OSHA
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Background: Frequently, residential houses have areas that are dangerous in some way: perhaps a railing that is a little wobbly (but will probably stay attached), a garage door that is missing the “don’t crush a person” electric eye sensor, or a bookshelf with a three-hundred-pound vase that is perilously perched on the top shelf. The…
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Background: A previous idea (July 19, 2021: worstplans.com/2021/07/19/) was to make stairs safer by specially marking the top and bottom stairs. But why not expand this idea to the entire staircase! The Issue: Surprisingly, falling down stairs is a major source of injury. People are particularly prone to falling down stairs when they’re distracted in…
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Background: Staircases are surprisingly perilous. Most people have, at some point, attempted to step up onto a “phantom” additional top step or been surprised to encounter the ground floor a step early (Figure 1). Some commercial buildings indicate the very top and bottom of a flight of stairs with a raised pattern. However, this is…
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The issue: In large cities, there are many perils for pedestrians: cars, bicycles, motorcycles, horses, etc. Even the sidewalk is not a safe zone from scooters and bicycles! At night, the problems are even worse, since pedestrians are generally un-illuminated and are frequently wearing all-black coats in the winter months. Proposal: Since many commuters carry…
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Background: Since laptops are so convenient and portable, many people work in locations that are not set up for long-term ergonomic comfort (for example, dining room tables or coffeeshop counters, e.g. Figure 1). The issue: Since these locations were never designed for laptop use, they are typically set up in such a way that the…
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