Good design improves your life. Meanwhile, bad design makes your life much, much worse. Not only that, but it can actively ruin your day. Don’t believe us? No worries, we’re bringing the proof.
People vented about the minor everyday inconveniences that turn out to be major problems and actively make their day a lot worse. We’ve collected the most egregious examples that hurt to read, and you can find them below. Read on for their experiences that are all frustratingly relatable and make you wish that more designers knew what they were doing.
#1
can you get me a caprisun that instantly explodes when you try to put the straw in.
Image source: out.past.the.kuiper.belt, Anonymous / Reddit
#2
can you actually make a return for me? i bought a pair of scissors but i need scissors to get them out of the package.
Image source: honneemakesthings, Anonymous / Reddit
#3
I just need something with this tab to piss me off.
Image source: jessicatattsaz
Thanks to negativity bias, a small inconvenience, an unkind word, or a small hassle can derail your entire day. Something unpleasant but cosmically unimportant, like spilling coffee on your favorite shirt because of a poorly designed takeaway cup, stepping into a puddle, or getting some (hopefully constructive, not destructive) feedback from your boss, can make you ruminate. You start thinking that the day is already ruined, even if you can still turn it around with a bit of effort.
Focusing on the negatives more than the positives is hardwired into us because this is what helped our ancestors survive. The bad news is that this makes us particularly sensitive to situations where things don’t go our way. So, poorly designed products, packaging, and services can impact our day quite a bit, even if we objectively realize that the actual inconvenience is minuscule.
#4
I got a 10 pack of hotdogs but only have 8 buns. Can you return the 2 extra hotdogs?
Image source: nerd0divergentwrecks, Daisy Anderson / Pexels
#5
Hand soap pump that won’t pop up but just instead turns in circles so you have to unscrew and use it as a popsicle stick style dispenser please. Thank you!
Image source: rachaelleahklein, Anna Shvets / Pexels
#6
I would like a roll of tape that has a hard to find end but when I do find and pull it, it shreds into 8 separate parts and I waste at least 6” of tape pulling the shreds and cutting it even again.
Image source: notetosarah, Kateryna Hliznitsova / Unsplash
Ideally, we’d all be able to increase our resilience and change our mindset so that tiny everyday inconveniences do not, well, inconvenience us. There’s only so much time and energy that we have each day, and it shouldn’t be squandered on things that genuinely don’t matter. That’s easier said than done, though.
Reid Daitzman, Ph.D., emphasizes that “everyone, everywhere, every day experiences minor emotional turmoil.” Psychological irritants and setbacks can cause mental health issues if they happen over a long period of time and are intense enough.
“Any minor irritant can push someone over the edge,” he writes in a post on Psychology Today. Petty annoyances can be the things that finally lead to a breakdown if you’re under chronic stress.
#7
I’ll take a large, very hot coffee with a lid that doesn’t quite fit. I’m wearing a white shirt and late for work, so it’s important that I have this item asap.
Image source: genericusername2.0, Joshua Earle / Unsplash
#8
Can you pick up two square Tupperware lids and three round Tupperware bowls?
Image source: coffeeandtodolists, Magda Ehlers / Pexels
#9
Could I please have some plain flour with a teaspoon’s worth of flour caught up in the folds at the top, so that when you open it, it’s like your personal miniature ticker-tape parade that you have to clean up.
Image source: elizathomascomedy, Curated Lifestyle / Unsplash
According to Daitzman, you have to reevaluate your current situation and priorities if you’re overreacting to minor frustrations with rage.
He suggests doing the following things when dealing with irritating and annoying experiences:
- Put things in perspective
- Accept what you can’t control
- Realize all people make mistakes or overreact
- Jot down your primary triggers
- Shift mental focus to more positives
- If possible, address the situation. If not, move on
- Grin and bear it. Have a laugh
- Be patient
- Avoid people you know who might mess with your head
- Understand moods
If everyday inconveniences continue to cause chaos in your life, it might be time to reach out for help. Get in touch with a therapist or sign up for an anger management course. Recognizing that you need help requires some humility, but you should not see this as a personal failure. It is an opportunity to improve your life.
#10
Please grab a bag of cat litter that has a tiny hole in the corner so you leave a trail allllll the way through the store.
Image source: latmilone2527, Emrecan Dora / Unsplash
#11
I have a sprained wrist, can you grab me some Tylenol with the child safety cap that needs 2 hands to open.
Image source: pinkpowerrangr, Jonathan Borba / Pexels
#12
Some non-acetone nail polish remover and a toaster that flings the toast directly on the kitchen floor so you have to hover your hands above it to catch the toast, or a toaster that barely ejects the toast at all. Nothing in between, please.
Image source: bluequiltedviolet, Joshua Earle / Unsplash
We want to hear from you, Pandas!
Which of these daily nuisances and bad design decisions did you vibe with the most? Which ones are likely to annoy you the most, and why?
