Perfectionists have a tendency to prefer things to be consistent and symmetrical and feel uncomfortable or bothered when those things are out of place, and we can't blame them. Even as children, the Muppets made a point of drawing out attention to things that just don't belong. Sometimes it's an honest mistake, but other times human carelessness has resulted in pictures of inconsistency that we'll never be able to unsee. Read on for some of the worst offenders, but proceed with caution if missing puzzle pieces and crooked lines make you cringe.
Conflicting Interests
Everyone loves the feeling of checking things off of a to-do list, and for good reason - even completing small tasks can lead to a feeling of accomplishment caused by the release of dopamine in the brain, but in this case, the accomplishment comes from leaving the to-do list unchecked. You could have a perfectly productive start to your day, but it'll be ruined by the time you get to the last task.
How would one even make such a decision? Would you prefer to do what the list says and leave last the box unchecked, or would it be too difficult to resist?
Glitchy Floor
Unfortunately, whoever was responsible for laying down this floor didn't care enough to check that the pattern would be set properly. Maybe one worker started laying the tile on one end and another started on the other and they agreed to meet in the middle, but they should have taken a few extra minutes to double-check that everything would line up. One row in the center ruins the entire look!
The problem with a mistake like this (aside from the fact that it's an eyesore) is that there's no way to fix it without tearing up half of the floor first.
A Split Decision
What would you do?! The struggle at the gas pump is real, and not just because gas is hard on the wallet. How does one choose in this kind of situation? Would you leave the meter as is with a perfectly even volume of gas, or would you prefer to add another little squeeze of gas to try to make the price even instead? Gas should be priced in a way that prevents this.
We'd probably leave it as-is. Even a little squeeze would most likely bring the cost above $42, and neither number would be perfectly round if so. It's not worth the risk.
Conflicting Condiments
This is a serious branding error on Heinz's part. All condiments are created equal and should be labeled accordingly. We see no reason that the relish should be treated any differently than ketchup or mustard. It'd be one thing if there was some characteristic inherent to certain condiments that made it more appropriate for them to be in a bottle with a lid on top, but that's not even the case here.
If each bottle is going to have the exact same shape, what's the point in putting one of the labels in a different direction than the others? It's unnecessary and confusing.
Oh, the Irony
'Monk' is literally a TV show about a police officer who struggles with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, and whether through massive oversight or a cheeky attempt at a joke, whoever was responsible for creating the box set tapes for the show thought it would be a good idea to design them with complete consistency up til the 7th set. It's uncomfortable to look at, but also a way of experiencing what Monk feels.
Despite its relevancy to the show's protagonist, this is not the only example of inconsistency on box set cases. The case for the final Harry Potter film was also different than the others.
Straight Sewage
How is anyone involved in street construction able to simply place a manhole cover with a stripe painted on it so that it isn't aligned with an existing stripe? It would probably take an extra 5 seconds and relieve countless people from the discomfort they'd feel upon seeing such a horror while walking by, or looking at pictures on the internet. We'd like for this to be a fineable offense.
If they weren't going to make the lines connect, at least the "storm sewer" text kind of aligns with the white stripe. Even if it's not ideal, it could certainly be worse.
Table for Blue
We don't understand how such an epic design fail came to be. This had the potential to be quite a lovely table, but no, someone got sloppy and misplaced all of the hexagons. They should have just started on one side and continued around to the other - the hexagons are all exactly the same shape and size. It's like the world's easiest puzzle, and they still managed to screw it up.
Not only are the hexagons not fitted properly, but the wood grain on each of them is also running in different directions. A fine example of poor craftsmanship, across the table.
You Had One Job
It would have been one thing if both the 1 and the 4 were printed backward - it's an honest mistake that anyone could have made, but we don't understand how the person who painted this managed the place one of the stencils correctly but put the other one backward unless both numbers were from the same stencil. If so, how did the stencil company end up cutting it like this?
Stencils aren't exactly hard to use. With mirrors, there is a chance that if you're not careful you could accidentally paint backward, but with stencils, what you see is what you get.
