People Who Had One Job… and Failed Miserably

By: Kate Row | Last updated: Feb 03, 2023

Everybody makes mistakes. It’s an occupational hazard of being human. But some oversights have us wondering how they possibly could have happened. These people only had one job and they still failed. These fails will have you wondering if they were lazy or if it could possibly be an innocent mistake.

Bending Backwards

Putting this wall together is like putting together a puzzle and we have to assume whoever was tasked with this was not too good at jigsaw puzzles when they were growing up.

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Source: Reddit

Maybe this woman just needed to do a back bend to see something. You have to wonder, did this person not realize their mistake or was it done on purpose to give us all a laugh? Hmmmm.

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So close, and yet so far

Whoever laid these stones really had one simple job. Make sure the pattern falls into place like a puzzle. And they were so close to getting it right but they misplaced one singular square.

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Source: Bored Panda

We have to wonder if they noticed the mistake and were just too lazy to fix it. Or maybe once it was set there was no way to fix it. Either way this really grinds our gears and sets the OCD in us off.

College of Planning

Take a second look at this photo. How could this have happened? And when they realized that there wouldn’t be enough space for the “C” in college, did they really think that putting it on the brick side of the building was the best thing to do?

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Source: Bored Panda

The real irony here is that this building is the college of architecture and planning. For the college of planning, they sure weren’t able to figure out how to plan out how to fit the entire sign on the side of the building. Not a great sign for the school.

Long Yellow Things

This is certainly a unique way to describe bananas, but again we have to wonder how this sign came to be and how many people had to sign off on it before it ended up on display in the grocery store.

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Source: Bored Panda

“Long yellow things” is an accurate description of bananas, but wouldn’t it just be less work to label them as what they are? In fact, it would be less work to type out the word “bananas”. Maybe the person who was in charge of labeling didn’t know what they are but we find that hard to believe.

Laziest Bricklayers Ever

Whoever was hired to fix this hole in the wall was either in a rush or just didn’t care much about the job because this has to be the laziest example of bricklaying we’ve ever seen!

Source: Reddit

It seems like something a toddler would do with their Lego toys if they were trying to figure out how they all fit together.

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SOTP

Stop signs are super important for drivers. They prevent accidents. So, we would expect the people who paint “stop” on the roads to take some care in how the word is spelled. But it is only  a four letter word, so it couldn’t be that hard to mess up, could it?

Source: Bored Panda

Turns out, it is possible to misspell the word “stop”. Unfortunately, this person didn’t think to proofread their work before leaving for the day. We’re not sure what “sotp” means but it’s a good thing the red stop sign next to it gives a clue to what you’re supposed to do.

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Someone’s getting fired

The editor for this newspaper is definitely getting fired. This is not just an oversight, but it appears they didn’t even take a glance at the paper after it was written. And really an editor’s only job is to do just that: edit.

Source: Bored Panda

Even the word “header” is misspelled and then it looks like someone’s cat stepped all over their keyboard to create that jumble of letters that follows. This editor should take “attention to detail” off the skills section of their resume.

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Happy Birthday

This person wanted to get a personalized cake as a birthday present for his mom. What a sweet gift! Although, it didn’t go exactly as planned. He sent in a thumb-drive which had the photo that he wanted printed on the cake.

Source: Bored Panda

The people at the bakery didn’t think to plug in the thumb drive to print the photo. Instead, they just went ahead and printed a photo of the actual thumb drive on the cake. Who in their right mind would want that printed on a cake?

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Surprise!

This person ordered some party supplies online to decorate for a surprise party for their mom. In an attempt to keep it under wraps, she left specific instructions to not label the box so that the party would be kept a surprise.

Source: Bored Panda

The party supplies company kind of missed the point because they printed this request right on the box. That’s one way to ruin a surprise party and lose a customer.

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Doesn't Look Like It's Working

Dog owners know that there is nothing better than having the love of a puppy in the house. However, there is also nothing more frustrating than having every piece of furniture in your home chewed to bits.

Source: candysunset27/ Reddit

This “chew deterrent” looks like it’s doing the exact opposite of its job. Either this dog was too determined to be deterred or this product is just useless.

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Firstname Lastname

Whoever was in charge of putting the suspect’s name on the T.V. is definitely going to be out of a job. We’d like to give them the benefit of the doubt but we’re fairly certain this man’s name is not actually Firstname Lastname.

Source: Bored Panda

If it is; however, we have to give props to his parents for creativity. Although, Firstname Lastname is not a great name. More likely, someone forgot to input his real name and we have this beautiful mistake as a result.

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Duct tape fixes all

Duct tape can fix a lot of things. But when a telephone is going down, it’s probably not going to hold up. We’re not sure if this was an actual professional who got lazy and wanted to do the quickest fix.

Source: Bored Panda

It might be a “helpful” samaritan who was just trying their best. We hope that everyone can agree that this is a bandaid on a bullet hole situation. It looks like a light gust of wind could knock that thing over.

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Yearbook fail

There are usually multiple people who work on the editing team for yearbooks like this so we can’t blame this oversight on just one person. There must have been multiple eyes that looked over this and saw this mistake.

