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11 horribly designed everyday products that need to be reinvented

11 horribly designed everyday products that need to be reinvented

Umbrellas have existed since the 1st century AD, but the common collapsible variety is awfully flimsy when the going gets rough. Many turn inside-out or simply fall apart during heavy rainstorms.

11 horribly designed everyday products that need to be reinvented

Even if you're meticulous about squeezing a tube of toothpaste from bottom to top, you'll still end up with a maddening bit at the end that you just can't use. The person who solves this problem should earn a Nobel Prize.

Even if you

Same goes for soap and shampoo bottles, which use compressed air to dispense their contents. That mechanism fails miserably once the bottle gets too low, and you're left with wasted soap every time.

Same goes for soap and shampoo bottles, which use compressed air to dispense their contents. That mechanism fails miserably once the bottle gets too low, and you

You know a product's packaging is poor when a new affliction — "wrap rage" — is invented just to describe the god-awful process of opening it. Plastic containers are nobody's friend.

You know a product

The mixed-temperature faucet was first patented in 1880. But somehow in the intervening 136 years, nobody has designed a standard model that extends far enough to allow you to wash both hands without hitting the back of the sink.

The mixed-temperature faucet was first patented in 1880. But somehow in the intervening 136 years, nobody has designed a standard model that extends far enough to allow you to wash both hands without hitting the back of the sink.

The quickest way to make someone look like a doofus is to install ambiguous handles on public doors. No matter whether you push or pull, you somehow always end up being wrong.

The quickest way to make someone look like a doofus is to install ambiguous handles on public doors. No matter whether you push or pull, you somehow always end up being wrong.

Automatic hand dryers seem like a good idea in theory (and some, like Dyson's Airblade, actually get the job done). But often the machines just blow air onto your hands without really drying the dampness. And good luck if the motion sensor is weak.

Automatic hand dryers seem like a good idea in theory (and some, like Dyson

Plastic wrap may preserve your food, but unless you handle it perfectly, you're apt to find yourself dealing with a bunched-up nightmare. The only salvation is the two cardboard tabs on each box that keep the roll in place.

Plastic wrap may preserve your food, but unless you handle it perfectly, you

Given what we know about toilet bacteria, it's astounding that most household toilets still use a handle rather than a foot pedal or automatic flush. Plus, one flush can send several gallons of water down the drain — a staggering waste considering the billions who live without clean water around the world.

Given what we know about toilet bacteria, it

Computer printers use expensive cartridges and require huge drivers just to perform the basic function of making a digital item physical. Many are also bulky and made of non-nature-friendly plastic, despite designers having had 30 years to iterate.

Computer printers use expensive cartridges and require huge drivers just to perform the basic function of making a digital item physical. Many are also bulky and made of non-nature-friendly plastic, despite designers having had 30 years to iterate.

Smoke detectors, if falsely triggered, are maddening to silence. Many models don't have a button you can press to mute the siren, which leads you to stand on a chair and remove the batteries entirely (not to mention forget to put them back in).

Smoke detectors, if falsely triggered, are maddening to silence. Many models don

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