We have to admit, we’re not the best at DIY. In fact, we’re the kind of person who would accidentally install a shelf upside down and not notice until it was all nailed in. It’s for that reason alone that we chose to be writers instead of a decorator/interior designer- but it seems that some people simply ended up in the wrong job.
With that being said, if there weren’t people in the wrong jobs, we wouldn’t have half as much to laugh about, and to prove our point to you, here are 60 crack-up design flaws which probably got someone fired.
1. The contradictory sign
The main issue with this sign is that it’s in two separate parts. And while us English-speakers have been conditioned to read from left to right, when there’s boxes involved, things get a little more complicated. We’re not sure the person who made this sign intended for people to read, “Please don’t drive” and “Block the way.”
2. Seems useful
We thought the whole point of drains was to filter away the water and prevent flooding, but this drainage system seems to be a little useless. As a guess, we’d say that the grid was placed in the most raised part of the ground, which as you can see, isn’t ideal. Anyone care for a dip?
3. The impossible quiz
How frustrating is it to finish a quiz, only to find out that you got one answer wrong and had to do it all again? Well, we feel for this person, who actually did pass the test, but it still wasn’t good enough. Some people are never happy.
4. They didn’t think this through
What better way to advertise your clothes than to hang a bunch of child-like mannequins from the ceiling? We reckon this shop would only attract a very specific type of clientele- and probably not the type that you’d want in your store.
5. Mutant duck
It’s like the designer of this toy has never actually seen a duck in real life before. How could they get this so wrong? Where are the flippers? And why is there an extra two legs?
6. Bleedin’ heck
This platypus seems to have been designed as a fun way to infuse coffee/juice/tea into your drink, but unfortunately, it seems as if there was a bit of a design flaw. Did no one try out this product before it was marketed? Help, somebody save him!
7. A sh*it car design. Literally.
We’re not too sure what the design of this car was actually meant to be- because to us, it looks as if somebody had a nasty case of diarrhoea all down the side. Was it meant to be a flame emerging from the bonnet? Or maybe it’s just a discolored Incredible Hulk Arm? Who knows.
8. A very demanding sign
According to this sign, you’re not even allowed to exist before you pay your parking fee. And with instructions so threatening, we’re not sure if this place will end up having many customers left. Ah, the spelling mistakes are the best ones.
9. The three-armed man.
How did this magazine manage to get published? Was nobody responsible for proofreading it? What makes it all the more hilarious is that you’re meant to be taking advice from this slightly creepy three-armed man.
10. “My wife asked me why the fridge was getting warmer after she kept pressing the “cold” button”
With “Cold” and “Colder” being the only two options, we can forgive this woman for making such a simple mistake. Truth be told, we could see this from both sides- as technically, a fridge is never what you’d call “warm.” The best thing to do is just leave it well alone.
11. Health and safety flaw
In theory, this arm-locking device sounds like a great idea to stop people from pressing the alarm as a joke. But what happens if there’s a real fire? Doesn’t that take away from the whole point of a pressable alarm in the first place? And why does this woman look so happy?
12. “Put Barbed Wire Across The Top Of The Gate. We Don’t Want Anyone Climbing Over It”
Barbed wire is usually enough of a deterrent for trespassers to stay away, but when you literally have an open gate right next to the barbed wire, it’s like giving your dog a bowl full of treats and telling him not to eat it. We’d give them an A+ for effort, but unfortunately, this design just isn’t going to cut it.
13. Winnie as you’ve never seen him before
This is like a Winnie the Pooh from a child’s nightmares. The fact that the body, ears, and head shape are pretty accurate to the cartoon character, makes the huge mouth and prominent teeth all the more creepy. It’s like someone stuck a pair of false gnashers in there.
14. They really didn’t think that tail through
The cool thing about this action man is that he can morph into some kind of cat thing (we’re not too clued up on these kinds of toys), but it’s safe to say that the manufacturers didn’t think what would happen to the tail once action man was- well, a man. How would you explain this one to the kids?
15. The most confusing sign
It seems as if two different signs were merged together to create this one. Not only is the snowman creepy, but the actual context of the writing makes us believe that Santa is doing something pretty horrible to the girl. How did anyone ever think that this was a good idea?
16. “For when you want a near-death experience every time you use the stairs”
Stairs without a handrail? Nope. Stairs with huge gaps in between them? Nope. Stairs with shelves installed into them? Nope. This seems like a recipe for disaster. Imagine walking down these when you were drunk.
17. It’s an advent calendar
Advent calendars are fun, and even as an adult, we get a slight thrill out of searching the calendar for the correct number. But when you’re in a lift, and the doors have closed, and the pressure’s on to pick your floor, this would honestly be our worst nightmare. We’ll take the stairs, thanks.