Faux Flowers
At first, we wondered how anyone could have possibly thought no one would notice that somebody literally hot glued a fake flower onto this cactus plant, but after some of the other pictures we've come across, nothing really surprises us anymore. Sure, it might not bother a perfectionist in the same way that an out-of-order sequence or interrupted pattern would, but it's still out of place and doesn't make sense.
Does anyone really have an issue with flower-free cacti? We'd be more inclined to buy a cactus with no flower at all than to waste our money on this imposter.
Hustle Harder
American Hustle was a 2013 crime movie based on an FBI operation that took place in the 1970s. It's a critically-acclaimed film that was nominated for 10 Academy Awards, and while it did not win at the Oscars, it did take home over 30 accolades from other awards ceremonies. Despite the film's success, movie buffs and perfectionists alike have an issue with one of the posters used to advertise it.
The five main actors who star in the film stand side by side with their names written above, but the order of the names doesn't match how the actors are arranged.
Somebody Hates Raymond
Apparently, the creators of the Monk and Harry Potter DVD box sets weren't the only ones who want to see the world burn. Whoever was responsible for designing these cases for Everybody Loves Raymond not only included a spine that does not fit in with the others, but they decided it would be a good idea to put that specific case in the middle so it stands out even more.
We also hate the way all of the labels on the bottoms are arranged in a different order on each DVD. This whole thing is just one giant hot mess.
Wrong-Way-Wich
We get it, when you're running late for work, the kids are half-dressed, and you've got to get them to the school bus on time, the last thing on your mind is making sure the sandwiches are facing the same direction as their containers. Maybe it's a miracle their lunches are even ready at all - we do have to give credit where credit is due. Weekday mornings are stressful.
Still, this image doesn't sit right with us. The way the sandwich is in the box doesn't make sense, and if there was time for a picture, there was time to put in it right.
Tetris Fail
There's no reason that this needed to happen. Surely, whoever was responsible for ordering the bricks had an accurate count of how many of each color were necessary to complete the job, and even if the bricks that actually got delivered weren't correct, the worker responsible for laying them down could have switched the extra gray one with a red one somewhere a little less obvious, like under the plant.
It also looks like the red pattern wraps around to the side in a single row. They could have switched the brick on the end to make the larger part even.
Fig NO-Tons
Doesn't anyone care about quality control anymore? How could this have even happened? If anyone has the contact information for the person in charge of quality control for Fig Newton production, feel free to send us their contact information; we just want to talk. We're in the camp that Fig Newtons are delicious, although we also acknowledge they're not very popular compared to some of the other cookies that Nabisco produces.
Mispackaging like this can't be helpful to their cause. One cookie facing the wrong way ruins the whole sleeve. You'd never experience this level of abomination with Oreos or Chips Ahoy.
A Perfectionist's Nightmare
Not only is the safety line at this train station uncomfortable to look at to a mildly infuriating degree, but we would have to assume it's also a hazard to passengers. The whole point of these lines is to keep people away from the track, and while it's straight enough to do that job, the fact that some of the pieces are sliding seems like an invitation for someone to fall.
Were they laid improperly or did they start to move for another reason? Why does the half of the line further back appear to be perfectly straight while these are so wonky?
The Grass Is Not Greener
So much wasted potential. True, it's probably less obvious when you're actually in this park just how crooked the landscape of it is, but now that we've seen this picture it'd be something we would have a hard time overlooking. The greenery is lovely and we'd wager that the park wasn't designed to look like this but was probably the result of some mishandled construction or someone rushing through the job.
Every part of the design is just so off. None of the lines are even and it looks like the whole thing got squished on an angle. Even the fountain is slanted.
Pizza Party?
We're just going to ignore the fact that this pizza doesn't exactly look like it's of the highest quality to begin with and skip right to complaining about the way it was cut. No pizza should even be sliced in such a manner for any reason. Not only does it make us uncomfortable to look at, but it also makes no sense. The point of a pizza cutter is to cut straight across.
This person had to go out of their way to slice it into 7 parts. Either commit to smaller slices and stick with the classic 8 or save a few seconds by cutting 6.
