When cleaning my teeth today (I didn’t say this morning because it may have been after midday – I had a slow start and it’s a Sunday) the electric toothbrush suddenly stopped rotating. I paused for a second or two, wondering if it might start again. The charging station was plugged in, but the toothbrush remained silent.

And then, without removing it from my mouth, I started moving it back and forth over my lower rear left teeth, as I would use a manual toothbrush. Even though it had either developed a fault or lost access to its power source, it degraded gracefully, allowing me to continue using it for its intended purpose.

Being a web designer, this inevitably reminded me of how websites should be built. (Though progressive enhancement is my strategy.)

Ever get the feeling your work colours your experiences of the world? :)

Harry Roberts has also blogged about Usability in everyday items over at CSS Wizardry.