Design
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The Issue: Car turn signals (or “blinkers,” if you prefer) make an audible “click… click… click” noise when they’re active (Figure 1). Bizarrely, this sound is both 1) not customizable by the driver and 2) identical for both the “turning left” and “turning right” signal. Proposal: The fix is so obvious. Just as a user might set…
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The Issue: Marriage ceremonies traditionally involve an exchange of vows. Strangely, only very rarely does a marriage ceremony include an obstacle course, “pub quiz” component, co-op video game challenge, or other method of allowing two people to demonstrate their suitability as partners. As a result, people occasionally get married and only later discover that they…
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Background: “Augmented reality” (“AR”) headsets (e.g. the Oculus/Meta Quest or the Apple Vision Pro) are capable of overlaying computer screens on top of a view of the real world. From the perspective of the headset-wearer, the virtual screens can entirely cover up any real world objects behind them. The Issue: If a person wears an…
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Background: A “chocolate fountain” is a food-serving item that a person might see at a wedding or fancy party: it’s just a device that recirculates melted chocolate so that you can dip strawberries or marshmallows in it before chomping them (Figure 1). Fancy! The Issue: Strangely, this type of device is almost never seen recirculating…
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Background: In most neighborhoods constructed within the last century, streets are designed almost entirely for cars. The ability of a human to travel on two feet is sadly only a neglected afterthought. As a result, many sidewalks are cracked, partially lifted up by tree roots, or otherwise irregular in a way where tripping on them…
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The Issue: It’s common for people to compulsively and unthinkingly pull out their cell phone and fiddle with it at all times. If only there were some way to subtly discourage “snacking” on the Internet! Proposal: The solution is simple: every time you unlock your cell phone, it should display a yawning “groggy” face for…
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Background: Many countries today have incredibly old leaders. This isn’t a problem per se, but as elected representatives (and un-elected dictators) reach their 80s and 90s, the likelihood of them not being mentally sharp enough to reliably run a country greatly increases. Most people would be skeptical of allowing a 10-year-old to run a country,…
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The Issue: Thousands of pedestrian fatalities occur every year. It can be easy for the driver of a fast-moving car to not see a person crossing the road ahead until it’s too late. Often, these collisions occur at night, even in areas with good streetlight coverage. But if streetlights aren’t sufficient, what else can be…
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The Issue: In the “open plan” office (a more-cramped version of the classic “cubicle” office plan), there are typically there are many rows of desks with narrow aisles between them (Figure 1). Often, these aisles are quite long, and they may be completely cluttered with office chairs. Proposal: Although in a perfect world, people would…
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Background: Vertical blinds (https://www.google.com/search?q=vertical+blinds) are a popular method of providing privacy for a large window or sliding door. These blinds are usually controlled by two different looped cords: The Issue: Unfortunately, since these cords are both loops, they really appears as TWO cords. The user must somehow know which of these unlabeled-and-often-twisted cords is the…
WorstPlans: updated every Monday since July 2014! 