History AwesomeButImpractical / RealLife

* In the realm of the stock market, day trading can be this easily. The rush of snatching a good profit by selling almost immediately after buying can be enjoyable, but it's no better than gambling, it defeats one of the purposes of investing (developing an income without wage labor), and it is more profitable to buy that investment low, and waiting several months to let it appreciate in value. That's on top of the risk of getting a free-ride penalty, which forces you to buy only with settled cash and typically takes a few days after a sale to fully settle; as well as the capital gains taxes you may owe the government from buying and selling short term, which depending on your income and the country you live in, can eat up a good chunk of whatever profits you just earned.

* In the realm of the stock market, day trading can be this easily. The rush of snatching a good profit by selling almost immediately after buying can be enjoyable, but it's no better than gambling, it defeats one of the purposes of investing (developing an income without wage labor), and it is more profitable to buy that investment low, and waiting several months to let it appreciate in value. That's on top of the risk of getting a free-ride penalty, which forces you to buy only with settled cash, which typically takes a few days after a sale to fully settle.

* Cryptocurrencies. Let's be curt and say they provide an excellent albeit an energy-wasting method to simulate the gold standard. They do, however, have a market niche - for transactions of illicit contrabands, money laundering and ransoms on extortion.

* Entirely hand-drawn animation (that is, animation done on paper and possibly even hand inked and painted cels) has since become this, though is more of a [[DownplayedTrope downplayed]] example as some smaller studios still use it for the love of the medium. While it can capture the fluid motion that 2D animation made with a computer cannot, it is extremely time-consuming and resource intensive, and as such has become ''far'' less common today. This is why, since [[MediaNotes/TheMillenniumAgeOfAnimation the 2000s]], and for some as early as [[MediaNotes/TheRenaissanceAgeOfAnimation the late '90s]], many studios had since abandoned this technique and instead rely on digital ink and paint, CGI, [=ToonBoom=] and/or Flash, with digital ink and paint being the closest comparison to cel animation, as while some of these options may not be as fluid as traditional cel animation, they're not only cheaper, but they're also less time consuming and can help production much faster.

* [[BigFancyHouse Mega-mansions]], particularly those owned by celebrities. Having a huge sprawling mansion with dozens of rooms, sprawling green spaces, multiple pools and other extravagant features may seem awesome, but it's not all it's cracked up to be. To put this into perspective, a mega-mansion is around the size of the [[TheWhiteHouse United States White House]], if not larger. Aside from the high upfront cost of actually building or buying the mansion, there are also the recurring costs, such as utilities[[note]](power bills for a massive home can get out of control: one Los Angeles mansion costs [[https://fortune.com/2022/10/03/bel-air-mega-mansion-the-one-electric-bill/ $50,000]] a month to cool in the summer)[[/note]], mortgage payments, and property taxes as well as the costs of maintaining the property such as lawn and garden care, housekeeping, and repairs, all of which could end up being more than the purchase price of the home after only a few years. These homes are sometimes dubbed "real estate white elephants" and it's not uncommon for them to bankrupt their [[RichesToRags once wealthy owners]]. One [[https://www.boston.com/news/local-news/2015/07/14/the-long-messy-history-of-50-cents-connecticut-home/ Connecticut mega-mansion]] managed to bankrupt four of its owners, including rapper Music/FiftyCent. If the owner decides to downsize, the small pool of potential buyers means the mega-mansion could potentially spend ''years'' on the housing market before it's sold again, during which time the owner is on the hook for all the ownership costs, and if they can't afford them the property can fall into severe disrepair, possibly even becoming ''uninhabitable'' due to toxic mold and/or structural integrity issues, resulting in it selling at a massive loss. Even with all those expenses comfortably covered, just navigating across such a place can be inconvenient, and wear out the novelty, rendering a lot of the space rarely used.

