TE BLOG

Feb 26, 2008

Random Thought of the Day

Do you notice anything wrong with this picture? I recently got a new blowdryer. I’m sure you all know that blowdrying your hair isn’t meant to be rocket science so when I continuously kept turning it on low when I meant for it to be on high I got confused. Was something wrong with me? Is it opposite day? I checked out the blowdryer in more detail and discovered the following:

–My off setting is in between my high and low settings.

–The word ‘low’ is spelled ‘lo’ on the blowdryer and the word ‘high’ is spelled ‘hi’.

–The high setting is below the off button and the low setting is above the off button.

Now wouldn’t it stand to reason that the high setting would be above off and the low setting below off? Or perhaps a normal blowdryer would be something like off, low, high. So I came to the conclusion that someone’s brain was on vacation when they designed this blowdryer. And it made me curious… how is your blowdryer designed? If you have a minute today, check out your blowdryer and let me know! Did they spell high and low wrong? Are your settings all messed around? If you’re still reading this you’ve probably realized that my brain works in very odd ways! You’ll just have to bear with me today! I’ll be back tomorrow with something creative! *grin*

  • Kookie

    This it to funny!
    I had to go check mine, its new too…OFF, LOW, HIGH.
    …and come to think of it…my switch is really split so the left side control temp and the right side controls on off…no wonder somedays it too FOREVER to dry, I must have been changing the temps as well! LOL What were they thinking on the design of this one?

  • QC

    Hmmm……

    Mine go off, low, high….and the “cold shot” button is above that switch. The Ionic button is on the back side.

    Everything spelled correctly, which is awesome for the AR in me! *wink*

  • Lori

    I checked mine yesterday and it is “High”, “Off” and “Low”. I never paid attention to that before. 🙂

  • mochamama

    well you think your blowdryer has problems…mine is a black knob that goes up, center and down and has noooooooo words, arrows, nothing. My gosh how have I been drying my hair all this time???

  • lynn

    I thought I knew the order, but not the spelling but wanted to check before I posted. Well, my room is upstairs and I kept forgetting to look. OK, mine does go Low is up, Off is in the middle and High is at the bottom (which incidentally if you put it on high it will shut off and not come back for a while)

  • Donna

    weird! checked mine this morning…mine are from the bottom up low med high and above that cool warm hot -PERFECT! Ever wonder why the keypad on the keyboard has numbers opposite of the number on a telephone?? Why can’t they just be the same?!

  • cheryl

    Taylor – you are a kindred spirit! I’m constantly amazed at the un-intuitive ways things are designed. BUT my not-so-new hair dryer is the same as yours with no words at all! I guess I had to learn the settings and memorize them…now it is second-nature.

    But here’s one I’ll never learn: I have more than one tiny TV and the volume and channel buttons are not in the same order on the TV itself. None of my remotes is the same either. I’m constantly changing the channel when all I wanted to do was change the volume. Why can’t they all agree on one order of things and stick to it?

  • Stephanie

    My blowdryer has the same settings locations and spellings as yours. It’s bothered me for a long time too…

  • Penny

    OMG….this was so funny!! I have two settings:

    -hot
    -warm
    -cool

    and

    -high
    -low
    -off

    Thanks for the laugh!

  • Deborah

    My goodness! I had fun reading through the blow dryer commnets! Funny Taylor! This pink one I have,(love the color) is a Revlon 1875 Revlon Ionic cheapie (under $40.00)
    Switches are okay I guess, there are 2 sets:
    Top black button (for Ionic)
    Middle switch-High
    Medium
    Low
    Lower switch-ON
    OFF
    All spelling is correct,I think I will upgrade though to a Chi. I really like their flat iron. Worth the money. Deb

  • Sarah D

    Girl you are a nut!!! I bet you would have never thought that you would get 50+ comments!!!!! I would love to tell you that there is some one out there that dose not even have a blow dryer and that someone is me!!! this was a fun post to read!!!!

  • Anonymous

    I have had my blow dryer for years, but it seemed odd to me right from the start. The off is in the middle, and the low is up, the high is down. Now, here’s the kicker. The labels are backwards. When you put it on high, you get low, and when you put it on low, you get high. I haven’t looked at the words in years, and I don’t feel like running upstairs, so I can’t tell you how it’s spelled.
    What a fun little diversion!

