My Ultimate Bug List - Week 2

1     When people merge without using a turn signal.

-       People are often too lazy to just flick a switch; in rare cases they just forget.

2   Doing a math problem, wondering why I got the answer wrong, then finding out the given answer was wrong.

-       Even professor’s make mistakes sometimes; however, it makes all of the students extremely confused.
3     A bike pump that doesn’t have the right type of valve for your tire

-       There are 2 main types of valves, Presta and Schrader.  At a public bike repair station, the pump should be equipped with attachments for both types.

4     Pulling up at traffic lights, having to stop, even though there are no cars going across

-       Most traffic lights have sensors to be able to detect cars, but some operate entirely based on a time algorithm because it is cheaper.
5     Having to buy a two-hundred-dollar text book just for a few pages out of the 400

-       It mainly comes down to copyright issues, the professors find something they think is important, however they can’t teach it unless everyone has a copy of the book because of copyright issues.

6     When people are swerving because they are texting while driving

         The need to get a message out has taken precedence to driving and people are willing to risk their safety as well as the safety of others.

7     When you can’t ever use the machine you want to use at the gym.

-       Gyms can often not afford to buy more than one of each type of machine because they are very expensive.

8     My fridge’s ice crusher that works about 10 percent of the time

-       The ice gets jammed when the blades try to crush it so no ice moves through.

9     Typing on my laptop and having the edges of my hands touch the trackpad, causing it to move the pointer

-       The design of all laptops has the touchpad in the center for ease of use, but when your hands rest on the laptop when typing, sometimes part of your wrist can touch the pad causing the mouse to move.

10.  The faint annoying rattling chirp sound in my car

-       When I was fixing my stereo I had to take the interior of my car apart, but when I put it all back together, one of the screws must have been slightly too loose.

11.  Vizio TV remotes that almost never work

-       These remotes are made very cheaply and unless the infrared sensor can make a direct path to the sensor on the TV, no actions will register.

12.  Gas pump sensors that malfunction and don’t let you fill up your car

-       I have no idea why this happens randomly, but it means that I have to try to go to another station to fill up.

13.  Using a faucet that doesn’t hang over the sink enough so when you’re washing your hands, they are touching the wall of the sink

-       It makes you have to move your hands in awkward positions so that you can get water on them.

14.  Headphones that break because of too much sweat

-       Minerals from the sweat build up around connections and don’t allow current to flow.

15.  Chords that break because of the way they are bent

-       Chord inputs are designed in a way such that the chord is constantly being bent, breaking the wires on the inside.

16.  Bars in the weight room that have so much friction you can’t slide weights on them

-       Over time the weights scratch the metal surface, causing rust to build up and more friction.

17.  When your laptop starts having problems right after the warranty runs out

-       Companies build products strategically so that you spend the most amount of money possible.

18.  When people sit in your seat at a football game in the swamp

-       Because the seats are just bleacher style, people don’t really sit in an exact location and they take up more room than each seat allocates.

19.  Pens that magically start to spew ink and there’s no way to get rid of it without causing a mess.

-       The pressure on the ink is what allows you to write, however when the mechanism in the tip breaks, it can’t prevent all the ink from coming out at once.

20.  When you open an email and it contains a virus that attacks your computer.

-     Hackers attach viruses to emails and disguise them so that if you try to open a                                                           simple link, it unleashes a virus on your computer.

I did not find this exercise especially difficult, only in that it was much easier to think of the ways in which people annoy me.  I think there are many bugs in our everyday life and if you simply go through a few days it is easy to find at least 20.