Design flaws that should have been fixed by now

[Skeptisk]

I bought a new winter coat recently. Generally I am happy with it, but last week I went to zip up the pocket to find that the zip had got caught up with the lining of the pocket and is stuck so I can’t zip up or down. That has happened on various items of clothing over the years. The zip has been around for over a century and features on some many items of clothing - how is it that they have not designed an effective solution to this problem?

[GroundEffect]

The lining is usually there to give some weather protection to a normal zip. You get weatherised zips but they cost more money. And would look a bit odd on a normal coat/jacket.

[Alex Z]

They have. Velcro.

[anonymous-user]

Skoda Superb oil dipstick
The global head of dipstick design made it black plastic! Then had that one job to do…

[P-Jay]

James6112 said:

Skoda Superb oil dipstick
The global head of dipstick design made it black plastic! Then had that one job to do…

I'm sure mine was yellow?

[Miocene]

Cars that can be stolen within seconds.

Frankly, I see keyless entry as a solution to a problem that didn't exist

[Rich Boy Spanner]

Automatic emergency braking systems that slam on the brakes for no reason, when there is nothing in front of the car. My Leaf does it so I have to switch it off every time I get into the car. When a car in front has moved into another lane it is too dopey to realise and slams on the brakes as I pass by it in an entirely different lane with nothing in front.

[MikeM6]

Not sure if this is a design flaw as such, but it always seemed a little archaic to be using bits of rubber to wipe windows, but then a better solution hasn't been forthcoming as yet so maybe it is the best compromise.

[Riley Blue]

I could mention various items of equipment on the human body - on mine at least - that could do with a re-think.

[StevieBee]

USB and other ports placed in awkwardly accessible places on a computer.

[Tango13]

Rich Boy Spanner said:

Automatic emergency braking systems that slam on the brakes for no reason, when there is nothing in front of the car. My Leaf does it so I have to switch it off every time I get into the car. When a car in front has moved into another lane it is too dopey to realise and slams on the brakes as I pass by it in an entirely different lane with nothing in front.

I'd say a lot of 'automatic' systems added to cars over the years are unnecessary and have turned people into unthinking zombies. I can remember my sister ranting about the automatic headlights on her new car 'If I'm not capable of deciding whether the lights need to be on or off then I shouldn't be driving' or words to that effect.

[Eric Mc]

The SCART socket and cable is one of the worst pieces of kit ever invented. Luckilly, they haven't had to fix it as it has been superseded by later systems.

[V8covin]

E46 coupe boot lid,open it when it's wet and the water runs off the rear corners into the boot

[C5_Steve]

Close the thread.

[98elise]

Miocene said:

Cars that can be stolen within seconds.

Frankly, I see keyless entry as a solution to a problem that didn't exist

Agreed. How can 2 tons of metal not be made secure? Keyless entry has definately made things easy.

[RC1807]

Women?

[bodhi]

James6112 said:

Skoda Superb oil dipstick
The global head of dipstick design made it black plastic! Then had that one job to do…

Dipstick? What's one of those?

My BMW is from the time when they sacked the head of dipstick design and thought it was better measured from the dash. More convenient yes, but a bit of a pain when it takes about 15 minutes for anything to register on it......

[boyse7en]

StevieBee said:

USB and other ports placed in awkwardly accessible places on a computer.

I still don't get this. I spent a fruitless couple of minutes trying to plug a USB stick and a pair of headphones into their respective sockets on the back of my iMac. What is the problem with putting them on the front? It's not like a couple of ports ruins the look or anything.

My work Mac Studio has its USB ports on the back (a complete PITA) and an SD card slot that i will probably never use on the front...

[boyse7en]

bodhi said:

James6112 said:

Skoda Superb oil dipstick
The global head of dipstick design made it black plastic! Then had that one job to do…

Dipstick? What's one of those?

My BMW is from the time when they sacked the head of dipstick design and thought it was better measured from the dash. More convenient yes, but a bit of a pain when it takes about 15 minutes for anything to register on it......

My BMW motorcycle has to have the level checked when the engine is hot enough to start the cooling fans.
Which is an interesting one when you do an oil change, as you have to run the bike for 10 minutes without really knowing if you have too much/too little oil in it.

[Monkeylegend]

Formatting on PH.