What in your mind is the worst invention ever

[malaise]

For me it’s the effin noisy yard blower - why the eff is it so loud?

[DaBronx]

1. Donald Trump

And the assault
Rifle

[malaise]

5. Good call on

the assault rifle- add nuclear weapons.
Guess I was thinking about simple annoyances, but there are way more deadly inventions than the blower.
That said I could see the blower making someone snap.

[Harker]

46. At no time have I ever compared and contrasted leaf blowers with nuclear weapons.

It's a mind bender.

[GreenWave]

2. Plastic. That crap is in everything now.

[malaise]

6. True

Plastic is deadly

[Endlessmike56]

3. Social media

[malaise]

8. Is it social,

anti-social or both?

[thomski64]

4. These phones we're all on..

[malaise]

13. Yep can be but they are quite useful

😀

[no_hypocrisy]

7. My mother had a device sort of like tweezers.

Sole purchase was to attach to the string of your tampon to pull it out so your fingers didn’t touch your naughty bits.

That, my friends, is wholly useless.

[malaise]

10. Holy Shit

😂😂 - that is effin useless.
In hindsight I should have said annoying and/or
useless because the blower is mostly annoying.
One of my close friends bought a blower.
Her 92 year old mother was so angry because she loved raking the yard as morning exercise and the noise pissed her off big time. She gave it away after three days.

[UniqueUserName]

17. You posted much of my thoughts before I could respond.

You clarified before I could give a lawyer-like response of it depends on your definition of "worst". But from your example I assumed as mundanely annoying.

There are several "worst" types:
useless --- ugh! the variations on the countertop small griddle appliance. Don't get me wrong. A countertop appliance that has applies direct heat from the bottom and the top at the same time is very useful. But the myriads of variations. . .ugh! There's the one to de-crust sandwiches, another to seal pierogi. Maybe that's a class of useless variations on useful things.

annoying --- intentionally irritating ringtones.

evil --- torture devices including iron maiden, the rack, various versions of pillory meant not only to humiliate but to make the person being punished extra uncomfortable.

wasteful --

(In the meantime: I've sat here for 10 minutes trying to clean up this post to make it less pedantically annoying. To post or not to post, that is the question.)

[malaise]

20. mundanely annoying

Perfect

Nice response

[onethatcares]

107. raking leaves

pulling weeds............................moments of ZEN

[3catwoman3]

22. Seriously?

How would you insert them? Even the ones with applicators require a certain amount of finger proximity.

The inventor of this device must not have used diaphragms or cervical caps.

[no_hypocrisy]

24. Unfortunately, I saw it.

I suppose it was common in the Fifties.

[radical noodle]

55. If I remember correctly

I seem to remember that those were to keep one's fingers from getting all bloody.

[no_hypocrisy]

56. Yup!

[HappyH]

30. What are the odds

that it was invented by a man?

[3catwoman3]

40. Interesting question. Generally speaking, they seem all too eager...

…to get in contact with our nether regions.

[3catwoman3]

41. Such devices are still sold. I just Googled it.

Who knew?

[Sogo]

45. What are the chances of getting a few pubic hairs caught in the device's grip,

and, boy, won't that be fun in the extraction!!!!

[3catwoman3]

79. Unless using Nair or waxing, that would seem ...

…very likely.

[unblock]

9. Pop-up ads.

The so bad even the inventor agreed and apologized.

[unblock]

11. I'll give you a twofer courtesy of Thomas Midgley jr.:

Leaded gasoline and CFCs (Freon).

Yup, both invented by the same guy.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Midgley_Jr.

