Dumb things in my house that just don’t make sense

In a world where most hanging dryers are dull and made of flimsy plastic, IKEA’s PRESSA hanging dryer stands out with its whimsical design. The PRESSA is shaped like an octopus, has retractable arms, and even feels somewhat sturdy! This hanging dryer wouldn’t look out of place in a child’s bedroom.

However, like Lorelai’s furry clock that didn’t purr on time, the PRESSA’s cute appearance is deceptive.

I have two major gripes with the PRESSA. First, the octopus’ “bottom” sometimes randomly falls off, taking its arms (and your socks) with it. But more importantly, after a while, some clothes pegs start to violently spring apart, transforming from innocent sock-grabbing “tentacle hands” into sharp prongs that could easily poke someone’s eye out. Do not use the PRESSA in your child’s bedroom. You’ll regret it.

IKEA’s STEFAN dining chair isn’t quite as hazardous as the PRESSA. The STEFAN does its job well enough, in the sense that sitting on it is unlikely to cause you any injuries (side note: Though I wouldn’t recommend trying to stand on it…). After all, the STEFAN is just a simple wooden chair.

What the STEFAN is not, however, is comfortable. It’s a great way to encourage your guests to finish their meals quickly so they can get up sooner. The seating experience can be made slightly less dreadful by pairing the STEFAN with a chair pad like the JUSTINA, which is – of course – sold separately.

The STEFAN also has another design flaw that isn’t easily remedied with a cheap cushion: whenever I lean back, the lower horizontal bar tends to slightly “pull” down my pants because it’s roughly at the same height as my waistband. It’s not a huge issue, but it’s annoying nonetheless.

Uniqlo generally sells decent clothing for decent prices. Its products aren’t the best, but also not the worst – except for its 3D Cut BLOCKTECH Parka, a lightweight coat that’s supposed to protect its wearer against the elements. It does this well enough while you’re inside the Uniqlo store, but fairs less well as soon as you go outside and the weather is, well, less fair.

The BLOCKTECH Parka is water-repellent, but not water-proof. This has proven to be a bit of a bummer, as you’ll still be completely soaked after a walk through heavy rain. Apparently this will only get worse over time as the parka’s water-repellent coating wears off.

This is also my only jacket that can’t be worn unzipped for extended periods of time because it keeps sliding off my shoulders unless I perform a Picard manoeuvre every few minutes.

I have hay fever for much of the year. Air purifiers can reportedly help alleviate hay fever symptoms by removing pollen from the air. After watching and reading several reviews on the internet, I decided to buy this Philips humidifier that doubles as an air purifier.

Regrettably, I have to report that it does absolutely nothing for my hay fever. I’m still sneezing, my eyes still itch, and I still have a runny nose.

In fact, I’d argue that its design might even make things worse. A humidifier works by releasing water into the air. The HU5930 does this through a grill at the top, which not only attracts dust but is also extremely difficult to clean. After a month or two, this humidifier essentially becomes a dust-spreading device, and there’s very little you can do about it.

At least it’s good at humidifying.

I have a smart TV that runs on Android TV. It works, but it’s become slow and is probably one of the least secure devices on my home network.

Why do I have to reboot my TV from time to time to keep things running smoothly? Why does a cold boot take minutes when my old dumb TV could do it in just two seconds? Why is its processor so underpowered that it even struggles with simple 1080p livestreams? Why does my TV receive so few updates? And when it does get an update, why does it feel the need to inform me with a gigantic pop-up and a countdown timer while I’m watching a live football match?