote our own internal manuals for how to setup, manage, and troubleshoot Zebra printers. It includes helpful information like 'Do not call Zebra about this issue, instead, see Appendix A' (which is screenshots of conversations about how it is is a known issue and the resolution should be coming shortly (dated 2016))."

001235

City Life

"Maybe a bit off-topic, but in a meeting with a former colleague of mine, the person in charge of the metro for a nearby city admitted that he had never used the metro. Not that he didn’t use the metro, but that he had never used it in his life, even once. I suspect that this kind of thing isn’t uncommon for government services."

KireGoTI

"Similar story. A lifelong friend of didn’t even know we had a Metro until a recent expansion meant she had to drive a different way into her office. She works for the city council."

TheKingMonkey

Warn You

"Hospital beds. From the standpoint of the person who has to push it around and mess with rails that get caught in the mattress and plug it in with a long dirty cord that gets mixed up with another random cord that no one knows its purpose. No retractable cords so they constantly drag on the ground and try to trip you when pushing the bed."

"Brakes that are in the most awkward position that you have to invert your knee to reach with your foot. And worst, the screeching, ear-piercing alarm that they emit to 'warn you' that the bed is not locked. Hospital beds are obnoxious."

Agitated-Effort3423

Help Please

Customer Service Waiting GIF by Juno CalypsoGiphy

"Customer-facing software. Developers should be required to hire grandmas under the explicit condition that if grandma can't look at a menu option and decide what to click without giving up and calling the help desk your functionality has failed."

Puzzleheaded-Bat8657

I can't even begin to get into software options.

It brings back too much PTSD.

More from Trending/best-of-reddit

Tom Daley
Presley Ann/Out.com/equalpride/Getty Images

Tom Daley Reveals He's Always 'Hated' The Way His Body Looks In Heartbreaking Interview

Retired Olympic diver and silver medalist Tom Daley will be back in front of the world in June with the launch of his documentary, 1.6 Seconds.

Daley came out in 2013 and married his husband, Dustin Lance-Black, in 2017, all while he was in the spotlight for his time in the Olympics.

Keep ReadingShow less
University Sparks Debate After Using AI To Announce Students' Names At Graduation
Pace University

University Sparks Debate After Using AI To Announce Students' Names At Graduation

Ah, college graduation season. This time of year usually brings clips of intellectuals or celebrities bestowing wisdom, some questionable fashions under those caps and gowns, and, inevitably, some sort of controversy.

This year? AI.

Keep ReadingShow less
Marjorie Taylor Greene
Oliver Contreras/AFP via Getty Images

MTG Furiously Lashes Out At Musk's AI Chatbot After It Questions If She's A True Christian

On the Friday after the GOP controlled House of Representatives finally managed to convince enough members of their own party to pass MAGA President Donald Trump's One Big Beautiful Bill to enact more of his Project 2025 agenda, Georgia MAGA Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene decided to make some sort of declaration of her personal identity on X.

Whether she was inspired by the House vote or the upcoming Memorial Day holiday, the post from the self-described Christian nationalist—with ties to White supremacist and antisemitic leaders and organizations—raised some eyebrows on social media.

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshot of Rand Paul; Donald Trump
Fox News; Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images

Rand Paul Stuns MAGA After Slamming Trump's 'Big Beautiful Bill' In Rare Rebuke

Senator Rand Paul surprised everyone by speaking out against his fellow conservatives for bowing to President Donald Trump and his disastrous budget plan, becoming the most prominent Republican to criticize the "Big Beautiful Bill."

The bill in its present form seeks to extend key elements of the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) while introducing dozens of new measures. Now headed to the Senate under the budget reconciliation process, the bill aims to make permanent several tax breaks originally set to expire, including provisions eliminating taxes on tips and overtime pay.

Keep ReadingShow less
Donald Trump speaking at Arlington National Cemetery
YouTube/Fox 35 Orlando

Trump Mocked After Flubbing Pronunciation Of Fallen Soldier's Job Title In Memorial Day Speech

President Donald Trump was mocked after he flubbed the pronunciation of fallen U.S. Navy Sailor Shannon Kent's position as a cryptologic technician while paying tribute to her during an appearance at Arlington National Cemetery on Memorial Day.

Cryptologic technicians are responsible for detecting, tracking, and analyzing radar signals across air, sea, and land platforms. They manage advanced electronic surveillance systems, including signal interceptors, recording tools, data analysis workstations, and integrated computer networks to gather and interpret intelligence.

Keep ReadingShow less