What everyday inconveniences did we miss that can genuinely ruin your day? Yours truly can’t stand it when cinema seat numbers are mislabeled and misplaced—it’s a tiny issue, but it leads to awkward encounters with other movie lovers.
If it’s convenient for you, let us know what you think in the comments!
#13
A bunch of green bananas please. The ones that go right to brown and spotted and skip yellow.
Image source: foodgal1, Diana Light / Unsplash
#14
Can you pick me up a box of Kraft Macaroni and Cheese that absolutely will not “open here”?
Image source: theautisticwitch777, Powerface17 / Reddit
#15
An iced coffee with just enough overflow that when I try to put the straw in it spills all over the lid please. With oatmilk.
Image source: _cozyfigs, Kateryna Hliznitsova / Unsplash
#16
Can you get me a gallon of milk that falls over and leaks in the car on the way home and the only way to get rid of the smell is to sell the car.
Image source: stacischut, Getty Images / Unsplash
#17
Can you get me a 500 pack of multi-factor authentications and 250 one time security codes?
Image source: mdcappy, Helena Lopes / Pexels
#18
I’ll take a pair of sweat pants with no pockets, thanks!
Image source: imjusthalloween, Alen Kajtezovic / Unsplash
#19
I want a picture frame. BUT ONLY if the price tag is smack in the middle, and leaves an impossible to remove, gooey residue on the glass when you peel it off.
Image source: ktjd70, radtastictaylor / Reddit
#20
Can you get me a sweater that gets stuck on every doorknob?
Image source: vallieannie, garetsvisual / Magnific
#21
I need some maxi pads that won’t stick to my underwear but stick to my pubes so well I give myself an accidental Brazilian pulling it off.
Image source: lookwhatkatemade, Mizuno K / Pexels
#22
No, thanks. I’ll send my male Instacart driver that brings me radishes instead of beets and 96 eggs from Costco.
Image source: username_14344_, Kevin Malik / Pexels
#23
I’ll take some rock hard avocados that never ripen and I end up throwing them out two weeks later.
Image source: ggcornwell, Yaroslav Shuraev / Pexels
#24
Can you get me a damp sock please? Just one, the other can be dry.
Image source: hannahbanana.0420, Marcus Aurelius / Pexels
#25
One umbrella turned inside out by the wind on a rainy day, please.
Image source: biabrat, pressfoto / Magnific
#26
I’d love a tube of super glue that’s already dried out.
Image source: gingerkristen, azerbaijan_stockers / Magnific
#27
Really need something that requires the most obscure button battery. Please be sure the battery is not included.
Image source: angie_suro, Terrance Barksdale / Pexels
#28
A phone charger with a short in it that’ll look like it’s charging but actually flicker off whenever an ant farts nearby. Please.
Image source: bootle.b, rawpixel.com / Magnific
#29
I long for a squeeze bottle of mustard that ejaculates mustard water if you forget to shake it like a banshee first. Please and thanks.
Image source: wrath.of.con, Ron Lach / Pexels
#30
Can I get a cold sandwich with 3 layers of plastic wrap on it thanks.
Image source: rayetcr, Brock Wegner / Unsplash
#31
Can I have a bag of clementine oranges that look juicy but when you peel them they’re all just dry husks of orange pulp and a roll of paper towels with so much glue on the end that you shred like 3 layers just to get one? I think they’re down the aisle that is blocked by a herd of slow walkers. Be sure to get in line behind the old lady paying with a check!
Image source: dot_yr_ts_cross_yr_eyes
#32
A dozen eggs where one is barely cracked and has leaked and now dried making it impossible to get the next 3 eggs out.
Image source: thompson.galen
#33
Oh! I need a purse strap that slides off my shoulder constantly.
Image source: srndur
#34
I’ll take fountain Dr. Pepper that you have to wait in line for 8 minutes to purchase, then after you step out and take the first sip you realize it’s actually root beer.
Image source: amy.swims.sometimes
#35
Can I have a bottle soda that doesn’t easily open, gets stuck in the only hissing position. Until it finally shreads the skin on your hand, then explodes all over the place?
Image source: fl_foxy_roxy
#36
Ooh! Grab me a single piece of string cheese with a “peel here” that cannot be peeled.
Image source: nik_higley
#37
Can I order a pack of strawberries that go mouldy the second you get home please?
Image source: beadybella
#38
Could I have a pair of damp hands and a jar to unscrew pls?
Image source: ccreedi
#39
Could you get me a yoghurt but when I try to pull the lid off the tab breaks off? Please.
Image source: kiki.the.lala
#40
Can you get me a box of donuts that collapses and all the donuts fall out when you hand it to me?
Thanks!!
Image source: thegoblinofchaos
#41
Can you get me a pack of sharpies that don’t have the lids? Oh and some empty dish soap that looks like there’s enough to do a few dishes but it takes HOURS for it to drip to the top when you flip it over.
