1) People that "forget" to wash their hands in the bathroom.
Why it exists: People often use the restroom and walk out without washing their hands. This can happen because people are in a rush and don't have time; because washing hands makes people go out of their way; they may simply forget, or possibly because people don't think that their hands are very dirty after they use the restroom.
2) Bathroom door, sink, and stall handles never being cleaned
Why it exists: People use the bathroom and then touch various parts of the bathroom even before washing their hands and may touch these same places after washing their hands. These locations are not obvious places that the maintenance crew would normally clean even though it collects a lot of harmful bacteria.
Why it exists: The poles and seats on the buses or the railings along the stairs are not places that someone would wash their hands before touching. Sweat and bacteria collect on a person's hand and collect on these surfaces. These are not obvious places that need to be cleaned.
4) Toaster not toasting food evenly
Why it exists: Heat within a toaster is not distributed evenly and as a result, slices of breads, bagels, etc, are often more toasted in one place compared to others.
5) Bus 38 on Archer Road always being full @7:40 so I have to get the later bus and I'm late to class @8:30.
Why it exists: A lot of UF students have class at 8:30 am and take Bus 38 to go to campus. Bus 38's route goes through many apartment complexes where students live off campus and my bus stop happens to be after a series of apartment complexes. Because of this, by the time the bus gets to my station, it is full and I can't get on. Additionally, students do not want to wake up earlier than they have to so everyone is trying to get on the bus at the same time. Not enough buses are in operation to make up for the traffic and large amount of students that have class in the morning.
6) Restaurants waste straws and unnecessary plastic by assuming everyone wants a straw in their cup.
Why it exists: Waiters may think that people automatically want to use straws out of convenience and place open plastic straws in cups right when they are served.
7) Lightning cable and charging port combined with new Apple phone without headphone port/aux not allowing for someone to charge their phone and listen to music at the same time without purchasing an adapter.
Why it exists: Apple removed the headphone jack in the newer iPhones to free up space inside the phone and it allows for the phone to be thinner and more adapt for the future.
8) When you pour sauce and some dirties the side of the jar when you are done pouring
Why it exists: Sauce jars are not designed in such a way that allows for a clean transition between pouring sauce and containing the rest of the sauce in the jar in the "lift up" motion of pouring sauce. Instead of going smoothly into the jar, some of the sauce will get on the side of the jar.
9) Flimsy umbrellas that break during the first heavy wind/rain storm
Why it exists: Umbrellas are designed in such a way to compress into a small space when they are not in use and expand when in use. This is a bad combination as they are often made out of cheap material and in Florida, thunderstorms are often accompanied by large amounts of rain and wind causing these flimsy umbrellas to break and turn over.
10) Using plastic wrap to package fruits and vegetables in stores
Why it exists: Wrapping fruits and vegetables in plastic makes it more convenient for the customers buying the produces.
11) Needing to use the bathroom during a movie and missing important parts
Why it exists: Movies serve you drinks and popcorn. Movies are often at least 2 hours long and to not go to the bathroom during that time is difficult when you have been drinking a soda or water. The problem lies in needing to go to the bathroom and not being able to know when is a good moment to go because you don't want to miss important parts of the movie you paid to see.
12) Keeping track/remembering to drink enough water during the day
Why it exists: We are often so busy throughout the day we don't remember to drink enough water or we know if we are drinking enough water.
13)Last bit of cream, toothpaste, shampoo, etc. in bottles
Why it exists: Bottles that contain creams and shampoos are not designed to effectively release all of their contents.
14) Toilets that use handles and not foot petals - especially public restrooms
Why it exists: Older toilets and plumbing systems place the toilet handles on the top of the toilet. This design is the most cost effective and ensures that there is a simple and known way for flushing toilets. Most new plumbing systems install automatic/motion flushing systems which assist with the large amounts of bacteria that toilet handles collect.
15) Waste of paper when colleges send you mail when they also send emails with the same information
Why it exists: College want to put themselves out there and send mail to your house when you put your address on any standardized test even if you are not considering their school.
16) Difficulty in keeping track of reusable water bottles and having to buy a new one
Why it exists: Reusable water bottles allow for a decrease in single-use plastics, but it often becomes difficult to keep track of your bottle when you bring it with you everywhere and accidentally leave it somewhere. When it seems you cannot find it, you buy a new bottle.
17) New shoes and blisters
Why it exists: New shoes are often stiff and the material they are made of is not worn down enough to fit comfortably and mold to one's foot causing blisters to form.
18) Mismatched socks
Why it exists: Socks are often the smallest part of our laundry. When we do our laundry socks are easily lost, or get stuck somewhere in the washer or dryer and never make it back to be paired. This creates a problem when it comes to finding two like socks. Difficult especially in a dorm room where the laundry room is communal and you may move across the room to transfer clothes from the washer into the dryer.
19) Keeping track of remote controls especially small Apple TV control
Why it exists: Once we use a control to find the channel we want, they are often thrown or placed somewhere on the couch or in the room because they are no longer necessary. For remotes like the small Apple TV remote, this allows them to get lost between couch cushions or placed somewhere they are forgotten about.
20) Waste of food on vacation
Why it exists: For week-long vacation grocery shopping is often involved. It is difficult to predict just how much food one family will consume so over shopping usually occurs and by the time the vacation is over families are left with a fridge full of food. They are forced to throw it out and waste it as they cannot travel with this food.
Reflection:
I found this assignment to be both a challenge and a learning experience. In my day to day life, I do notice various things that bother me and this activity forced me to reflect on not only why these things "bug" me but the root cause as to why they exist. When I first started this assignment I found it difficult to come up with different things that bothered me, but taking on a few every day allowed me to come up with all 20. The most difficult aspect of this was ensuring that my personal opinions in explaining why the bug existed did not contain my own personal feelings. I made sure to focus on an objective "Why." Additionally, this assignment allowed me to begin thinking about possible solutions to problems with different services and products that already exist.
Reflection:
I found this assignment to be both a challenge and a learning experience. In my day to day life, I do notice various things that bother me and this activity forced me to reflect on not only why these things "bug" me but the root cause as to why they exist. When I first started this assignment I found it difficult to come up with different things that bothered me, but taking on a few every day allowed me to come up with all 20. The most difficult aspect of this was ensuring that my personal opinions in explaining why the bug existed did not contain my own personal feelings. I made sure to focus on an objective "Why." Additionally, this assignment allowed me to begin thinking about possible solutions to problems with different services and products that already exist.