  • the geislers

    I’m totally with you. My dryer also has two controls (both spelled correctly and in the correct order): low, medium, high and cool, warm, hot. On a related note, I recently returned a griddle I got as a gift because the owner’s manual contained so many misspelled words I didn’t think they could’ve actually made something of quality. My new one has all the words spelled right and works fabulously. I am glad to see you’re as big a nerd as me (but I already knew that!) 🙂

  • Anonymous

    Taylor,

    Too funny and too timely. My blow dryer shorted out this morning (not a good thing when you are standing in a puddle of water). My settings are spelled correctly and it’s two buttons side by side ( High and Low). Now I have to go buy a new one and I will definitely be looking at the settings before I buy it. Thanks for the heads up!

    Shawn K.

  • Michelle

    Taylor, this is hilarious! I don’t have a hair dryer but I have similar confusion with the electric window buttons in the car!

  • Maxene Choi

    That’s so funny! I went to look at mine – it’s made by Revlon and it’s the same as yours!! –although they spelled everything correctly. I have another one by HotTools and it goes from top to bottom: cool, high, low, off.

  • Ginny

    As soon as I saw this, I had to run & check out mine. Then I saw you asked, lol. Mine is High Off Low. I think I have a curling iron like your dryer though, I know that something I have is backwards like that because I have had problems. Maybe it was my old dryer?

  • curtis

    Hi! Taylor:

    I thought of you as I was blow drying my hair this morning. Your blog made me smile. Mine has two settings:

    Hot
    Warm
    Cool

    High
    Medium
    Low

    Off

    I have gotten used to this design and it would feel weird if it was changed. Thanks for your fun blog.

  • Anonymous

    Hi,Ladies…I don’t often comment but this post reminded me of a book I’ve been reading recently by Donald A. Norman called EMOTIONAL DESIGN; he particularly found that attractive designs were also the easiest to use—perhaps because the attractiveness puts our brain into a positive mode? He did a lot of tests on public “things” like ATM machines in Japan, for instance….guess I’d better read the rest of the book to find out more!

  • Anonymous

    Hi Taylor,

    Well, as a hair stylist, my guess would be that the hi/lo thing is just short form (not that either are really long words to begin with!). And, I mostly use the hi button, and I find it easier to push with my middle finger ‘down’ as opposed to ‘up’ for drying. Of course, this is simply an opinion, but hopefully it adds some insight!
    Tanya

  • Anonymous

    First question would be
    1) was it made in China?
    2) Was today your first time using it?
    3) Does it perform well when on?

    lol
    Ok I have 4 dryers in my house, why> they were given to me, a frined own apt buildings adn gave mykids eachtheir own when someon moved out. Or got evicted.. or somethign :}

    All have high on bottom off in middle and low on top. 2 are the same brands, the kind youattach to your wall or travel with, the other two well one is a Revlon/purple with 1650 watts the other 1800 watts and white.

    So………..take a deep breath and dry your hair lol
    ps I have a clean mouth/teeth fetish and brush 5-6 times daily and can discuss any type of toothbrush made out there. lolol See how my mind works??

  • Anonymous

    Mine says
    Low
    Off
    High.

  • Amy

    Too funny! My hairdryer is similar to yours as well…crazy! I usually end up turning it off while I am blow drying because I must push up the handle.

  • mcbetty

    One button: ON OFF

    One switch: OFF LOW HIGH

    One switch: HOT WARM COOL

    One blue button: COLD

  • Chris Scrappin and Stampin in Texas

    I will have to go look at my blowdryer now…LOL

    that is too funny!! High, should be above Low..and it should be spelled correctly

  • JaneAnn

    Mine is designed the same way and I agree with you it is WRONG. Our very very old dryer had the switch in the order you suggested OFF – LOW – HIGH. I don’t like this change!

  • asela

    LOL Taylor…had me looking too. Mine says
    3 High
    2 Low
    1 Off

    It has 2 sets of switches to, numbers switch on opposite side are air speed.

    Let me guess, you’re dryer was made in China!

  • Hope Conerly

    Mine is spelled correctly and high is at the top and low at the bottom. :=)

  • Monique

    Hey babe–since I do not do all the creative stuff you do -just love you-this is one of the first blogs that I got up to check what you had written:o)
    Mine is getting scratched off but appears in the right order of High above and Low below–even though I think “off” should be the bottom.
    Hope tomorrow is not opposite day!

  • IamDerby

    Mine is just like yours… spelling and all

  • Jennifer Buck

    You are cracking me up! Thanks, because with the week I’ve had…and it’s only Tuesday!…I needed that! Mine is also spelled Lo/Hi but the Hi is at the top….off is in the middle. Have a great night, Taylor and thanks for the chuckle! 🙂

  • Jenn

    OMG – You are too flippin’ funny, Taylor! What a hoot! 🙂

  • jacki j.

    thanks for the distraction. Sometimes we need to fixate on something unusual. I have no idea about my dryer. If I walk up two flights to look at it, I’ll forget what it said by the time I get back. LOL Sorry… Have a blessed day!

