Poorly designed things that make using them difficult?

[Whatisthisfuckery]

Spice jars, who in hell has designed the dimensions of spice jars? What measurement of spices does one usually find in a recipe? Teaspoons. What can you not quite fit in a spice jar? A fucking teaspoon. Whose bloody bright idea was it to design a jar that makes it hard to dispense the most common measurement of the ingredient contained within?

Ahh, that’s better, I needed that rant.

Go on, rant away. What poorly designed thing makes you angry inside?

Many of the fruit stickers have the till codes on.

Baskets that fit under the washing machine door aren't going to be very tall and therefore not hold much in.

@TressiliansStone

Oh if we're doing technology: StupidSearch boxes.

I spend a lot of time searching databases of historic records: military records, medical records, Birth/Marriage/Death records, school records.

Perfectly good search functions, with separate boxes for forename and surname, have been replaced by a single box which returns eleventy million results with only one syllable in common with the search term.

The CWGC one is a particular offender. God forbid you should be looking for a John Donaldson. You will be trawling through Donald Johnsons, Josephs, Jameses... CWGC results effectively cannot be ordered by date or unit any more, because you have to use the ordering option on alphabetising to concentrate the surname you actually want amid the 30 pages of results.

Also, I know the surname I'm searching for can be spelt White or Whyte. That's OK. I can do two separate searches: at least I'll only have 15 results to click through to check, not 500.

The London Gazette is now completely unuseable. And again, god for-blooming-bid you should be looking for a company name like Marks and Spencer: there is no way on this planet you can persuade it not to read the "and" as a logic operator and return every single page with a Spencer and a Mark.

The irony of the StupidSearch boxes is they replace separate surname/forename/place/date boxes because those are supposedly "too hard" for poor widdle researchers (how they imagine researchers too stupid to understand a surname box will understand any documents found is a mystery); but in fact the researcher has to be vastly more knowledgeable and remember each different site's tricks to wheedle the StupidSearch box into producing halfway decent results.

AND and "string" are typical tricks, but some then use * and some % for wildcards. Some always assume the search term is merely the front of a string (thanks guys, I was actually looking for three folk named Hill, Green and Johns, so 10,000 replies about hills, bowling greens and Johnsons isn't really helping. Also, these were surnames which should be in a key field for this record: I didn't sodding ask you for random occurrences somewhere in the text body).

And breathe.

Honestly, there's a reason Ancestry hasn't gone the StupidSearch route: it's a pay service with subs as short as monthly, so it lives or dies by delivering appropriate results to researchers.

If you have records with key fields, let me sodding search by them!

That sounds truly irritating.

My search function bugbear is any calendar search function that doesn't automatically set the second date (return or end of stay date) to begin at the first one selected. Just to rub in the lack of helpfulness, it then chucks out 'your return date must be after your departure' if you fail to realise you're in the wrong month/year - well, yes, obviously. So why enable me to enter anything else??!

Not quite the same but I'm a teacher so have to do lateral flow tests. Takes 30 mins officially for results and must be done before work on empty stomach - has to be done on an empty stomach? Why? DP also does these twice a week and nowhere in his instructions does it say 'on an empty stomach'. I'm not sure why the up-the-nose thing makes any difference if you are hungry or not?
Wipes with the window that you tear open and reseal - I got so mad at them. Why is the wipe inside not a C-fold, or a Z-fold, so that the edge is under the window, so you can grab it for use?? It's NOT! The edge is anywhere but. Unless I'm missing something? I don't buy wipes any more due to environmental concerns, but we have them at work

The toothbrush packaging - there is normally a dotted-line tear bit on the back, so that you can push the toothbrush head from the front through the back cardboard.

Oh and Mitchum anti-p - I was scraping the residue out with a small penknife when it got to below the hard plastic edge, and smearing this under my armpits - about another 2 weeks worth right there.

Then the screw-up bit fell out the other day - and there is a whole LOAD of more product lurking under this! There is probably MORE under and in the packaging that there is in the push-up bit for use!

@mommybunny

Lock & Lock HPL842 Multi-Use Food-Storage Box 1.0 L with Drain Grate www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B002BL8D4G/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_fabc_B25PRGH0X5W0FCJYXY9Q?tag=mumsnetforu03-21

Mumsnet legitimate interest section not having an object to all fecking button. 30 0dd actions, thats after 8 on the first section ... looking at you IT department !

Mumsnet search function on the app. Not fit for purpose.

