Design Fails That Prove Designing Things Takes Absolutely No Skill Whatsoever

June Steele | May 15, 2024 10:18 pm

If these design fails teach us anything it's that literally anyone could be an architect or work in marketing because they're apparently out here doing whatever they want, regardless of if it makes sense or not.

Don't even bother getting a degree or going to school, because clearly no one follows any rules when it comes to these designs. From mouthwatering fruit-flavored soap to camouflage golf balls, anything is acceptable.

Try Not To Use The Backboard

window as a basketball back board
Photo Credit: Reddit / ezdridgex
Photo Credit: Reddit / ezdridgex

Using a window as a backboard seems like a great option honestly.

It'll really improve your aim because you'll be so worried all the time about shattering the window that you'll have to sink every basket.

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A Bed Frame Designed By Satan Himself

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bed frame from hell that stubs everything
Photo Credit: Reddit / bobmarno
Photo Credit: Reddit / bobmarno
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This furniture designer was an absolute monster who decided that they wanted to inflict pain on everyone who buys this bed frame.

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Imagine how many toes or shins have been stubbed on that frame.

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The Most Secure

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security gate that's not so secure
Photo Credit: Reddit / pcjcusaa1636
Photo Credit: Reddit / pcjcusaa1636
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If you buy this door, you're asking for someone to rob you and there's no one to blame but yourself.

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It's basically a built-in ladder inviting people to climb over the top so don't put anything you care about behind this door.

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Crime Scene Or Hospital?

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hospital floor with terrible design
Photo Credit: Reddit / CptDobey
Photo Credit: Reddit / CptDobey
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This floor design would be horrifying in any workplace, but a hospital? Seriously?

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Imagine how many patient scares they've had thinking someone was bleeding but it was actually just the floor design. Time to repaint maybe...

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Stairway To Heaven

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stairway to heaven terrible stairway design
Photo Credit: Reddit / M3strefi
Photo Credit: Reddit / M3strefi
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If you're ever looking for the perfect place to fall down the stairs, this is the stairwell for you.

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Geometric patterns are all fun and games until you realize that you can't tell where the stairs are.

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The Real Trash Is This Design

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trash can bench design
Photo Credit: Reddit / koekoeksklok88
Photo Credit: Reddit / koekoeksklok88
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Who doesn't want to sit on a bench directly below a bunch of garbage cans? It's perfect!

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You don't even have to get up to throw out your trash, plus you'll get to be swarmed by flies and other people's garbage.

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Please Don't Injure Your Children

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honda ad about kids
Photo Credit: Reddit / ohaii
Photo Credit: Reddit / ohaii
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Honda, is everything okay at home? Are you feeling alright?

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Friendly reminder that your kids are not Pizza Hut cinnastick pullaparts and you should not literally pull your kids apart.

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Water Fountain Woes

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water fountain woes mishap
Photo Credit: Reddit / crazydachshund
Photo Credit: Reddit / crazydachshund
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Everything about this fountain is wrong.

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The water completely overshoots the sink and aims directly at an electrical socket, which also happens to be positioned over a carpeted floor. Solid choices all around.

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Xtreme Wheelchair Parkour

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wheelchair ramp extreme
Photo Credit: Reddit / OlivierDeCarglass
Photo Credit: Reddit / OlivierDeCarglass
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Who doesn't love a wheelchair ramp that doubles as a very steep slide that aims directly at a cement wall?

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If you're looking to spice up your life and take a trip to the hospital, this is the ramp for you.

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Hope You Weren't Planning On Staying Dry

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bus stop with holes in the ceiling
Photo Credit: Reddit / NOLOCIMES
Photo Credit: Reddit / NOLOCIMES
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This is a bus stop design that could never hold up in the UK. Why would you design a roof that has holes in it?

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Are we the only ones that thought the point of a roof was to keep you dry?

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Who Needs Privacy?

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translucent bathroom door in public bathroom
Photo Credit: Reddit / hi_fbi
Photo Credit: Reddit / hi_fbi
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Translucent stall doors in a public bathroom seem like a great idea until someone actually wants to go to the bathroom.

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Even in the privacy of your own home, translucent bathroom doors would just be weird.

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Revenge Plates

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plates that have a design that looks like dirt
Photo Credit: Reddit / RCoder01
Photo Credit: Reddit / RCoder01
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If you're ever mad at your spouse, buy these plates.