  • Whimsey

    After reading this and laughing so hard – I HAD to go check…well, mine would be designed the “right way”; high and low are spelled properly. The “off” is in the middle, but you push it “up” to get to “high” and “down” to get to “low”. LOL

    Thanks for the great read!!!

  • Whoopsie Daisy!

    LOL! You actually made me go get up off my bum and look! Sadly, it’s the same as yours and I never noticed until today. It belongs to my husband and he has had it since college, which was a REALLY long time ago.

  • Anonymous

    Oh, this is really funny. I actually got up to check my blowdryer. From bottom to top is says “Off, Low, High.” I guess I never thought about it before. LOL!

    Julie

  • diane mcvey

    Oh Dear, this is too funny! I am picky about stuff like that too…it would drive me crazy!
    Mine is from bottom to top: off, low, high. It has served me well for years! I think you’d better return that one you have! EEEKKK!

  • Jusgottastamp - Karen

    You made me go look…

    high
    low
    off

    I guess mine would qualify?? 😉

    I would have sworn that it was like yours, though. Maybe it was the one before. I seem to go through the hair dryers every 2 years or so.

    Oh, and you have a little too much time on your hands, my dear!! lol

  • Elizebeth

    My current blow dryer has the following buttons:

    LOW
    OFF
    HIGH
    COOL

    I actually prefer the blowdryer like this simply because all the blowdryers I have used since beauty school, through salon work were like this. I can flip the switch and never think about it. I once replaced my dryer with a “proper” one and I had to exchange it because I kept hitting the low when I meant high.

  • June Houck

    My most recnt blow dryer is like this too. Very confusing, isn’t it? Probably designed by a bald man.

  • hemidemisemiquaver

    Seriously…I have a travel dryer like that. I can’t STAND IT!! Drives me CRAZY when I am using it!! Wow Taylor. That made me so happy that you posted about the little pet peeve I have forgotten about. A man must have designed it. 🙂

  • Anonymous

    I had to go look at my blowdryer when I saw your post. Mine are the same as Tonya’s above. You are so funny! I love it!

    Tam

  • Tonya

    Taylor, That is such a funny post! I titally agree with you, I would be frustrated but good thing mine is the “correct” way. Mine is the same as Cindy’s above. Two buttons:
    one:
    Hot
    Warm
    Cool

    Two:
    High
    Low
    Off

    Good luck with you new blowdrier!
    Tonya

  • Lynn Mercurio

    LOLOLOL…funny how your post has sent everyone running for their blow dryers!

  • Anonymous

    made in china just means that that is who made it–not design it.
    I find that derogatory

  • Regan

    MADE IN CHINA- that all I gotta say……….. lol

  • Haylie

    Mine go side to side…they are spelled correctly and if you turn the blow dryer to the side the High is on top. I tend to think like you on these things!

  • Harley Dee

    Funny the things we notice sometimes, isn’t it? 🙂 From bottom up, mine goes Low, Off, High. All spelled correctly 🙂

  • Chris (cdjkssss on SCS)

    Mine is just like yours, and so are the ones at my gym. I think they’re weird, but at least they’re the same.

  • Kelly Schelske

    Hey Taylor…I have 2 blow dryers…both made by Conair…one is just like yours except High & Low are spelled correctly and the other one is proper…high above the off and low below and all spelled right!!
    Too funny though…never really though os it until just now:-)
    Kelly S

  • Ellen

    My “high” is up off middle and “low” on bottom.
    I did have to look though! I think your thinking is just fine.

  • Anonymous

    That is too funny!! I sadly already knew that mine was correct. Great minds think alike! LOL! I just replaced an old one that was just like yours and so was particular when I bought a new one! Too funny!
    ~Crystal M.

  • Cindy

    I have 2 buttons…

    -hot
    -warm
    -cool

    and

    -high
    -low
    -off

  • expatmom

    My dryer has the ‘low’ at the top too…I just never noticed! LOL The ‘off’ is in the middle and the ‘high’ is at the bottom. They are spelled correctly, at least!

  • Pat

    My setting are same order as yours, but they are spelled correctly (high and low).

  • broni (waterchild12)

    Sounds like you’re using your accountant brain and expecting things to be logical!

  • Gail

    Too, cute. My dryer spelled correctly and goes from the bottom (Off), middle (Low), and top (High). I also checked the on in our guest bath and it’s more like yours, but the Hi is where it should be, up!