[malaise]

15. Wow

t is often reported that he had been accidentally killed by his own invention,

Some would call this karma

[Chipper Chat]

12. Electric turkey-slicing knife

[malaise]

14. ROFL

My mother loved hers
No red meat here to roast and turkey is rare so I never owned one

[Orrex]

26. But it's the best way to slice an electric turkey

[Chipper Chat]

31. 🤣🤣

[spooky3]

51. But they work great with homemade bread. Slice without squishing. Nt

[Freddie]

128. Angel food cake

[LeftInTX]

75. LOL! Pretty useless, but my dad was really "into it".

[Lochloosa]

90. Nope, they are great for fileting fish.

[cksmithy]

119. I use mine only on foam rubber, like mattress toppers

for upholstery projects. It works really well, make a nice straight cut. Can even shape and mold to round edges, etc.
I did originally buy it for meat carving, but I have never used it on any type of meat.

[EYESORE 9001]

16. The alarm clock

Infernal contraption, that

[malaise]

18. Many find that very useful

😀

[EYESORE 9001]

19. Useful, yes

but friggin’ aggravating!

[malaise]

21. Hehehe

😀

[electric_blue68]

124. The "best"/most annoying Alarm Clock I ever heard about and it had to have been sturdy....

had wheels. So when the alarm went off it would roll off your night stand. You had to get up and retrieve it to shut it off.
😄😬

Guessing the theory being - that would wake you up enough!

[hunter]

23. That's easy: MONEY

Reducing the value of damned near everything to a single one dimensional number is utterly insane.

This one invention will ultimately be the end of us.

If we want to survive as a species we need to figure out how to implement a Star Trek sort of economy now.

[malaise]

25. Interesting

Rec

[Intractable]

69. I'll give you ten credits for that tribble.

[hunter]

82. Yep. Money causes all sorts of trouble.

You can't escape grifters anywhere in the universe.

It's best not to encourage them.

[Orrex]

27. Organized religion

But the yard blower is definitely a contender

[malaise]

28. I'd just drop

the organized😀

[Orrex]

32. I agree completely, but...

When I’ve said as much in the past, it’s gotten me lectures and a hidden post!

[malaise]

34. Me too

😀

[rurallib]

29. the world's greatest control mechanism

[Rizen]

59. You beat me to it.

I had the same thought.

[2MuchNoise]

33. Spandex. Ugh.

[malaise]

65. Hehehehehe

Never ever bought it

[IbogaProject]

35. The bullet

Though I detest leaf blowers.

[malaise]

52. Yes the bullet

Made to kill

[Dave Bowman]

36. Olestra and the Segway.

[malaise]

57. Had to look up olestra

Thanks

[Aristus]

37. Nuclear weapons.

Nothing else even comes close.

[malaise]

61. True

Rec

[johnp3907]

38. Speaker phone on mobile devices.

[justaprogressive]

39. All these are good but WAY TOO LATE! It's: WAR

[malaise]

50. Still one of my favorites

Edwin Starr

[red dog 1]

42. Toxic chemicals like DDT & Agent Orange

[malaise]

47. Funny how folks became filthy rich from so much

evil

[chowmama]

43. Keurig coffee

Not good coffee, trashes the planet.

[malaise]

48. Had to look that up

What a waste

[marked50]

44. A perpetual motion machine.n/t

[malaise]

49. Isn't that still a hypothetical

It’s way above my pay grade

[marked50]

63. Short answer is Yes.

There have been lots of machines made that make the claim, but they all turn out to frauds. Thermodynamics rule.

[WestMichRad]

53. Infernal combustion engine

Has been both incredibly useful for doing work, and awesomely destructive in many ways.

[malaise]

62. True of way too many inventions

Rec

[doc03]

54. The "smart phone"

[red dog 1]

94. I agree!

I hate "smart phones!"

I liked the cell phones we had 15 years ago. They worked fine for me.

[Polybius]

122. They were hard to text though

I like the cameras on the phones today too.

[Klarkashton]

58. Have you ever heard of this guy?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Midgley_Jr.

[malaise]

60. Unblock at #11

but I discovered that one of his own inventions took him out.

[chouchou]

64. Not entirely an invention

Drink mixers ..Hamilton Beech and such..used to have 3 speeds Low, medium, High.
Now they have 14 speeds. Who the F*ck came up with that idea?
"You asshole, I told you to mix it on speed 11 but Nooooo..you screwed it all up by mixing it at speed 10!"
"My God-damn drink's ruined!"

