Design is meant to eliminate problems. To make our lives easier. However, that's not always the case. Even though safety should be a key component when making any type of product, sometimes it falls out of the manufacturing equation and the consumer gets a hazard instead. And something to submit to the subreddit r/DangerousDesigns.
Created in 2014, this online community now has over 140K members, constantly sharing pics of exactly what its name suggests. Whether it's a questionable architectural solution or misleading packaging, over the years they've amassed quite the collection! Continue scrolling and check out some of the most popular posts on the subreddit.
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Cursed_airbag
Was Looking For A Budget Mattress When I Saw This...
1. Shouldn't have used fiberglass filler, and 2. State on the label WHY you shouldn't remove the cover.
One of the subreddit's moderators told Bored Panda they would describe it as "light-hearted."
"Dangerous staircase designs are by far our biggest collection of content, so much so that I've had to make a rule so they can only be posted once per week," the person who chose to remain anonymous said.
"Being a non-specific image subreddit, I wouldn't say there's much of a 'community' in the traditional sense," they explained. "However, there are plenty of users who are dedicated to helping me and the other mods manage this subreddit and keep it of a higher quality than most subreddits with over 100K subscribers."
Similar Design, One Can Kill And One Tastes Good
Guess It’s Back To Good Ol’ Drunk Driving
According to the law firm Carr & Carr, many products can be dangerous if the consumers dismiss their warnings and use the items incorrectly. Just consider the cleaning products available at your grocery store or the power tools you use for lawn maintenance.
"[But] when it comes to product liability lawsuits in which consumers seek compensation for harm caused by a particular product, one of the key factors is proving whether the product in question is unreasonably dangerous," Carr & Carr write on their website.
"Since there's no way to anticipate every way in which a consumer might interact with a product, it’s impossible to design and manufacture a product that is entirely free from risk. However, consumers have a right to expect that a given product is safe when used as directed for its intended purpose," Carr & Carr explain.
May Have Been Posted Before But This Is Pure Insanity
An unreasonably dangerous product is one that poses greater risks than an ordinary user might reasonably expect when using the product as intended. "This definition makes a distinction between products that are dangerous—such as drain cleaners or chainsaws—and those that pose threats beyond their intended purpose."
"In general, drain cleaners and chainsaws are not unreasonably dangerous because most come with detailed instructions for the proper use and warnings about their risks. The unreasonable danger in product liability cases is characterized by a flaw in the product's design, manufacture or marketing," Carr & Carr note.
So which of these pictures do you think feature unreasonably dangerous designs? Upvote them and let's see!
Children’s Playground In 1912
Only thing missing is the sky high metal slide. The one that caused 2nd degree burns in the summer. I miss these playgrounds. They were awesome
We played on one with sharp bits of metals sticking out, it was our favourite play park because it felt dangerous 🤣
Load More Replies...Looks like our playgrounds in the 1970s and 1980s, just a bit higher. WHEE!
You learned very quickly what manual dexterity meant. If you didn't, then you sat next to the teacher during recess.
Bet they were great fun and kids learned what being silly and irresponsible cost
Yeah, a broken arm, broken leg, broken neck, etc.
Load More Replies...i saw a vox video on how more dangerous playgrounds are actually safer for kids, i don't think they were talking about this though.
Safer and more educational because they learn their capabilities and limits. That's why German playgrounds are way more "dangerous" then US ones.
Load More Replies...I do this with normal playgrounds and no-one stops me... Not a damn person.
Contraception was very ineffective in 1912, so people found other ways....
Some of those children are still alive and tough as a fencepost. Survival of the fittest. Darwin would be proud
Tough,sure,as if alive the youngest would be 119 years old now !
Load More Replies...If you chose to be a kid in 1912, you took your chances. And hey, if you survived this, Polio was right around the corner.
Exactly what I thought, not much different from what I played on as a child, just a little larger in scale, but not by much.
Load More Replies...At least they're not sitting and looking at their stupid phones.
We had a playground at my first school paved with brick, hard seat swings, jungle gym, parallel bars, monkey go round and teeter totters. No one ever go hurt. I was there in the 1st-3rd grade.
Same here, except instead of brick it was asphalt. Oh, and somebody got hurt almost every day. Skinned knees and skinned elbows were so commonplace some kids didn't even get it cleaned up. If you were still bleeding when recess was over maybe you'd go to the nurse; maybe you'd hold a Kleenex on it for a while. While I was there, at least four kids fell off the high monkey bars and were carted off in an ambulance, to come back a week later with stitches or crutches and a cast. One kid never did come back. The teacher said he moved...
Load More Replies...Nah, he's swinging. Look closer, you can see the cords connecting to the top bar.