* Watching Youtube videos. It is great, enjoying memes, fails, or just learning about something irrelevant, but can take up a lot of time, it can be depressing even, especially with how much time you realize you spent, and then, you just feel so down because of all the screen time. Entertainment is great, but perhaps a book, or a few (remember, [[TVTropesWillRuinYourLife A FEW!]]) tropes on this website will give you the fulfillment you seek. Exercise some discipline and seek out [[BoringButPractical educational and informative]] videos if you wish, and you can make this venture more productive and perhaps even still be entertained.

* From the perspective of an anti-natalist, raising a family could be considered this trope. While the idea of passing the torch to the next generation sounds great, one has to consider the fact that there are 8 ''billion'' people in the world right now, with only so many resources that could becomes completely depleted, as well as the adverse effect it has on the environment. And don't forget the instability brought upon by political and economic unrests, as well as the chances that the offspring might as well inherit severe diseases such as cancer or mental disorders. To them, it's not worth the price.

* In the perspective of anti-natalists, raising a family is considered this trope. Sure, the idea of passing the torch to the next generation seems splendid. Unless you consider the fact that there are 7.9 ''billion'' people in the world right now with resources only having so much until it becomes completely depleted as well as the adverse effect it has on the environment. And don't forget the instability brought upon by civic and political unrests as well as the chances that the offspring might as well inherit severe diseases such as cancer or mental disorders. To them, it's not worth the price.

* Entirely hand-drawn animation has since become this, though is more of a [[DownplayedTrope downplayed]] example as some smaller studios still use it for the love of the medium. While it can capture the fluid motion that cel-shaded and 2D computer animation cannot, it is extremely time-consuming and as such has become obsolete. This is why, since [[MediaNotes/TheMillenniumAgeOfAnimation the 2000s]], and for some as early as [[MediaNotes/TheRenaissanceAgeOfAnimation the late '90s]], many studios had since abandoned this technique and instead rely on digital ink and paint, CGI, [=ToonBoom=] and/or Flash, with digital ink and paint being the closest comparison to cel animation, as while some of these options may not be as fluid as traditional cel animation, they're not only cheaper, but they're also less time consuming and can help production much faster.

* Food from any luxury restaurants can be this if, despite excellent taste and aesthetics, they leave you still hungry and even undernourished due to a lack of quantity. It doesn't help that they are typically expensive.

* Fine dining, especially at highly-rated restaurants (including those with the iconic Michelin Stars). Sure, you get some amazing service and some of the tastiest meals you've probably ever had, but it's expensive and not practical to eat at such establishments on a regular basis, and the meals aren't necessarily more nutritious than cheaper alternatives. Going to fine dining restaurants is best saved for special occasions, like celebrating a big milestone in your life such as a work promotion or wedding anniversary, reunion with friends you haven't seen in years, etc.

* Fine dining, especially at highly-rated restaurants (including those with the iconic Michelin Stars). Sure, you get some amazing service and some of the tastiest meals you've probably ever had, but it's expensive and not practical to eat at such establishments on a regular basis, and the meals aren't necessarily more nutritious than cheaper alternatives. Going to fine dining restaurants is best saved for special occasions, like celebrating a big milestone in your life (work promotion, dating or wedding anniversary, reunion with friends you haven't seen in years, etc.).

* Fine dining, especially at highly-rated restaurants (including those with the iconic Michelin Stars). Sure, you get some amazing service and some of the tastiest meals you've probably ever had, but it's expensive and not practical to eat at such establishments on a regular basis, and the meals aren't necessarily more nutritious than cheaper alternatives. Going to fine dining restaurants is best saved for special occasions, like celebrating a big milestone in your life (work promotion, dating or wedding anniversary, reunion with friends you haven't seen in years, etc.)

* Fine dining, especially at highly-rated restaurants (including those with the iconic Michelin Stars). Sure, you get some amazing service and some of the tastiest meals you've probably ever had, but it's expensive and not practical to eat at such establishments on a regular basis, and the meals aren't necessarily more nutritious than cheaper alternatives. Going to fine dining restaurants is best saved for special occasions, like celebrating a big milestone in your life or for a dating or wedding anniversary.

