So we had to ship some parcels overseas, and we were given these forms to fill at the post office. Not surprisingly, the form had four copies, and asked for a lot of shipping and customs information. what was surprising, however, was the incredibly poor functional design of the form’s layout. Most obviously silly was … Read more
One can hardly imagine a more fun child’s plaything than a toy balloon. These have been around in various forms since the middle ages at least, and are as pleasing to today’s children as ever. And they generally look like the balloon in the illustration below, from the classic children’s book, beloved by generations of … Read more
Something caught my attention in this children’s playground in our neighborhood, where my kids used to play long years ago. Back then the slide was made of metal, but the new one works just fine. However, back then the slide ended in a large sandbox, which was a major attraction in its own right. Kids … Read more
Here is a photo I snapped in a kitchen area in a company I visited. See what’s wrong? The refrigerator sits close to the wall on the left, and its door opens to the right (handle on its left side). Which means the person opening this door has to do a little dance to get … Read more
I was at a fancy home and kitchenware store and saw the box in the photo here, containing – it says on the front – “Salt & Pepper Napkin Rings”. This sounded weirdly intriguing, like “Oregano & Thyme Spark Plugs”, so I took a closer look. Turns out this is one of the stranger design … Read more
When Elisha Otis invented the ‘safety elevator’ mechanism in 1852, elevator crashes have become a rare event indeed. But these days “crash” has a new meaning, which Otis couldn’t have foreseen. Consider the elevator in the photo, from the Azrieli towers in Tel Aviv. It has a wonderful new control system with a large computer … Read more
Here are two retractable tape measures. The one on the left is a classic by Stanley, the other, made by Panyi, clearly a cheaper clone. Looks the same, works the same… except for one small difference. Notice the difference? This type of tape measure has a stated offset printed on it, equal to the width of … Read more
Today we have a guest post from our loyal reader George Trudeau of Hyannis, Massachusetts. George sent me this photo: And here is the story: I went to a Doctor appointment and took the elevator up to the second floor office by pressing the great big 2. When I left the office, I was still … Read more
Here are the headlamps of two Mazda cars. On the left, a Mazda 323 from the first half of the past decade, the other a Mazda 3 from the second half. Both fine family cars. See the difference in design strategy? The car on the left has the headlamp split into two parts. The one … Read more
Here is the control panel of a counter-top cold/hot Tami 4 water bar. Push a button – you get hot water. Push another – here’s a refreshing cup of cold water. But… which button?! Of course, that’s why the buttons – all seven of them, for there’s a lot more you can make this glorified … Read more
