What is the worst piece of design ever?

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Raised on question-and-answer website Quora a few weeks ago, this question brought a flood of answers from the online community. There were all the usual suspects – coffee cups you couldn’t hold without burning yourself, packaging you couldn’t open – but we were surprised some classic New Zealand design disasters didn’t make it on to the list. So we added them for fun!
 

Coffee Cups, Oslo Opera House, Norway

Featuring: “handles” that are impossible to grip, an ingenious system for funnelling scalding hot coffee to the tip of your thumb, and stacking grooves that prevent stirring with a spoon.

Public Toilet Urinals

We’re not sure exactly where you’ll find these, and we’re even less sure why they’re positioned as they are. For Siamese twins, perhaps?    See the original article here

Plastic Clamshell Packaging

We’ve all faced this dilemma. Why don’t they design prisons and submarines like this?
 

Separate Hot and Cold Water Taps

No points for guessing where the person who posted this came from, but it’s something you see pretty much everywhere. We reckon there’s an even better solution than the one shown – the single-lever mixer.

 

Almost every single microwave oven control panel ever created

Hands up anyone who’s ever used all the buttons on their microwave. Be honest!
 

Serial Wired Christmas Lights

That reminds us, Christmas is getting closer. If we get started now, we might just have time to get those lights untangled…
 

Toilet Paper Holders For People With Very Long Arms

Reliant Robin

Those of us who are Jeremy Clarkson fans remember fondly the time when Jeeza road-tested that most brilliant of British inventions, the three-wheeled car. This was the result – over and over again.

Noviplane Flying Houseboat

This equally brilliant Italian invention, which appeared in 1921, went to the other extreme. Where the inventor of the Reliant Robin believed that less is more, the inventor of the Noviplano definitely felt that more and more is more. Unbelievably, this nine-wing, eight-engine flying boat did fly, as high as eighteen metres, then dived and crashed, breaking up on impact. The pilot, the only person on board, escaped unscathed.
 

The BE9 “Pulpit”

This World War I fighter plane was designed to solve the problem of how to fire your gun forwards when you had a spinning propeller at the front of your plane. The ingenious solution: Stick the gunner in front of the propeller! Fortunately for gunners, the BE9 never saw service.
 

The Trekka

To be fair, the Trekka was not a complete design disaster. Manufactured in New Zealand between 1966 and 1973, the only vehicle ever to be designed and mass produced here, it served its purpose – to be a practical light utility vehicle that Kiwis could afford. (It was cheaper than a Morris 1100.) And it did handle better and tip over less than a Reliant Robin – but only just. They sold several thousand before the removal of tarrifs and restrictions on imported cars in the early seventies brought the death knell of the Trekka.   

Light ‘N Heat Bathroom Unit

These may have been supremely practical and very popular in New Zealand bathrooms for many years, but having one of these ugly stainless steel contraptions was akin to having a salon hairdryer fixed to your ceiling. The Fire Service estimated they caused 10 to 15 house fires every year.
 

Leaky Homes

Lots of fingers have been pointed but nobody’s taking the blame for the massive number of leaky homes in New Zealand. The causes are complex. The fad for Mediterranean-style design (flat roofs, small or no eaves, and solid balustrades) didn’t help. Neither did monolithic (polystyrene or fibre cement) cladding or untreated kiln-dried timber framing.

If you have a leaky home you need fixed, a Light ‘N Heat unit you need removed (preferably as part of your overall bathroom renovation!), a bigger garage to house your Trekka, or an urgent urinal re-design, don’t hesitate to contact your nearest Fix It Renovations builder.


Check out the original Quora question-and-answer threads here.


Remeber to send us a photo and brief description and you’ll be in to WIN a $200 voucher for building services from your local Fix It Renovations owner. We’ll publish the best entries in next month’s Home Improvement email newsletter.



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