Source: Bored Panda

Poor Teresa doesn’t get a picture in the yearbook. Instead, Ben gets 2 spots! This was probably an expensive mistake if they had to reprint new copies of every single book.

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Not quite right

This person was so close to successfully doing their job, but didn’t quite get it right. They got three out of four ninja turtles, but that last green glass is not a turtle. It’s another green creature.

Source: Bored Panda

The Hulk is a similar shade of green but doesn’t really go with this set. Hopefully someone who likes both the Hulk and the Ninja Turtles will be happy with this purchase.

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Even the Vent Had One Job... and Failed

People aren’t the only ones that have a job to do and sometimes don’t deliver. This drain has literally one job… and clearly, it’s not getting the job done.

Source: Reddit

It appears it’s not draining any of the water that surrounds it. We can’t blame the drain, however. Obviously, there is a person who installed this drain and the planning doesn’t seem to be going all too well.

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"Can I Get My Cheese on the Side?"

We have received food from a fast food restaurant that looks nothing like the advertisement picture, but this might take the cake for the laziest sandwich-maker ever!

Source: Reddit

Maybe this customer ordered their cheese on the side, but we don’t think this is exactly what they had in mind. On the other hand, the person who made the sandwich might have taken the term “fast food” really literally and thrown the thing together without taking a second look.

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Hopefully no one needs to get in there

Whoever laid this asphalt was not trying to waste time. Maybe they were in a rush or they were just too lazy to avoid this manhole. They just laid the asphalt right over it.

Source: Bored Panda

Let’s hope that that’s not an important area that people will have to access. We imagine that would not be an easy problem to solve. Next time, they should consider just going around the manhole instead of going over it.

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Me Marry You Will

This could have been a very romantic proposal but this gentleman didn’t quite hit the mark. It’s all about the details! We can see what e was going for. If you read it from the bottom stair upwards it asks the big question: Will you marry me?

Source: d00rm4n

But there’s no question mark at the end of that sentiment so it’s a little misleading. I don’t know about you, but I read it as “Me marry you will”. It takes away from the romance but we hope they were able to laugh about it.

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What does this mean?!

Pregnancy tests have a very important job and moms-to-be rely on them for accurate information! To be fair, they’re not 100% accurate all of the time but it’s a good indicator for what to expect in the next 9 months of your life.

Source: shrekfromgodabove/ Reddit

When we’re talking about life-changing information we don’t necessarily want something that’s giving us misinformation. If one line means you’re pregnant, and two lines means you’re not, do three lines mean you can expect twins?!

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Someone's Lazy

We can’t imagine who thought that this would be an effective way to secure the dirt and rocks that sit on the bed of this truck. Those straps are certainly not going to do the trick!

Source: reddit

Whoever was in charge of this project is going to be in lots of trouble when he arrives at his destination and all of the materials have flown off the car. Whoops.

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The Perfect Picture

Imagine climbing Mount Kilimanjaro and raising all this money for charity. It’s an incredible accomplishment so you would obviously want to commemorate it!

Source: reddit

A stranger on the mountain was kind enough to offer to take a photo but this was not exactly the picture he had imagined to commemorate his achievement! What makes it worse is that his phone died after this is it’s the only evidence he has of his endeavor.

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A Major Oversight

French fries are made from potatoes, obviously. But when you buy a bag of frozen fries you’re not looking to find a whole potato in the bag! We can’t be sure how this happened but it’s a major oversight.

Source: reddit

This surely was not the snack that this person had in mind when they opened their bag of fries. That potato is a far cry from waffle cut fries.

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Fox or Raccoon?

Whoever was in charge of making this puzzle is definitely confusing a lot of children! These little puzzle are used to teach children their animals and now they’re not going to think raccoons are called foxes!

Source: reddit

We have to wonder if this was purposeful or not. I mean, how can you confuse the two animals? This oversight is going to cost children their knowledge of animals! Maybe the fox puzzle says “raccoon” as well.

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The Least Useful Fork

This must be the least useful fork in the world! How are you supposed to stab into a salad or pasta with this contraption? In fact, it might be closer to a spoon than a fork.

Source: reddit

What must have happened is that the machine that creates the fork misprinted and didn’t create the prongs on the fork. So, we don’t think we can blame this one on a person. But someone still let it go into the world, right?

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Handy Work

When the brother-in-law comes into town, you have to put them to work. But, their handy work is not always the best, even if the effort is there.

Source: inconspicuous_-_user

This man must have been distracted when he was screwing the outlet cover into the wall. The screw looks to be in the wrong place. Either he was awfully tired or left the mistake to make his sister-in-law laugh.

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The Laziest Retail Worker

This one has us shaking our head. I mean, come on! The laziest retail worker in the world must have dressed this mannequin. Or, they were in an incredible rush, because this poor mannequin is not fully dressed!

Source: zingingcutie29

They were so close to finishing this task. Al they needed to do was stick the mannequin arms through the holes of the shirt and it would be good to go! But alas, we have this poor underdressed mannequin who can’t use their arms.

