TIME 100: The 100 Worst Ideas






The 100 Worst Ideas of the Century

As a planet, we have celebrated almost every aspect of the 20th century. But let's face it, it wasn't all good. The past 100 years have seen plenty of dud inventions, foolish decisions and hugely embarrassing mistakes. Here's a list, not in any particular order, of 100 really bad calls. Wonderful thing, hindsight.

The Person of the Century poll is now closed. The ranking below reflects the status of nominees as of January 19, 2000, the last day of voting.

8.12% Prohibition
0.61% Suntans
1.42% Michael Jackson's Marriage to Lisa Marie Presley
0.26% Leisure suits
0.68% New Math
0.75% The Blacklist
0.06% Comeback Tours
0.44% Asbestos
4.22% The Designated-Hitter Rule
1.07% Barney
0.35% Crystal Pepsi
1.06% New Coke
0.14% Woody Allen, Paterfamilias
3.00% DDT
0.59% Sailing the Exxon Valdez into Prince William Sound
0.07% The Eight-Track Tape
0.09% Cryogenics
1.33% The Treaty of Versailles
0.18% Smell-O-Vision
0.75% Chain E-Mail
0.24% Hydrogen-Filled Blimps
0.36% Staffing the White House with Interns During the Government Shutdown
0.07% Hair Club for Men
0.46% Bush's Choice of Quayle
0.04% Promoting Kim Philby
0.05% Message T Shirts
0.16% Videophones
1.03% Spray-on Hair
0.50% Infomercials
0.05% The Spruce Goose
0.05% Theme Restaurants
0.14% Letting Oliver North Near a Shredder
0.66% Not Bombing the Fuel Tanks at Pearl Harbor
0.12% Hooked on Classics
0.41% Introducing Kudzu to the U.S.
0.10% Novelizations of Movies
2.28% The Ugandan Space Program
6.63% "Mr. Simpson, Step Forward and Try on the Glove"
0.21% Rocky 5
0.23% Aerosol Cheese
0.29% Flowbee
0.89% Attacking Israel on Yom Kippur
0.05% AfterMASH
0.10% Shoe-Store X Rays
7.82% Geraldo's Opening of Capone's Vault
0.28% The Independent- Counsel Statute
1.08% Psychic Hotlines
0.19% Cold Fusion
0.41% The Maginot Line
0.19% George Lazenby As James Bond
0.49% The Hitler Diaries
0.20% Tie-Breaker Shoot-outs in Soccer's World Cup
0.20% Daryl Hall's Solo Career
0.04% The DeLorean
0.07% Biosphere 2
0.11% Fen/Phen
4.73% Spandex in Plus Sizes
0.38% Milli Vanilli's Grammy
0.03% The Apple Lisa
0.08% Muzak
0.04% U.S.F.L.
0.05% Culottes
0.04% Rod McKuen's Poetry
6.88% The Jerry Springer Show
0.34% Installing a Recording System in the Oval Office
0.16% Mohawk Hairstyles
0.59% Fast Food
1.18% The Titanic
1.63% Dalkon Shield
3.41% Driftnet Fishing
1.57% The Red Sox's Selling Babe Ruth to the Yankees
2.03% Personal Watercraft
3.04% Watches That Beep
7.67% Telemarketing
0.06% Vinyl Siding
0.14% Gone With the Wind Sequels
0.03% Prestige Area Codes
0.13% The Stiletto Heel
0.20% Astroturf
0.41% Laugh Tracks
0.10% MacArthur's Defying Truman
0.29% Strip Malls
0.33% Michael Jordan, Outfielder
0.07% IBM's PC Junior
0.04% Swine-Flu Vaccine
0.48% The U.S. Metric Campaign
0.06% Ponzi Schemes
0.07% Ishtar
0.37% Choosing VHS over Beta
0.23% Heaven's Gate
0.03% Mood Rings
1.10% Breast Implants
0.07% Earth Shoes
0.05% Radium Cures
0.92% Thong Underwear for Men
0.25% The Paperless Office
0.45% Susan B. Anthony Dollar
0.22% The Russians' Diverting the Tributaries of the Aral Sea
0.11% The Edsel
7.98% That Teensy Programming Decision That Led to the Y2K Bug
TOTAL VOTES CAST: 232919

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NOTE: This is an unscientific, informal survey for the interest and enjoyment of TIME.com users, and may not be indicative of popular opinion.


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