18. An obvious design fault
This shirt clearly wasn’t designed for women, which is kind of disappointing. Why shouldn’t men and women want to wear a shirt with Putin on it? We’re kind of digging the way he looks, though.
19. Every hole is a goal
We don’t know if the manufacturers chose this slogan on purpose, or whether they genuinely didn’t realize the innuendos within the text. A good slogan is the key to every business, and this will certainly get everybody talking. Which is a good thing, right?
20. Where’s Europe?
The person who made this obviously has a thing against Europe- so much so, that they decided to leave it out of the design. Maybe it was too small and fiddly to fit in, or maybe they just prefer the world with a bit of extra sea.
21. “I never imagined the Golden Gate Bridge was as bike-friendly as it is”
It’s always good to give bikers lots of room, but when you have to be child-sized to fit through the pedestrian route, you know that somebody messed up. Just don’t lean too far to the left, whatever you do!
22. This passport got well and truly messed up
We hope this person didn’t have to pay to get their passport fixed! After all, is it really their fault that their printer gave them not a forehead, not a five head- but more of a ten head? Imagine trying to get through customs with that…
23. Can you see it?
It took us a while to realize that one of these girls literally has an extra pair of legs. Like, there are four pairs of legs, but only three heads? Where did the other girl go?
24. Period pizza
When it comes to making a dramatic statement, this pizza company clearly did that- though admittedly, not in the way they would have liked. We can’t imagine anything worse than having a period pizza, and although we appreciate that the company was going for the red stamped-on lettering for dramatic effect, they might want to rethink their design a little.
25. “Do not leave children unattended at Whole Foods”
This has to be some kind of practical joke, or else it’s probably time for the sign-maker of this store to call it quits. We’re guessing that the sign was actually meant to say, “chicken,” but somehow it came out as “children.” It’s like something out of a horror movie!
26. Colon Cleanser
Imagine how quickly you could ruin your night by taking one of each at the same time. Make sure you relax and sleep first though. So the morning will be a surprise!
27. It’s all politics
During election times, political posters can become samey and boring very fast- so we love the way this one was printed onto the bus. We wonder how this politician feels about being hamster-fied? It’s a great way to get people to take him seriously (not).
28. An interesting design
At first glance, we thought that this bathroom counter had makeup smeared all around it- or worse. So when we realized that somebody had actually painted the counter to look like this, our first thought was: why? Well, it’s certainly unique.
29. “Insert here”
It took us a second to realize that this sign was pictured at a ski resort, and features a man about to sit on a ski lift chair. It’s not quite what we had in mind when we first saw it, and for that, we breathe a sigh of relief. Colonoscopy, anyone?
30. Safety first
Hard hats are very important when doing some DIY with your one-year-old. As long as they’re wearing a hard hat, they will be protected from everything. So why not give your toddler a hammer? What could possibly go wrong?
31. A stroke of genius
We’d like to think that this design is intentional, as it’s a sure-fire way to get people’s attention. Though saying that, it’s slightly creepy to have some glowing, red eyes staring at you when you’re driving.
32. Under my umbrella
How do you protect wires from heating in Hawaii? With a mini umbrella, of course. We’re not sure how this tiny umbrella would cope in a storm, but we’ll come to that problem when we get to it.
33. It’s all about perspective
This picture seems to take the promise, “Till death do us part,” to a whole new level. We’re not sure what the intentions of the artist were, but we’re sure she didn’t mean to make the bride and groom look… well, a little on the dead side. Surely not?
34. “Put a Braille sign on the Fun Mirror”
Whoever decided to put a braille sign above this fun mirror has a wicked sense of humor. This sign is really rubbing it in a visually impaired person’s face. “Here’s the fun, but you can’t join in yourself.” Oh, the irony.
35. “It’s supposed to be a safety pin…”
In what way did someone ever think this could be a safety pin- and more importantly, why would you put a drawing of a safety pin on a child’s sweater in the first place? Aside from the obvious thing that we’re sure first sprung to everyone’s minds, we could also see a rocket in this picture. But a safety pin? Get out of here.
36. What exactly are we measuring?
The great thing about measuring labels, is that we can see just how much water we’re drinking throughout the day. But when the bottle isn’t transparent, what’s the point? You would have to have x-ray eyes to be able to use this bottle.
37. Just why?
Anyone who owns a dog knows just how strongly you love them- as much as your own children. So we’re baffled as to why someone would invent a leash that literally looks as if you’re shooting your beloved pet. Imagine seeing this at your local dog park?
38. “Let’s Alphabetically Order The Floor Numbers”
Putting things in alphabetical order satisfies the type A personality in us, but when someone decided to do it with floor numbers, we felt that they’d taken it a step too far. There’s no easy way to find your floor when they’re all jumbled like this.