** UsefulNotes/{{Montreal}}'s Olympic Stadium. Designed to be the world's first retractable roof stadium and the showpiece of the 1976 Summer Olympics, the stadium wasn't fully completed in time for the Games, due to a construction workers' strike. When the roof was finally installed over a decade later, it was intended to work like a giant umbrella, with the roof going up into an inclined tower. However, despite being made of Kevlar, the roof was prone to tearing in high winds and would often leak water. After ten years, the retractable roof was replaced with a fixed roof. However, problems persisted after the new roof collapsed in its first winter of use after heavy snowfall, rendering the stadium unusable if there is a threat of more than an inch (2.5 cm) of snow, and the roof is ''still'' prone to tearing in high winds, costing thousands of dollars to fix annually. After construction delays, mounting interest payments, and failed attempts to fix its design flaws, the Olympic Stadium cost Montreal and the Quebec government over C$1.5 billion[[note]]about US$1.32 billion in 2006[[/note]], a debt that wasn't fully paid off until three decades after the 1976 Summer Olympics. (To add insult to injury the first actual ''working'' retractable roof stadium in the world opened in Toronto in 1989.) The stadium is nicknamed "The Big O" for its shape and roof; however, because of how much debt the stadium had accumulated over its nearly half century of existence, it is often derisively called "The Big Owe". It still suffers from structural problems and acoustics so bad that most people cannot hear the loudspeakers. Also, the Pie-IX Metro station is located directly beneath the stadium, so demolishing the stadium would be too expensive.

* Watching Youtube videos. It is great, enjoying memes, fails, or just learning about something irrelevant, but can take up a lot of time, it can be depressing even, especially with how much time you realized you spent, and then, you just feel so down because of all the screen time. Entertainment is great, but perhaps a book, or a few (remember, [[TVTropesWillRuinYourLife A FEW!]]) tropes on this website will give you the fulfillment you seek. Exercise some discipline and seek out [[BoringButPractical educational and informative]] videos, and you can make this venture more productive and perhaps even still be entertained.

* Basically, the ''whole point of fashion''. The clothing and makeup of the wealthy and noble (or, in slave societies, simply of free people) are often designed specifically to say "Look, I can afford wasting hours preparing or being prepared by servants. Look, I don't need to work, which would be impossible like that. Look, I don't need to indulge in any activity which may dirty up and ruin all this work spent."

* Carbon fiber, ultimately. It's very lightweight and several times stronger than steel, but it's also brittle, and it corrodes metal in contact, making it a very situational or poor choice for reinforcing armor and equipment. Not helping matters are production difficulties.

* The [[SpacePlane Space Shuttle]]. The idea was to build a spacecraft that could handle any mission the US government needed to fly, then land on a runway and be reused. Sounds awesome, but it turned out to be impractical. They designed in all sorts of reconnaissance satellite launch features that [[TechnologyMarchesOn became obsolete by the time it flew]]; they had to risk the lives of astronauts on missions that could have been launched fully automated and [[WhatCouldPossiblyGoWrong couldn't design a way for the astronauts to escape during a launch malfunction]]; and "reusable" ended up meaning "[[PyrrhicVictory reusable after a refurbishment that cost almost as much as building a non-reusable rocket]]". NASA went from suborbital flights to three-day stays on the Moon with a Moon Jeep without ever losing an astronaut in flight to losing two crews of seven to the Shuttle's impractical design; the government, therefore, switched back to expendable rockets for military satellites, and industry didn't use it very much either. The Shuttle wasn't a total waste - it ''did'' fly every manned NASA mission for thirty years and it accomplished many important missions, including two jobs (repairing the Hubble Space Telescope and building the International Space Station) that no other vehicle could have done as well - but it's hard to believe we wouldn't have been better off dropping used rockets in the ocean for another twenty or thirty years.