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Then watch them spend 20 minutes trying to clean the dishes before they realize that it's actually just the design.

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Absolutely Not

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bad toilet seat design
Photo Credit: Reddit / dawidoxus
Photo Credit: Reddit / dawidoxus
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Walking into a stall to find this seat would make anyone turn around and pick a new stall, so why would a designer do this intentionally?

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Hopefully, this is a piece of "art" that we're missing the point of, and not a real toilet.

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Watch Your... Step?

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really awful stairs
Photo Credit: Reddit / Peeped
Photo Credit: Reddit / Peeped
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This is basically an American Ninja Warrior course. The stairs alone were a hazard, but then they have to go and put a bunch of obstacles on it too.

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They're asking for someone to break a leg while trying to get a midnight snack.

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I'm Sorry, What?

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put some salsa on your GPS
Photo Credit Twitter / @joekjoek
Photo Credit Twitter / @joekjoek
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We have absolutely no idea what this could mean either... Are they telling us to spice up our life and have an adventure?

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Or, is this a marketing ploy to get us to drown our GPS in salsa so we have to buy a new one? Unclear.

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Problem Solving

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clock meet pole
Photo Credit: Reddit / wribeiro
Photo Credit: Reddit / wribeiro
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What came first, the clock or the pole? Both options make us concerned for whoever was in charge of this.

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Though this shows that they don't have great foresight, they do have good problem-solving skills.

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When Life Gives You Lemons

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lemons, perfect for orange juice sign in a grocery store
Photo Credit: Reddit / mbz321
Photo Credit: Reddit / mbz321
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When life gives you lemons, make... orange juice? Apparently this grocery store thinks that orange juice isn't zesty enough.

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Might as well toss some lime juice in there as well to get as much citrus as possible.

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The Worst Of Both Worlds

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fish chicken ad
Photo Credit: Reddit / Labby92
Photo Credit: Reddit / Labby92
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"The best of both worlds" will give you nightmares both while you're sleeping and while you're awake.

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Whoever designed this should have their computer taking away from them... No more Photoshop for you sir.

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Free Acupuncture

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acupuncture llama mug
Photo Credit: Reddit / Audio5Nick
Photo Credit: Reddit / Audio5Nick
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Who doesn't love a poke in the eye every time they take a sip of their coffee? It'll certainly wake you up in the morning!

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No matter how you drink it, it's going to be an acupuncture session for your face.

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That Mouthwatering Soap Taste

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mouthwatering hand wash fruit chew flavor
Photo Credit: Reddit / Silvar1
Photo Credit: Reddit / Silvar1
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Is this supposed to be the literal embodiment of washing your kid's mouth out with soap?

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Might as well make it a mouth-watering flavor if someone is going to be putting it in their mouth, right?

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Everything Is Impossible

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Photo Credit:
Photo Credit: Reddit / Bitemarkz
Photo Credit: Reddit / Bitemarkz
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"Nothing is impossible" except trying to decipher what this sign is supposed to say.

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This feels like someone didn't finish the design before hitting send, or it's designed to give you a migraine.

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Red Pill Or Blue Pill?

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cold medicine problems
Photo Credit: Reddit / ryannefromTX
Photo Credit: Reddit / ryannefromTX
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These cold capsules are free of artificial dyes which seemed like a good idea in theory until everyone realized that meant you couldn't differentiate between the daytime and nighttime pills.

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It's like The Matrix every time you want to take cold medicine.

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What Sorcery Is This?

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audio file in a printed page
Photo Credit: Reddit / 0mn1n
Photo Credit: Reddit / 0mn1n
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Unless this is a Hogwarts textbook, it doesn't look like you're going to be able to play that audio file off of the page.

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Textbooks might actually be worth the hundreds of dollars students have to play if they could have embedded audio links.

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Feeding Time At The Zoo

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feeding time at the zoo gone wrong
Photo Credit: Reddit / FinnMac93
Photo Credit: Reddit / FinnMac93
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We have a lot of questions about these waste cans.

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The first one is: why does this giraffe look like it feeds on the souls of small children, as well as the food and paper it desires?

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Mixed Signals

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no smoking sign on an ash tray
Photo Credit: Reddit
Photo Credit: Reddit
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Is this supposed to be a test?

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Here's an ashtray, but we're also going to put a 'no smoking' sign inside of it, just to test your willpower. Can you pass the test?

