People and Technology Don’t Mix - 25 Hilarious Tech Fails That Should Be Illegal

John Summers • Contributor

May 18, 2025 3:00 PM EDT

Look, I get it. Not everyone is tech-savvy. Some people still think "The Cloud" is just... weather. And that's fine! But there's a difference between not knowing how to reset your router and, say, drilling holes directly into all four corners of your flat-screen TV to mount it.

This list is about those people.

From the coworker who never removed the Styrofoam from inside their PC tower (and wondered why it was overheating), to the mom who's been charging her laptop with a power cable wrapped in exposed copper like it's a DIY lightning trap, to the office that stays online only because someone manually cools the internet transformer with a pot full of ice—these stories are as horrifying as they are hilarious.

We've gathered 25 of the most chaotic, dangerous, and "please don't try this at home" tech fails we could find. Because sometimes, the biggest threat to modern technology… is the person using it.

01
“Yep, That Is Honey“

via theChive
02
“My Mom Said That It Once Shocked Her When She Plugged It In“

via theChive
03
That's not good

via theChive
04
“My Grandma’s TV After The Housecleaners Cleaned Her TV With A Mystery Liquid (Gone Wrong)“

via theChive
05
“They Said “My PC Shut Off Suddenly And Won’t Turn Back On““

via theChive
06
Thanks I hate it

via theChive
07
“Travelled 1000km To Fix 5 Brand New Desktops Which Are Slow For Strange Reasons“

via theChive
08
“On A Scale Of One To Ten How Recoverable Is The Data On This Disk?”

via theChive
09
Looks organic

via theChive
10
The ancient ruins of nvidia

via theChive
11
Dj fire hazard

via theChive
12
“So Mac Doesn't Support Windows But At least It Supports Doors“

via theChive
13
I hate whoever did this

via theChive
14
Why... WHY?!

via theChive
15
Great place for a server

via theChive
16
“Burned Cigarette Marks On A Ps4 Brought In For Repair"

via theChive
17
This is why I have trust issues

via theChive
18
“PC Has Been Up Against My Desk For A While. That Won’t Be Continuing“

via theChive
19
“My Cousin Cleaned The Laptop While I Was Away For A Bit, I Come Back To This“

via theChive
20
“My Boss Placing An actual Pot Of Ice On The Transformer because It Keeps Overheating"

via theChive
21
Needed some more ventilation

via theChive
22
Charge ALL THE CARS!

via theChive
23
“I Drove Over An Hour For This“

via theChive
24
That's not good

via theChive
25
“A PSU That Hasn’t Been Clean For At Least 25 Years“

via theChive