Pattern Clash
We don't know about you, but we think one of the best parts of taking a bath or shower is how relaxing it can be, but the potential for relaxation has more or less gone out the window with this monstrosity of a tiling job. Why would anyone want so many patterns so close together? This had to be a nightmare for the contractor to install, not to mention dizzying to bathe inside of.
The least they could have done was extended the blue tile all the way to the ceiling. The white triangle on the top of the wall gives us the heebie-jeebies.
Misfortune Cookie
The future does not 'hodl' anything, try again fortune cookie company. It's hard to take any fortune very seriously when they don't even get the spelling right. Haven't they heard of spellcheck? We would also like to know why it's in the form of a question; fortunes aren't Jeopardy, there's no answer written anywhere else. We'd be very disappointed if we opened a cookie and this is what we found.
After the last few years, the cookie company probably isn't comfortable predicting anything anymore. No one knows what the future holds, and they're not going to pretend like they do.
Erase This
We wish we could erase the sight of this rogue pencil from our memories, but unfortunately, it doesn't work like that. It seems like Nabisco is not the only company with lax quality control when it comes to packaging their products, although at least the upsidedown pencil isn't as much of an eyesore as the sideways cookie, and luckily it ended up hiding behind all of the other pencils in the box.
Bic has also committed worse crimes. In an entirely unnecessary marketing blunder a few years ago, they created a pen specifically designed to fit a woman's hand - the product no one knew they needed.
The Wrong Way to Eat
That scene with Steve Carell as Michael Scott from the office comes to mind. You know the one where he screams, "NOOO GOD, PLEASE NO!" Bagels are not meant to be cut this way, full stop. We'd go as far as to say as they should always be cut horizontally first and only across the middle as a last resort if for whatever reason the person doesn't want half a bagel.
The way this is cut is a crime against nature, not to mention inconsiderate. Who else would see this and think it looks appetizing? It probably ended up in the trash.
Out of Order
Okay, there are several things wrong with this YouTube question. First, the order of the age brackets as they're listed makes no sense. The options go from oldest to second youngest to youngest to second oldest (we know that was a mouthful, but there's no other way to explain it.) It really is as unnecessarily confusing as it sounds, and YouTube is definitely not getting accurate responses because of it.
Second, the "Other, or I prefer not to say" option. The way that it's written, "other" can only mean children, and children on the internet definitely shouldn't be receiving targeted ads.
Jagged Little Pill
While the way that this pill has cracked is mildly infuriating to look at, the style of the photograph also makes it look like a piece of modern art. What does this pill say about society; what does it represent? We probably wouldn't even question it if we came across this in a museum. That said, the pill appears to have been designed to be split into 3 equal parts.
For some reason, though, it cracked down the center, which wouldn't bother us so much if those lines weren't there. Maybe there's another line in the center on the other side?
We Can't Believe This Butter
There are so many butter ways that this could have been cut (see what we did there?) It's kind of rude and disgusting that somebody decided to scrape it right from the middle. There's no reason they couldn't have just cut a piece from the end - after all, what are the markings on the package even for if not to assist with measuring? Otherwise, a tub of butter is a better option.
Cutting it like this leaves it open to absorbing the scents of whatever else is around. Oniony butter might be okay if it's going in a pasta dish, but we wouldn't want it on our toast.
Like a Light Switch
These light switches that somebody found in a motel room while traveling are a perfect example of something that irks our perfectionist side. The most likely explanation for the way they were designed is that they're supposed to help identify which switch works for which... light (we really wish we could have thought of another rhyme here), but we think the different directions are much more annoying than they would be helpful.
Even if that is what they're for, it still doesn't actually guarantee that switch works with a particular appliance. It's always a game of trial and error with light switches anyway.
Close Enough
We'll be right back, we're just going to go on a quick hunt to find the audacity of this landlord. This must have been beyond annoying for the tenant, but we also don't understand why the landlord would want to replace the broken tile with one so different from the others. If they're the landlord, that means they own the property. You'd think they would want to take better care of it.
It must be a pretty old building if they can't be bothered to find similar tile. Maybe since they're not the ones who have to see this every day, they don't care.