Image source: sunflower_8408
#42
Just grab me a slushie, a lid that will never fit right, and the thinnest walled straw known to man.
Image source: botethibeault
#43
Actually, can I come in with you? I need to use the restroom and I wanna come out with slightly damp shoes with suspect liquid.
Image source: ukiahboyds
#44
Can I get a loaf of bread but please make sure it’s squished because I need all my sandwiches to be rhombus shaped.
Image source: kelsicha
#45
Whatever you get me, just make sure it’s in a grocery bag that rips open while carrying it in my driveway.
Image source: dig4wax
#46
Can you get me a chocolate bar that has the pieces already broken but not in the right place?
Image source: jasminbee_
#47
Pls get me one of these phone chargers where if you bend it the wrong way once it’ll break.
Image source: livshotmess
#48
I would like one of those “antibacterial wipes To Go” packages that, once opened, is immediately 12 sheets of dry cardboard.
Image source: berkeleybusmama
#49
Hey can you get me the big package of bacon? You know, the one that you use half and then have to put the other leaking half back in the fridge because it doesn’t close.
Image source: lexiewelpwrites
#50
I’ll take a lukewarm coffee and a suspiciously damp sandwich.
Image source: mickeys64
#51
I want lightbulbs, wrapped in paper-thin cardboard and open at both ends.
Make sure the cashier puts them at the BOTTOM of the bag, under the ten-pound dumbells you’re buying for someone else.
Image source: isnarkaholic
#52
I’ll take one of those Nature Valley granola bars that splinters into a thousand sharp crumbs when you bite into it. I want to find crumbs in my bra tonight.
Image source: msfrancesma
#53
1 ply toilet paper.
Image source: monica_g.d
#54
Omg, thank you for offering! I’ll take one of these napkin dispensers, please!
Image source: rescuedpetsrock
#55
I’d like a bag of air with some chips in the bottom, thank you.
Image source: jennlael
#56
Get me a sports bra with the removable bra pads plz.
Image source: galaxyfoxartistry
#57
My kids need more bubble wands that they can immediately spill on the porch.
Image source: radio_on
#58
If you could drive my car so that it has about five miles of gas left when I’m running late for work in the morning, that would be awesome.
Image source: carolineandcordelia
#59
I could use a small rock for my shoe. Not big enough for me to actually take my shoe off, but just small enough that I shake my foot around to get it to move to a spot that doesn’t hurt.
Image source: kitedadrock
#60
I’ll take shredded cheese in a resealable package, but a bad resealable package where, when you rip it open, you rip off the resealable ziploc, too.
Image source: laurelerin22
#61
Yah, can you grab me a puddle of cat vomit that you step in when you wake up at 3am to go pee? It’s my favorite.
Image source: justmetadognamedmaria
#62
Can I get a tv dinner that everything comes out both way too hot and frozen?
Image source: oliversullivan07
#63
I’ll take a pack of the gum that loses flavor within 5 seconds, thanks!
Image source: thenexussystem4
#64
A bag of those delicious caramels each locked inside impenetrable plastic wrapping.
Image source: tracystuntlady
#65
Can you get me fruit cups that automatically squirt in my face when I open them?
Image source: moonpetalnotes_
#66
Can you grab me a steamer bag of veggies that will leak all over the inside of my microwave? Thanks!
Image source: ms.bays_4979
#67
Can you accidentally get me a Coke Zero instead of a Coke?
Thanks!
Image source: electramourning
#68
Talenti Gelato that I desperately want to eat frozen but can’t open without hot water on the lid or a chainsaw.
Image source: luciloosews
#69
Can I get a big tub of protein powder that’s packed to the gills with the scoop at the very bottom?
Image source: kate.frenz
#70
One razor that runs out of battery when half my leg is shaved please and thank you.
Image source: littleodessa1
#71
Yeah, how about a bag of crisps that bursts in every direction upon being opened.
Image source: dailystatementswithwario
#72
One mosquito please. For the kitc…you know what, I want to treat myself. For the car!
Image source: faraji.ai
#73
1 wet dog please. Preferably one with A LOT of fur.
Image source: cyborgqueenkel
#74
Can you get me a bag of salt & vinegar chips but make sure the vinegar taste is dang near non-existent.
Image source: quethebratz
#75
Add a side of a check engine light, we got a proper party.
Image source: lizparkstudio
#76
I’ll take the bottles of detergent with the stupid spouts on them that won’t poor out all the remaining detergent and do absolutely nothing to prevent leaks/spills.
Image source: mrs_dcjohnson
#77
I’m doing some baking today. Would you grab me some parchment paper? I’d prefer the kind with the serrated strip that doesn’t really cut the paper straight so I end up using a scissors anyway.
Image source: lacywearsmanyhats
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