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Just Buy Some Balloons Next Time

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fountain decorating gone wrong
Photo Credit: Reddit / BoeJenjamin
Photo Credit: Reddit / BoeJenjamin
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This company wanted to make its fountain pink to celebrate Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Instead, they turned the front of their building into a scene from Game of Thrones.

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Maybe whoever did this could be in charge of Halloween decorations? Seems like horror might be their forte.

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A Solid Marketing Campaign

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nickel marketing campaign fail
Photo Credit: Reddit
Photo Credit: Reddit
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If this nickel can save a child's life, why don't you just keep it for yourself?

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It probably costs a lot more than 5 cents to mail this out so maybe this company should reevaluate their marketing tactics.

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Unrealistic Beauty Standards

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cinderella car seat with extra long neck
Photo Credit: Reddit / FlawlessCOwboy
Photo Credit: Reddit / FlawlessCOwboy
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Here we are yet again setting unrealistic beauty standards for young women!

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We're now teaching our little girls that in order to be a princess they have to have a giraffe neck. That's great.

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Feed The Birds, Just Don't Salt Them

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plase don't season the birds
Photo Credit: Reddit / Steven_NotMyRealName
Photo Credit: Reddit / Steven_NotMyRealName
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Please do not put any spices on the birds, they're salty enough as is and don't need any more seasoning.

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They don't need your encouragement or your seasoning. Just go buy a roast chicken from the grocery store like everyone else.

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FORE!

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camo golf ball wilson
Photo Credit: Reddit / Thedaveabides98
Photo Credit: Reddit / Thedaveabides98
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There is absolutely nothing wrong with a camouflage golf ball, as long as you were planning on either a) losing every ball that ever goes into the trees or b) getting only hole in ones forever.

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I feel these are made only for the pros.

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No One Is Being Set Up For Success

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confusing washroom signs
Photo credit: Reddit
Photo credit: Reddit
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This isn't confusing at all! What could possibly go wrong in this situation? There's a good chance that there have been a few awkward encounters due to people walking into the wrong side of the bathroom accidentally.

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Whoever did this clearly didn't do the job right but the signs are hilarious to look at.

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It's Not What You Think It Is

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bathroom sink design that makes it look like hair is everywhere
Photo credit: Imgur / darkcatrock
Photo credit: Imgur / darkcatrock
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Yes, from our view it looks like feces were smothered all over this bathroom counter. It's not exactly the color pattern you want to see in the bathroom.

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This design almost looks like clumps of hair that were laminated onto the table or a bunch of Dementors flying around the sink. Whatever it is, we hate it.

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Never Shredded, Eat Wheat

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pillows with compass on it that have North and South beside each other
Photo credit: Pinterst
Photo credit: Pinterst
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Did Yoda make this jumbled compass pillow? Obviously, this is not for navigational purposes and the designer is not knowledgeable in geography.

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These comfy looking couch cushions should probably stay indoors. Remind me never to take one when I decide to go camping for the first time ever.

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I Hope You Can Parallel Park

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tree growing in center of concrete driveway
Photo credit: Reddit
Photo credit: Reddit
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Honestly, what was the point of paying to pave a driveway if this tree is there?

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Let's hope that if this house ever goes up for sale that the realtor will knock down the price a bit all because of the tree that's in the middle of the driveway.

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What Days Do They Meet?

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sweater with words
Photo credit: Reddit / m_delacour
Photo credit: Reddit / m_delacour
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If this poor girl ever wants to wear this sweater, she has to commit to a full day of keeping the hood up.

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Other than that, this sweater automatically becomes the one you wear at home when no one is around.

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A Hole New Level Of Bad Costume

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donut costume with weird hole in the back
Photo credit: Reddit / miketutaj
Photo credit: Reddit / miketutaj
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Look, we understand that no company mascot is flattering but this takes the cake–err, we mean donut.

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That hole honestly didn't need to be there, it could have just been a different color. But Dunkin' wanted to do their employees dirty.

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Times Are Tough In Canada

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white puffer coat that zips up over head with two eye holes
Photo credit: Reddit / Thegoatiedoodie
Photo credit: Reddit / Thegoatiedoodie
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I get that this is supposed to be a utility thing for surviving winter in the great white north, but it's still hard to look at.

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On the bright side, this kid wouldn't need to buy a baklava if they wanted to rob a bank.