39. “This gnome salt shaker”
If someone went to the effort of making two holes, we’d assume that they’d at least make them the right way round. This gnome now has eyes in the back of his head, and it kind of ruins the fun of shaking the salt out. Besides, why is he plain white?
40. No funny business
We get that this sign was going for a “no dogs” kind of approach, but we think they completely missed the mark. In fact, the sign seems to be prohibiting humans and dogs from getting up to some funny business- and although it’s technically correct, we’re not sure that people have to actually be told this.
41. “Sure boss, the bus has all the seats in place”
Either this seat was designed for pets and handbags only, or someone well and truly messed up when they were installing the bus seats. After staring at this picture for a good while, we can only guess that the seat was meant to go sideways? Where else could it go?
42. Rainboners
Have you ever been so happy to see a rainbow, that it caused a physical reaction in you that was out of control? If so, then you may be suffering from a rainboner. Don’t worry, as the effects won’t be permanent.
43. There are no words
There’s nothing funnier than seeing a distorted face in an advertisement, and this man’s face looks absolutely hilarious. In all fairness to him, he probably wasn’t ever expecting to see his face all squashed up in the corner of some packaging when he took up his modelling job. Poor guy.
44. Tonix juice
Imagine being super thirsty, running into a store and picking up this generously sized bottle, only to realize that you’d purchased some floor cleaner? Surely we’re looking at a public health hazard here? We can’t imagine it being the nicest thing to drink.
45. “I’m coming to get you!”
Whoever thought that it would be a good idea to portray tumors in this way, needs to be sacked. If only cancer was as fun as playing a game of hide and seek… And the little girl’s face is positively filled with joy!
46. It’s all wrong here
As far as we were aware, 49 plus 50 doesn’t quite make one hundred, so that’s our first issue here. Secondly, why is the 49% piece of the pie so much bigger than the 50%? It looks someone needs to go back to school for some Math lessons.
47. Color the scene
Ahh, there’s nothing kids love more than coloring in some of their favorite movie characters. But wait a second… which parts can they actually color in? We love how the kid still went to the effort of coloring in a tiny 1% of Darth Vader.
48. A poo mascot
When it comes to diarrhoea ads, most companies tend to beat around the bush, so to speak. We often see images of pretty women clutching their stomachs, or perhaps a hot water bottle or two. But never before have we seen a literal poo giving us advice.
49. A what now?
This whole thing gets weirder when you realize that this ad has actually been posted by a crematorium. It’s fine to be light-hearted about death, but we think this might be a step too far. We wonder how they managed to get this girl’s permission to use her picture in their ad?
50. Time for dinner
This menu looks as if it was created by a 6-year-old girl. All that it’s missing is some butterfly and love heart stickers. Seriously, we get a migraine just looking at this thing.
51. “Braille behind vending machine glass”
Somehow, we don’t quite think that a lot of these people have got the hang of what braille actually is. They certainly wasted their money putting it behind glass, where no visually impaired person can actually read it. Just why?
52. Fire exit below
Imagine hearing the smoke alarm and rushing down the flight of stairs to find this? What’s even the purpose of having a flight of stairs that leads to a brick wall? There must have been a door there at some point.
53. “Spain’s new shirt looks like it got dirty while eating bolognese pasta”
Spain might be a great football team, but there really is no excuse for this kit design. If you squint, it looks as if the poor players have just vommed all over themselves. I mean, at least it’s unique…
54. Name the continents
Now we’re no geography experts, but we’re pretty sure that you can’t just label everywhere in Asia as China. In fact, we’d say that that was a little racist. Who on earth designed this thing?
55. He shoots, he… breaks the window
What better way to entertain your child than by sticking a netball hoop to the back of your house? That is until you realize that it’s right below the window. And where is the ball likely to go if it misses its target? You guessed it.
56. We’re all As
First off, the grammar nerd in us feels the need to point out that there definitely shouldn’t be an apostrophe after the A. Second off, putting an image of a girl next to their pretty strange list of qualities wasn’t the best idea that this school has ever had.
57. Stand up for what you support in
These people were trying to do a good thing, but unfortunately for them, they failed epically. Unless you’re right up close to this sign, you’re going to read the larger letters only. We’re not sure that, “we support child abuse” is a term that would go down well with most people.
58. Change fart
We don’t know if we’re just immature, but we’ll admit that we had a good old giggle over this store’s advertising. Of course, it’s obvious what the store name is actually meant to say, but we just can’t help reading the word “fart.”
59. The most terrifying library
We’re not sure that a picture like this would actually encourage customers to visit the library- in fact, it could actually do the opposite. This is the kind of picture that could make little kids cry.
60. Pizza and ice cream
Here’s another terrifying sign, and after looking at this ad, we don’t think we’ve ever wanted pizza or ice cream less. This poor little girl doesn’t half look creepy.
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