The 33 Things That Make Us Crazy
Wired feature this month is 33 Things That Suck, explaining why annoying things are the way they are.
A few highlights: DVD sound (“Basically, DVDs are just too lifelike for the living room. Their dynamic range  the continuum of sound levels they’re capable of reproducing  is more like the real world, where exploding cars and hails of gunfire really are a lot louder than casual conversation.”), plastic packaging (“Factories are loath to invest in new equipment, and most companies don’t want to pay a single penny more per item, even if doing so would keep your sanity  and fingers  intact.”) and air travel (“If anything, flying doesn’t cost enough: The average domestic fare in spring 2007 was $326. That’s $50 less than a decade ago, after adjusting for inflation. During the same period, fuel costs nearly tripled.”).