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Now That's A Crappy Design

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Nike shoes that look like they are covered in feces
Photo credit: Reddit / GenjuMain656
Photo credit: Reddit / GenjuMain656
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We're not surprised to see these shoes on sale. Whatever designer and marketer approved this should be fired.

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Unfortunately, an unpaid intern will probably take the fall for this poop-inspired design.

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This Is Why People Are Scared Of Clowns

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clown advertisement written in font with blood dripping down
Photo credit: Reddit / Tucko29
Photo credit: Reddit / Tucko29
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There was absolutely no reason for this and yet, Fun Clowns For Kids went there.

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Clowns already get a bad enough reputation since It and John Wayne Gacy, the clown community does not need this too.

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So...What Happens If You Check 'No'

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survey question asking if you're dead or not
Photo credit: Reddit / bunnyxjam
Photo credit: Reddit / bunnyxjam
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To be honest, I might be the person to check 'no' for fun just to see what happens. Does my house get SWAT-ed?

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Will the police come to check on me? It would be nice to have some company so maybe it's worth a shot.

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"You Are Not Trollies"

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students notice that doesn't make any sense
Photo Credit: TheBombayMixer / Reddit
Photo Credit: TheBombayMixer / Reddit
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That makes sense right? It's a fun game if you try to read it in variations. We have " students allowed to take to help you move" which doesn't seem grammatically correct.

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Or, " attention students you are allowed not to take our to help trollies you move, " which is also not proper English.

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False Advertising

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open 24 hours 7 days a week most of the time ad
Photo Credit: BatmanRocks / Reddit
Photo Credit: BatmanRocks / Reddit
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So, if I'm getting it right, it's open 24 hours, 7 days a week, expect it's closed during the late-night on the weekends.

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It's not open 24/7 then expect during the week? Are we all following?

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Toss Out The Suggestions

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Suggestion box is also trash bin
Photo Credit: Mixyan / Reddit
Photo Credit: Mixyan / Reddit
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Clearly this company really values their customer's suggestions...

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At least they're upfront about telling them that they go directly in the trash anyway as to not waste their precious time.

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It Could Be A Trap

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mixed up toilette signs for men and women
Photo Credit: RiffRaff161 / Reddit
Photo Credit: RiffRaff161 / Reddit
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This is taking the notion that men and women often give each other mixed signals to a whole new level.

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Love is a gamble and so is choosing which door to walk through at this washroom.

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Math Is Hard Enough As It Is

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book counts five instead of six bananas
Photo Credit: UltraLaser23 / Reddit
Photo Credit: UltraLaser23 / Reddit
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Kids are already easily confused, do we really want to make their lives harder by telling them to count five bananas when there are clearly six drawn?

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Or is that a new way of preparing them for the lies of the real world?

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So Comfortable Sitting On The Grass Is Still Better

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econo camper mat ad works badly
Photo Credit: AdamBarnhouse / Reddit
Photo Credit: AdamBarnhouse / Reddit
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If this camper mat is so comfortable shouldn't the ad feature the guy relaxing on it rather than still opting for the grass and only using it to gently place a magazine?

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At least the magazine looks comfortable.

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The Path To Nowhere

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elevator leads to wall with no way out
Photo Credit: AdamBarnhouse / Reddit
Photo Credit: AdamBarnhouse / Reddit
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From the elevator... to the wall... and nowhere past that.

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This could get dangerous if enough people go up at the same time and all get stuck at the top at the same time.

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Wise Advice To Cherish

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don't be happy, worry grey shirt logo
Photo Credit: zapsquad / Reddit
Photo Credit: zapsquad / Reddit
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Nothing like a good motivational shirt to keep you smiling all day, especially when it holds sayings like "Don't be happy, worry" to keep it real.

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This shirt just says it like it is.

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50/50 Chance

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elevator number panel is all out of order
Photo Credit: iancurtis / Reddit
Photo Credit: iancurtis / Reddit
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You do have one chance out of the two that you'll hit the right button on the elevator since, for some reason, each floor number is doubled.

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If that's not enough, some numbers are skipped, and none of them are aligned.

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It's A Long Way Down

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water jet is too short to make it into the tub
Photo Credit: VJ9Mdm7 / Imgur
Photo Credit: VJ9Mdm7 / Imgur
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This hotel's jetted tub really makes you earn the water.

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You have to wait for it to slide down the tub and hope it doesn't spread and make everything else wet too.