Load More Replies...Also How Did That SKINNY Kid Get At The Intersection ? Looks Like A Total Weakling .
They made kids stronger back then, the ones we get now just aren't the same!
Look up German playgrounds. They are awesome! (Try "Kletterpyramide Spielplatz")
Load More Replies...Yeah, the new rubber tile generation really is a lot better suited for life in general...
Not much later, workmen were constructing hi-rise skyscrapers, (walking across 5" wide girders) without safety equipment. Someone had the bright idea after the fact, of installing a safety net while the Golden Gate bridge was being built in S.F.
bloody dangerous and the kid on the left could be killed when he hits the ground as he is going back first
We had a park that was the place to be back in the 80’s called caber park, this thing was the biggest unsafe tree house you’d ever seen.I never had an accident but it wasn’t built under any strict codes that’s for sure. I don’t care, I’m glad to have been a part of growing up in that era. Life was exactly what it was supposed to be for kids fun, dangerous and dirty. Your parents wouldn’t worry if they didn’t se u all day, just be home by 5pm for dinner.
We do that in the 60's as well there wasn't a summer where someone didn't break an arm or worse
I think metal slides on a hot summer day are more dangerous than what's pictured here. This looks more like future acrobat training, and some really brave kids too.
My school's playground was like that until the 1960's. We had a few broken bones.
The good news is I lived to be 86 and took a job selling asbestos products.
I saw boy fall off the top of a big metal slide back in the 50s. He died.
Some of the playgrounds I remember in the 80's weren't far off this, it was a great time.
There were things like this on our elementary and junior high/middle school playgrounds when I was growing up. They were a lot of fun and I can't remember there being any more accidents then than with the stuff on playgrounds now.
See now I'm wondering is he on a swing or is he falling? If you look striaght up youll see he is on a swing. OK, so there is fun but lets not get ridiculous about it.
I think the idea here is to get rid of the nasty kids running around. You see, each semester a single teacher could have two, maybe three children less to care about.
Back when child labor was a thang. Guess parents were used to losing their children to accidents like falling out of trees and barn lofts.
People weren't as squeamish (or as litigious) in 1912 as they are today. And better for it!
Hey, our monkey bars were over cement in the 70's. I don't recall any of them being nearly that high, but still. We splatted, not bounced.
Does anyone else see the face near ground below falling child? Creepy!!
I am counting at least three broken arms, two ankles and multiple concussions...
In my day we didn't HAVE playgrounds, we had to use real trees and derelict buildings.
If you wondered if boomers are tougher than the current generation just look at what we did for fun when we were kids.
Ouch! The kids in the swings look like they are have a grand time.... all of them do, until they fall that is.
Imagine how strong a kid would be playing on this for a whole year?? Great upper body strength from constant monkey bars, and ladder climbing.. no fear of heights, and have keen sense of balance.. the playgrounds of today are crap by comparison to this marvel!
Health and safety hadn’t been invented! Kids were brave and fearless in those days.
Back then, kids played outside so much they had the muscles and the skills to be able to play on something like this! Nowadays, most of our kids are such couch potatoes, sitting glued to a screen playing a video game, that for them to play on something like this... it would very likely be disastrous!
That same playground today would need bleachers nearby for the injury attorneys and CPS workers.
why does that whole thing actually look fun.......especially for someone that enjoys climbing things.....
this is the playground that Jigsaw built before he made his famous movies
My local park in the 80's had a climbing frame that looked like a micro-rollercoaster; half yellow, half blue, it was one continuous length of 'ladder' that looped and curled and eventually joined up with itself again. I think I saw them in other places too (UK this is). There were ample opportunities to maim or kill yourself on one of those babies!
If that's the worst thing that happened to you in the 1910s, you were doing pretty well for yourself.
There's also two kids on the ladder on the right, trying to pick off a smaller one who's upside down on the same ladder.
Aww the good ol' days of no safety regulations and no pussy ass kids, think about it, these kids were our (great) grandparents and let me tell you mine were bad ass. These people went on to fight in the craziest of wars and they weren't scared why? Their playground consisted of metal pipes and ladders 30 feet in the air. lol.
You may not see the "pussy ass kids" because they are busy healing in a hospital somewhere after falling off the 17 foot monkey bar contraption. This is a classic example of survivors bias...the only kids you see are the ones that are unhurt and happily playing. You may not realize that 3 kids had already broken their necks the month earlier. Were the kids that were actually harmed on this thing the "pussy ass" ones? Were they not "bad ass" enough? When you know better, you do better...we have simply done better by our kids by making their play equipment safer, nothing "pussy" about it.
Load More Replies...This is not a playground. It's one huge death trap.