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No Face, No Entry

We can’t count how many signs we saw during the pandemic that read “No face mask, no entry” when masks were required in businesses. But this is definitely the first time I’ve seen a “No face, no entry” sign.

Source: reddit

We have to laugh at this oversight. I mean, we can’t imagine who doesn’t have a face but they will apparently not be welcome at this establishment.

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The Flag of France

This is a major “oops” moment. The French air-force flew planes in a line with colored trails so that they could stripe a French flag into the air. It’s patriotic, after all.

Source: boopey-doopey

But one plane seems to be out of place. Maybe this is France’s way of announcing that they have a new flag. More likely, someone made a mistake and is in the wrong position. Oops!

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Spreading Germans

Can you spot the typo here? Daily Mail put out this visual representation on the way that germs spread in grocery stores i the height of the Coronavirus pandemic.

Source: reddit

Except according to the text here, it isn’t germs that are spread across supermarket aisles. It’s germans! Obviously, this is an oversight from the Daily Mail editing staff. But it sure makes us laugh!

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"i" is For Ladybug

Could the person who put this book together really not think of an animal that started with the letter “I”? We’ll give them a couple: iguana or icefish.

Source: Reddit

We can all laugh about this but we think this would actually be pretty confusing for a kid just learning those all-important A,B,Cs!

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The Cone Cemented in Time

Whoever paved this sideway was too lazy to move the cone and now it is cemented in time forever! It couldn’t have taken more than 2 seconds to move the cone before laying the concrete but now here we are.

Source: reddit

That cone is definitely not going anywhere soon and it really is an eyesore. Next time, just pick up the cone! We have to assume someone got fired for this one.

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Come On, Gate!

A gate has one job. It keeps people in or keeps people out. Really, all it needs to do is prevent someone or something from passing through it, unless it’s open. With that in mind, this gate is certainly not going a very good job.

Source: lol wall

This gate is not stopping anyone from passing through! It’s about 20 feet too short. Sorry gate, but you had one job!

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Floats on Water

This advertisement for the floating cell phone looks promising until you see the display below it. We don’t know if we can blame the cell phone for not doing its job or if we blame the person in charge of the display.

Source: one job

We can’t imagine they’re selling many floating cell phones with this setup. Now that we think of it, who needs their phone to float on water anyway?

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3st Place!

If you don’t win the gold and you don’t win the silver, at least you win the bronze. That third place trophy is still something to be proud of. But, you can’t help but feel a little hurt if when they print the medal wrong.

Source: quartertothree

I don’t think I’ve ever heard of 3st place. Regardless of the typo, be proud of your bronze. 3st place is nothing to sneeze at!

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The Job Is Well Done

The irony of this fortune cookie is almost to much to bear. It’s one thing to forget to stuff the cookie with the fortune. Plus, how did no one notice this mistake before it was given to a customer? You’d think at least one person would see it and correct it!

Source: quartertothree

But the added bonus to this one is the fortune itself. It reads, “The job is well done”. Obviously, the job is definitely not well done. If it was, the fortune would be tucked inside the cookie, not outside of it.

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An Interesting Idea

Who ever designed this bathroom obviously did not leave enough room for the door to close. And no one wants to climb over a toilet just to use the restroom. It looks like someone had an interesting solution, however.

Source: nesrie

They cut a portion of the door itself so that it could sneak by the toilet. It’s a creative solution, without a doubt. But wouldn’t it make more sense to just have a door that opens out rather than in?

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Sorry, No Pretzels

Either one of the workers is playing a trick on the customers or someone forgot to take the sign down when the pretzels were replaced. Obviously, it is clear that they are not out of pretzels.

Source: lordkosc

I guess this is better than them claiming that they do have pretzels when they actually don’t. This is a good kind of fake out because you still get your pretzel at the end of the day.

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9 Days A Week

This store is going above and beyond for their customers. They want to be available at all times, and this includes more than just 7 days a week.

Source: quartertothree

We have to admire the dedication to their shoppers but we have to wonder if this was an oversight or if its a symbol fo their loyalty to their customers.

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A fork in the road

We can understand that when you’re doing a monotonous job, you sometimes go into “automatic mode” and your mind drifts elsewhere. This can mean you’re not entirely focused on the task at hand and mistakes can be made.

Source: Bored Panda

It looks like this street painter was not paying attention when he painted right over a fork laying the road. What we struggle to understand is why they didn’t paint over the fork-shaped hole. Instead they left it for us all to enjoy.

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Are those bunnies

Bunnies are looking awfully different these days. Imagine bringing your son or daughter to the pet store for a pet rabbit only to see these in the cage! In our opinion, ferrets aren’t nearly as cute.

Source: Bored Panda

We wonder if the bunnies were put in the ferret cages. For a kid, this is probably pretty confusing, but it’s really a harmless mistake. It does leave us saying, “You had one job”!

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The Taco That's Not Taco-ing

Taco Bell isn’t necessarily known for their quality of food so much as their speedy service and low prices. And this photo is evidence of that fact.

Source: quartertothree

Whoever put this taco together was obviously in a rush because all of the contents of the taco ended up outside of the shell. This is no way to enjoy a taco!

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