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I keeping in spirit of the contest for the ugliest home furnishings earlier this week, it’s time to celebrate the incomprehensible idiocy of ugly or dysfunctional interior and exterior designs. Most of these atrocities were committed on residential projects, but I couldn’t resist two commercial bloopers that belong in someone’s hall of shame.

No Parking

Here’s a great way to discourage visits from in-laws, parcel delivery companies, and tax investigators. It’s the perfect driveway for people who own dirt bikes.

Palm Sunday through Saturday

One can only hope the tree won’t widen in the trunk as it climbs—like most palm trees—up into the blue California skies. The photo comes courtesy of AzWeird, your one-stop shop for the grotesque and zany.

A Slice of Life

Bathroom

Another AzWeird discovery: using a jigsaw to make the door fit, rather than redoing the toilet installation. Bravo!

Form Meets Function

The wry editors of Strangest, Coolest Things! have compiled some funny construction mistakes, including this clever placement of the mannequin behind the drainpipe. (You’re encouraged to write your own caption.)

Somnambulism Remedy

Among all home improvements, I find this unique solution to sleepwalking an exceptional value in window durability. You can invite all the neighborhood kids over for a game of baseball.

Enhanced Digital Security

Protect yourself from digital snooping and identity theft while using this ATM. Absolutely no one can capture your password.

Voyeurs Rejoice

Created especially for John Blutarsky, this unique sorority house stair concept protects visitors from unintentional falls.

My friend Sally recently strapped on her tool belt and went up on the roof to handle the repairs. It got me to thinking that during World War II, many women had greater skills with power tools than their husbands, who went off to battle with rifles. My mother worked at a periscope factory during the war, when women made up 80 percent of the home-front work force in many industries.

Rosie The Riveter

The Rosie the Riveter Memorial: Honoring American Women’s Labor During WWII, is located in Richmond, CA, at the site of the former Kaiser Shipyards–the largest and most productive of the war.  Rosie the Riveter herself was the celebrated heroine in the WWII song of the same name:

Rosie the Riveter

“All the day long,
Whether rain or shine,
She’s a part of the assembly line.
She’s making history,
Working for victory,
Rosie the Riveter.
Keeps a sharp lookout for sabotage,
Sitting up there on the fuselage.
That little girl will do more than a male will do.
Rosie’s got a boyfriend, Charlie.
Charlie, he’s a Marine.
Rosie is protecting Charlie,
Working overtime on the riveting machine.
When they gave her a production “E,”
She was as proud as she could be.
There’s something true about,
Red, white, and blue about,
Rosie the Riveter.”

(Listen to it here.)

According to Metropolitan State College of Denver Dept of History,  “Female employment in defense industries grew by 462 percent from 1940 to 1944. From 1940 to 1944, the percentage of women workers employed as domestic servants declined from 17.7 to 9.5 percent.”

Woman Up!

Recently, construction worker Deidre Douglas opened a boutique in Brooklyn, NY (my hometown) for tradeswomen tired of wearing men’s work apparel that won’t fit. In an interview for The Brooklyn Paper, Douglas said, “We wear boots, not suits.”