Is that a kid falling ? I hope not that's a broken bone or bones for sure
just one of those perfectly timed photos! just look to the bottom left corner!
Wow! That kid would go into the stratosphere if they jumped off that swing!
Seems Legit...
Please don’t tell me, that’s people there ready to use it 😳🙆🏼♀️
Staircase Beautified With Loose Boulders And A Broken Pelvis
This one seemed so over the top I did a little reverse image search : it's an art installation by French artist Céleste Boursier-Mougenot. It's called "Chorégraphie". - https://slash-paris.com/critiques/celeste-boursier-mougenot-a-la-galerie-xippas
We’ll See
Branding Is Everything
Almost Did It, Too
Bruh
This Hair Bleach...
Couldn’t Get A Good Seat? Risk Your Life Trying To Watch The Game!
I Love My Country, But Sometimes...
Sorry, Wheelchair Users!
This 1930s Design Let You Hang Your Baby Over The Side Of A Building In A Cage
Almost Pulled A Michael Scott While Delivering Groceries Today
This 1955 Device For Smoking A Whole Packet Of Cigarettes At Once
I Mean The Potential Is There
Warning Label Inside A Helmet I Received When We Rented 4-Wheelers
The Cannonball Loop Waterslide, A Slide So Dangerous It Was Shutdown Almost Immediately After Opening
Every Chair In This Resort Fits Through The Deck, And The Majority Of People Who Stay Here Are Seniors
Step Out Of A Bathtub Down A Flight Of Stairs, Anyone?
This Architect Accidentally Built A Death Ray That Melts Cars And Fries Eggs... Again
This Will Probably Work Out Just Fine For Bicycles...
In The 1930s You Could Buy Artificial Snow Made Out Of 100% Asbestos
Get A Bone Broken Every Time You Slide Down
Poor Guy
On The Floor Of Doctor's Office. If You Trip On It, You're In The Right Place
It Looks Nice Sure, But I Didn’t Even Know That Was A Real Extinguisher
Yeah, totally illegal. Fire extinguisher are never allowed to be part of the decor, they need to stand out, however ugly that is.
That's How I Broke My Leg
Food Aid Packages And Cluster Bombs, Both Dropped On Afghanistan In 2001
Sick f***s. Cluster bombs are one of the most disgusting things used and they used them. On civilians without a care in the world.
That Would Explain Why My Ankle Hurts
Not for use as object it appears to be is apparently a trend in China-manufactured goods?
It’s Fine, Nothing To Worry About
Leaving Your Child In The Car Here
Dangerous-Design
Time For A Nice Refreshing Drink Of... Oh
Dear God...
Not Sure If Its Dangerous But I Think It Is
Does This Count
It's like one of those annoying clicker balls that are in every office. Only this one doesn't click, just scream.
Not A Fan Of That Projector
This Bike Track In Zagreb, Croatia
You Cant Quite See But Right Above It There Is A Wall
Go Ahead, Spend The Taxpayers’ Dollars On A “Decorative Circle” In The Middle Of An Intersection. What Could Go Wrong?
I Love The New No Stop Exit They Put Up At Our Corner Gas Station, You Don't Even Have To Stop To Exit
God Forbid You Have A Baby Or A Little Dog
This Train Track
This Warm Tent
Modern medicine and technology has been combating natural selection too well...now those folks that would have been out of the gene pool are in charge of building, packaging and manufacturing by the looks of things.
Load More Replies...When i got to the end of this list, i was expecting to see the trump border wall honestly.
Pretty sure some of these are either captioned in a way that doesn’t represent reality (a sea wall is not a handicap ramp) or just photoshopped (major corporations do not fly planes that low). Don’t believe everything you read here.
All I saw were stuff built by peoole are people whi just did not give a damn . I liked the wet bathroom and tent with two trucks though
I have never, never seen so many absolutely idiotic, crazy and dangerous items/situations!!!!
I thought it was a sensible question, not everyone is a railway enthusiast
Who tf said these were american? A lot of them aren't
Load More Replies...Modern medicine and technology has been combating natural selection too well...now those folks that would have been out of the gene pool are in charge of building, packaging and manufacturing by the looks of things.
Load More Replies...When i got to the end of this list, i was expecting to see the trump border wall honestly.
Pretty sure some of these are either captioned in a way that doesn’t represent reality (a sea wall is not a handicap ramp) or just photoshopped (major corporations do not fly planes that low). Don’t believe everything you read here.
All I saw were stuff built by peoole are people whi just did not give a damn . I liked the wet bathroom and tent with two trucks though
I have never, never seen so many absolutely idiotic, crazy and dangerous items/situations!!!!
I thought it was a sensible question, not everyone is a railway enthusiast
Who tf said these were american? A lot of them aren't
Load More Replies...