@toria658 Can you ask your pharmacist to make up the tablets into a massive "personalised" blister pack - then you only have to pop one "cell" morning, lunch, evening and bed? My Dads pharmacy did this for no charge. (DH is only on 6 differnent pills a day but the bloody aspirin!!! That is why I never have nails)

May I nominate the most inflexible power cord ever invented on my Dyson upright - it won't unwind and it won't wind back. Useless bastarding thing - and there's no way a cordless would last long enough for our carpeted house - not with 2 hairy cats (and me )

@WeBuiltThisBuffetOnSausageRoll that's amazing . Thankyou !

Vax handheld vacuum cleaner. Comes with a little bracket which you can screw to the wall, so it can be slotted onto it - with the nozzle pointing down. However, there's nothing that stops heavier items falling directly out of the drum and back down the nozzle, if it is stored with the nozzle pointing down... I use mine to pick up a lot of cat litter, and it is usually sitting on its bracket with a small pile of cat litter on the floor beneath it.

The lateral flow tests don't have to be done on any empty stomach but you can't have a drink or eat within a certain time period before doing them. When you have to do them before going to work it means waiting before you can have breakfast/essential caffeine etc.

Douwe Egberts coffee lids.

SunPat peanut butter jars. A really stupid shape that means you get covered in the stuff trying to get the last 1/4 out. Why do that to your customers?

@PuppyMonkey

I May be the only one on the thread who occasionally has microwave meals but whenever it says “peel film back and stir” halfway through cooking or “peel film back and serve”. I mean, there is nobody in the world who can actually peel that film back is there? The film is literally NOT peeling anywhere without first being cut with a sodding knife.

And when you do finally release the thing, your fingers are hit with a blast of scalding steam.

@toria658 you can now buy toothpaste in jars, I was looking at them online last night. They are much more eco friendly as non plastic but v expensive.

My washing/laundry basket fits under the door of the machine, I put the shorter end under and it is fine.

It is an old version of this style, Also a bit bendy which helps.

www.argos.co.uk/product/6994471

Can I nominate Morrisons supermarket

The layout is so frigging frustrating with stupid 'market place' area which makes it impossible to get all the fruit n veg you want without going round in circles

Our local one now has a big booze section accross the back which completely f**ks up your flow too

There is a very good reason why most supermarkets just consist of a row of nice straight aisles!

Unisex scrubs. But they’re not, they’re really designed for men. And are really uncomfortable especially working 12 hour shifts .

@TressiliansStone

Using "Marks and Spencer" should work for the Gazette at least

Can I nominate Morrisons supermarket

Yes, ours has cheese in two entirely different places, deli cheese at the end of the fruit and veg and prepackaged cheese at the other end of the supermarket

Hmm lots of good ones already. To add
Costco washing powder tub, heavy and with a thin plastic strap to carry hurts your hand. Also the tamper strip around the lid, I usually need a tablespoon and scissors to start it off and then a strongman title winner to peel it off.
Cordless Dyson have to hold the on button the whole time and that complete holding bit is just a little too big for my hand. So I end up after 3 minutes letting go and shaking the stress out of my hand. I have big pets with long hair, hoovering takes time. I bought a cordless shark instead. Much better although a little heavy to hold for really long, but it's better at the pet hair, so I dont mind as much.

Dowe egberts coffee jars, the bigger it is the more difficult to lever the lid off.
Amazon packing tape with string in it. You get a small package and think oh it's just normal tape, but no you need a hacksaw or at least scissors to get through the very wiry string bits.

@LemonRedwood

I haven't rtft but immediately thought of toilet cubicles where the loo roll dispenser is on the wall BEHIND the loo. Just why??? Getting in some yoga practice while I'm on the loo is not really a good idea. I've come across this more than once!

Will now read the whole thread and see if this has ever annoyed anyone else

Also sanitary services folk cut us a break and reshape the toilet roll dispenser to have a flat top to accommodate a bag in the cubicle ? Hooks on doors often no use from a security viewpoint.

@PopAyetheSailorMam I don't know why they don't just put the hook lower down so that no one could reach the bag over the door.

[quote SnugglySnerd]@PopAyetheSailorMam I don't know why they don't just put the hook lower down so that no one could reach the bag over the door.[/quote]
Or put it on the side of the cubicle.

@BramStoker

Can I nominate Morrisons supermarket

The layout is so frigging frustrating with stupid 'market place' area which makes it impossible to get all the fruit n veg you want without going round in circles

Our local one now has a big booze section accross the back which completely f**ks up your flow too

There is a very good reason why most supermarkets just consist of a row of nice straight aisles!

I thought I would try Morrisons when they started offering the 10% discount. It was the most frustrating shopping experience. Nothing makes sense and there is no flow. Plus, their belts at the till are too small to fit a whole food shop so you end up doing a weird running backwards and forwards thing to bag the scanned stuff and unload the stuff still in the trolley.