[malaise]

67. Bwaaaaah😀

It’s called how to raise the price.

[NBachers]

66. "as our menu options have changed" circular voicemail that is designed to make you slam down the phone in frustration.

Now the AI Titans have foisted off AI voicemail, which is even more stupid and useless.

[malaise]

68. THIS

an absolute violation of our space

[Intractable]

70. I used to work for Nortel Networks, which made those Voice Processing Machines.

I can tell you for a fact that some of our customers (mid to big companies) used that equipment to hide from their customers, not provide for them.

[hunter]

129. These days that's what companies are using AI for.

They can pretend they have customer service without actually providing it.

[Earl_from_PA]

71. Anything sold by Ronco...

Pocket fisherman.
Spray paint hair.
Mr. Microphone.
Veg-o-matic.

But wait, that's not all!...

[multigraincracker]

72. Spoofed caller IDs.

[Harker]

73. On a sub-nuclear weapon level, I'll go with the "selfie."

[greatauntoftriplets]

81. Photos of one's restaurant meal.

I don't want to waste time posing the plate and taking photos while my dinner gets cold.

[Harker]

86. I weighed that against the selfie, and the scale just wobbled...

so I flipped a coin.

[greatauntoftriplets]

87. They're often done at the same time.

Which means the meal is even colder when finally eaten.

[cloudbase]

74. Time Magazine's list of 50 worst inventions of all time:

https://content.time.com/time/specials/packages/completelist/0,29569,1991915,00.html

See how yours compare.

[malaise]

76. Bookmarked

Will read overnight
Thanks 😀

[skypilot]

97. I see that Crocs are on this list.

I really don't understand the hate for Crocs. I don't own a pair and never have but I have seen people wearing much uglier footwear. Like these for example:



And I have seen more people wearing these than I have seen wearing Crocs. Maybe it's just a thing where I live.

[cloudbase]

99. I've seen plenty of people wearing Crocs, but I've never seen a single person wearing

the abominations you posted, and I live in a major city. No accounting for taste.

[skypilot]

106. I live in a major city too...

...and these ugly things are all over the place. I'd take Crocs over these any day.

[LeftInTX]

77. Ultra sonic repellent

When we were first married, I saved up a small fortune and ordered one. Totally useless. It did not get rid of a single roach! I had my heart set on that thing. I was crushed.

Hubby was teaching science at the time and took the thing to school, so kids could test to see if it reduced pill bug populations. It became part of the science curriculum...LOL

[malaise]

110. Nice grift

😀

[Rustynaerduwell]

78. The internal combustion engine.

For nearly one hundred years we didn't look for an alternative.

[I_UndergroundPanther]

80. Capitalism

It has led to so much suffering and abuse and currently it is destroying civilization and all forms of life on this planet.

[malaise]

84. Wow!

Profound

[I_UndergroundPanther]

83. Second thing

Ads

[LeftInTX]

85. Banain Wow!

[malaise]

88. Beaaaaaah

😀🤣😀

[ProfessorGAC]

89. If It's Any Comfort...

...the new generation of battery driven yard blowers are WAY quieter.
That little motor & tiny muffler on the gas operated ones are a recipe to loud.
Everything I have for the yard is electric now. Mower, snow blower, blower, hedge trimmer.
They all runat a third the loudness of the old gas stuff, maybe better than that.
I'd never go back to gas operated.
As to your original question, I'll toss in the plastic milk bottle. Never should have switched from paper cartons.

[malaise]

91. Great news re blowers

Someone should tell that one neighbor and yeah for plastic milk bottles, plastic bags, etc.

[ProfessorGAC]

92. My Dad Delivered Milk To The Supermarkets

When they went from glass bottles to paper cartons he thought it was heaven.
Every stack of cases weighed 35# less, and there were no empties to put back into the truck.
Paper cartons were a very fine innovation and never should have gone away.
I think they should return for milk, juices, detergent, fabric softener, even pop. Get rid of all that plastic!