  • Amanda Angert

    I jumped up out of my chair before I even finished reading the post to check out my hairdryer! LOL! Low and High are spelled correctly and the high setting is above the off (so it goes high, off, low). Thanks for the giggle 🙂

  • Darlene L

    My temps go side to side (not up and down). However they do go in the Right order and are spelled correctly. This post made me laugh! Darlene

  • C70

    LOL Taylor! For a moment there, I got up to check mine! HAHA!!

    From the bottom up, mine says: 0, I, II

  • Lynn

    I HAD to look at my blowdryer after reading your post! My blowdryer settings are spelled correctly and in the correct order.

  • Anonymous

    We had a black cat like that we call em…Inky..appropriate for a stamper…stamper would be fun for the other one…so together they would be inky stamper…heheh

  • justansa

    The black cat looks like a “Sinbad” for sure!
    The other one…….hmmmmmmm, Id have to think a little more on that.
    But Sinbad for the black one!!!
    ansa

  • Anonymous

    Hi Taylor,

    My kids love the movie about the little pug dog (Otis) and his best friend an orange cat (Milo). That’s what they named our cats (a black tabby named Otis and a twin to your Orange cat named Milo). Unfortunately, Otis past away. Milo is a great cat, he lays on on my daughters lap on his back looking up at her so lovingly while she practices her reading skills he listens patiently. My daughter said she also likes the names from the Disney movie The Fox and the Hound “Tod and Copper”, they were best friends forever.

    Whatever you decide to name your new kitties, we know they will bring you much joy!

    Tracy

  • GabrielaD

    What about

    Batman and Robin???

    They are very cute!!

  • Shari N.

    How about Smokey and the Bandit? Just the first names that came to me.

  • Anonymous

    How about Sinatra for your orange cat who likes to sing 🙂 and Jasper for the black cat?

    Wendy

    stangwendy@yahoo.com

  • Sylvia

    Hey Taylor,

    What about Apollo and Zeus?

    Bible names: Moses and Samson (black, long-haired one)

    Hope you find the perfect names.

    Sylvia
    scrappinsly@yahoo.com

  • Giovana

    Well, I have to suggestions:
    PAD FOOT for the orange one and BRUNO for the black one.
    Good luck choosing the names!!!!

    Giovana S.
    giovanachavez@msn.com

  • Wendy L.

    I vote Abe & Isaac. Congratulations on your new family additions. They are beautiful!
    Wendy

  • Anonymous

    With those colors they just look like Night and Day to me.
    Kay

  • lisadennis

    Wow – what a lot of suggestions. Congratulations on your additions! When we adopted two littermates several years ago, I wanted names that “went together”. Went through tons of possibilities and, being the bookworm that I was, settled on Simon and Shooster. Now, had I been into stamping then, they might have been named Craft and Classic, or Paper and Inky (ooh – good name for the black one!). Have fun with these guys!

  • Donna Mc

    They look like an “odd couple” to me, so how about Felix and Oscar? I haven’t read all the other responses, so I apologize if someone already mentioned those names. They are cute kitties, for sure!

  • Anonymous

    Hi Taylor,

    We love cats and had two cats–Martha and Stewart. Only Martha is with us now. How about Willie and Waylon? I would say Willie for the orange and Waylon for the black one. Hope you like country music.

    Carol Ann

  • Claudia

    Hi Taylor – Junk looks just like our cat, Pierre, whom we dearly loved. Maybe he is Pierre in another life. I think Mikey could be Michaelangelo, since he’s already used to the first part of the name.

  • boynecitygrl

    Oh oh! I just wanted to give my one cent too.

    I have a kitty just like the orange one. Is he beautiful or what? He looks like a “Conan” to me. And that gorgeous black one oh my. I just want to snuggle him up. He looks very distinguished “Thadeus” Tad for short. I have three fur babies that I did not choose for myself. I Love them all. Smokey, Jack who is mentally disabled and Tiny my red head. He was a man in another life. He wont stay out of my underwear drawer. Yes he can get it open.

    Blessings,

    Have fun choosing.

    Beth F

  • Erika

    Hmm…

    we have an orange cat and we call her Tiger…but she is definitely not shy. So, here is my thought for the names.

    The black one: “Mo” As in Mohawk
    The Orange one: “Bash” for bashful or “Timmy” for timid

    Just my ideas! 🙂

  • Bonnie

    When I was young(er):) we had a cat named Marbles! Not because he was a silly cat, but because he had glassy eyes and he always rolled all over the floor! I like Marbles!

  • Anonymous

    I like Henry and Wilbur. Very classic, vintage, and dignified. The orange cat should be Henry.

    Penny