Still Searching
This might be the most torturous image we've come across all day. This Spongebob Squarepants-themed wordsearch should be a fun and easy activity for a child (or anyone) to complete, but the creators had to go and ruin it by accidentally leaving out one of the words on the list from the puzzle. Six of the seven words have been found, but even after a long search we can't find "Squidward."
We'd want our money back for this. It's not an especially difficult wordsearch to begin - all of the other words are verticle - so to leave one word out makes a big difference.
Just a Bite
Such perfectly pretty pastries are completely ruined by inconsiderateness, and there's actually an insane backstory. Someone bought these for a coworker to celebrate her announcement that she was pregnant but then found them in the fridge like this. They looked at security cameras to figure out who did it and when they confronted the guy, he revealed he had a crush on the woman and ate the pastries as an act of jealousy.
They found out he had also been stealing small objects from her and keeping them in his desk. He was fired and everyone else enjoyed the non-eaten halves of what was left.
We All Scream
It may be incomplete, but this one is actually a little funny. You know the song, "I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream?" This family had a set of bowls with one part of the saying on each bowl, but somehow they lost the one that actually mentions what the bowls intended to be for, so now it just looks like everyone is screaming all of the time.
That said, from a perfectionist perspective we have to mourn the breaking up of a complete set. A moment of silence, please, for what was once four and is now three.
Just... Don't.
Sometimes "perfect" means a complete set, sometimes it means a seamless pattern or some nice, round, even numbers. In this case, though, perfect meant nature itself. We would almost believe this lovely vista of a forest in front of a mountain had been frozen in time - if it hadn't been for "Jeff" coming along and ruining it by painting his name on the rock. Nobody cares you were here, Jeff.
Why do people think it's okay to do things like this? The best way to leave your mark on nature is to leave it alone. This does nothing to improve the space.
So Close
The horror! We count a total of 11 "2s" on this clock. 22:22 is the military or European way of counting 10:22 PM - if a day has 24 hours, 10:22 would be the 22nd hour and 22nd minute out of 24. The date also happened to be February of 2022, and the owner of the clock decided to set the alarm for 2:22, although that was probably just for the photo.
The thermometer had to go and ruin the picture, though. Whoever took the photo had probably set their thermostat to 22 degrees, but the temperature may have dipped at this exact minute.
A Slippery Slope
Imperfect, infuriating, inconvenient. The person who posted this picture explained that the shelf for soap in their shower was installed at an angle and nothing stays put. Sometimes those little shelves are supposed to have a very slight decline in order to prevent water and soap from collecting so mold doesn't grow, but in this case, the tiler went way too far. They should have at least added a bar in front.
Not only does the shelf look out of line with the rest of the tiles to a degree that would bother any perfectionist, but the angle has made it completely useless.
Some People Have a Way With Words
Other people... no have way. This tattoo is supposed to say "I am who I am" when read vertically, and "Live your truth" horizontally. Individually, both are perfectly acceptable tattoos. Even together, the phrases could make sense, but this person decided to combine them in a way that makes the entire thing borderline unreadable. We had to stare at this picture for a very long time to figure out the meaning.
Anyone with perfectionist tendencies is sure to be bothered by how poorly this tattoo was designed. Not only is it hard to read, but the way the words are laid out also is not symmetrical.
Disorganized Chaos
Why even bother having a flatware organizer if this is how you're going to use it? These things are designed to keep your forks, knives, and spoons handy and accessible by dividing them into separate sections. Some of the utensils thrown on top here don't even belong in the organizer. Who decided it was okay to mix the veggie peeler or the whisk in with all of the other utensils?
This is also a really great way to accidentally cut your hand. It seems like it'd be easy to reach for a spoon and graze a knife by mistake in the process.
A Missing Piece
Mirror mirror on the wall, what would bother a perfectionist most of all? This puzzle, that's what. As a gradient image with no corners, it looks like it must have been fairly challenging already - we can't imagine the poster's frustration upon getting to the end and realizing that one of the pieces didn't belong. It's definitely the wrong shape to fit into that hole, and it's the wrong shade of blue.
Have you ever had a puzzle come with an incorrect piece? It's such a shame to go through all of that work and not have what you need to complete it.