[malaise]

93. Somehow we managed to ban the plastic bags in supermarkets and other stores

But the plastic bottles are still a serious problem

[LudwigPastorius]

95. The leaf blower is certainly up there on the list.

It's unconscionably loud, and the way it is mostly used, all it does is take your problem and make it someone else's problem.

However, I'm going to go with Thalidomide.

[malaise]

112. Yes

Annoying versus deadly

[edbermac]

96. Circus peanuts

Gross

[malaise]

109. I am learning quite a bit on this thread

I should thank the noisy neighbor

[LeftInTX]

117. I wonder if they sell them in Jamaica?

They are super stale hard marshmallow candies. They are also overly sweet. They've been around since the 19th Century.

Circus peanuts led to the creation of Lucky Charms in 1964 when a General Mills employee chopped pieces of the candy into a bowl of Cheerios.[4]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Circus_peanut

[malaise]

118. I' e never seen them

Will ask a friend

[PlanetBev]

98. The sitcom laugh track

I’ve hated it since I was a kid. That why I’ve never been a sitcom watcher.

Don’t tell me what’s funny and when to laugh. 👎

[malaise]

111. Really fake

😀

[Emile]

100. Health insurance companies.

[Maninacan]

101. visible volume display

Windows volume display on computer. Volume display on car radio. Some software people just make irritating crap because they are bored or hate people. IMHO. Also my GE stove has one display for 3 functions . It's horrible. Don't even get me going on what a horrible car my Buick lacrosse is.

[Mike Nelson]

102. I have a few...

... the Electoral College
... the "Lip Poof" (or whatever they call the fuller lips injections
... the Tesla brand
... the "self checkout" machines

[OC375]

103. Alcohol

“Alcohol*, the cause of, and solution to, all of our problems.” -Homer J. Simpson

* Humans making it. I know it occurs naturally.

[malaise]

114. I saw a very recent study showing that we inherited our fondness for alcohol

from our chimpanzee relatives who rather like fermented fruit.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/chimpanzees-alcohol-cocktails-fruit-research/

Wild chimpanzees consume the equivalent of 2 cocktails a day in the form of boozy fruit, research finds

[Daigan]

104. Jet Skis

One jerk can destroy the tranquility of a lake for everyone.

[malaise]

115. Definitely annoying

😀

[TommieMommy]

105. Guns, bombs and poison

[malaise]

113. Some poisons are organic

But I agree with you on the others

[MorbidButterflyTat]

108. How about

the speculum.

Cold creepy hard metal tire jack torture device I have no doubt was invented by men.

[malaise]

116. Had to look that up

😀

[Luciferous]

120. Social media

[malaise]

121. Yes there are many negatives associated with

Social Media

[Polybius]

123. Speed camera's

They are huge in NYC.

[malaise]

125. LOL

Last edited Sat Sep 20, 2025, 10:42 AM - Edit history (1)

But they are helpful

[Polybius]

132. Some of them are alright, but others can trick you

Here in Staten Island, there's one service road that leads to a highway with a speed limit of just 20 mph (highway is 50). The speed camera is right before you enter the highway. It's very easy to get a ticket there, because it's just when you're building up speed.

[malaise]

133. Sadly more than a few of these enforcement policies are there

to generate income by any means necessary

[Blues Heron]

126. If ai kills us all, then the humble transistor

[malaise]

127. Good pick

😀

[Grins]

130. Cotton gin.

[Phentex]

131. The bra

why and who cares?

[GreatGazoo]

134. Ethanol

Adding 10% ethanol to gasoline reduces MPG by 10%.

That means that all the farmland, fertilizer, all the diesel burned by those tractors, the energy for refining, transporting, mixing, and dispensing ethanol is wasted and further damages the biosphere. It has provided the illusion of reducing gasoline consumption much like all the fake recycling programs excuse single use plastics.

[malaise]

135. Indeed

Rec