* ''Toys/LegoVidiyo'' was an ambitious {{Franchise/Lego}} theme focused on AugmentedReality multimedia, with the pitch being that sets consisted of wacky, music-themed stages and compact [="BeatBoxes"=], containing [[Toys/LEGOMinifigures Minifigures]] and elaborate tile sets that could be scanned by an app that could create LEGO-themed AR music videos, a novelty akin to those seen in Platform/TikTok. Unfortunately, it sank dramatically due to two factors: the ''price'' (most [=BeatBoxes=] cost $20 for around 70 pieces, one of the most lopsided price-per-piece ratios in the history of LEGO, and most of the pieces are just [=2x2=] printed tiles), as well as the fact the AR gimmick was only available on a dedicated app that was not only notoriously buggy, but by design didn't allow anyone to export video recordings to share on more widespread platforms like [=TikTok=] or Instagram, limiting its audience and quickly drying up in novelty. The theme launched in 2021, and despite praise for the aesthetic designs and LEGO's plans to continue the line in years to come, it was discontinued in January 2022 due to being a commercial disaster.

* UsefulNotes/LaserDisc. Sure, it had better quality than [[UsefulNotes/{{VCR}} VHS]] but the discs were expensive and most rental stores didn't stock them, while they had shelves and shelves of VHS tapes. Plus, the discs were huge, the size of an LP. Watching a full-length movie required flipping discs. The format was limited to deep-pocketed film buffs and industrial uses, though [[GermansLoveDavidHasselhoff it was popular in Japan]]. UsefulNotes/{{DVD}}s came along in the late '90s and offered all of the advantages of [=LaserDisc=], including advanced picture and sound while being much cheaper and the size of a UsefulNotes/CompactDisc; needless to say, [=LaserDisc=] barely survived into the 2000s, the last film released on the format in the United States being ''Film/BringingOutTheDead'' on October 8, 2000.
** Same goes double for UsefulNotes/{{CED}}, AKA RCA [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capacitance_Electronic_Disc SelectaVision]]. Never heard of it? It was actually an ''analog'' video disc similar to an LP, only using a capacitive pickup instead of a vibrating needle. The disks were permanently encased in sheaths reminiscent of a 3.5-inch floppy the size of an LP jacket, only leaving their protective plastic cage when they were inside the player itself, and tended to wear out quickly... like after the second viewing. Compare that to [=LaserDisc=], which didn't suffer any appreciable wear during playback due to the laser pickup. And wear wasn't handled very well at all; when disks wore out, they began [[RepetitiveAudioGlitch skipping]] in a fashion that has been compared to, and some even believe may have inspired, ''Series/MaxHeadroom'''s {{Blipvert}}s. In addition, ''if'' a disk played properly, the video quality was barely an improvement over tape-based formats, giving [=LaserDisc=] another edge. Not a big success.

* The [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laser_turntable ELP laser turntable]] is a turntable that plays records with, well, a laser, eliminating wear and tear on the grooves. However, they never caught on due to how unwieldy they were. Not only is the price quintuple-digit for the ''basic'' model, but the laser is highly sensitive, picking up dirt and dust more readily than a stylus (since it doesn't push debris out of the way) and being unable to read vinyl that isn't the standard opaque black. Consequently, owning one requires keeping a limited record collection and constantly cleaning the discs like they're covered in nuclear fallout every time you want to play them. To rub one final handful of salt in the wound, the device was in DevelopmentHell for ages and didn't hit the market until 1997, by which point vinyl had already been displaced by the UsefulNotes/CompactDisc, which offered all the same benefits and was more reliable. Tellingly, when Optora attempted to revive the laser turntable in 2018 following renewed sales of vinyl records, the device sat in limbo and was ultimately canned.

* Entirely hand-drawn animation has since become this, though is more of a [[DownplayedTrope downplayed]] example as some smaller studios still use it for the love of the medium. While it can capture the fluid motion that cel-shaded and 2D computer animation cannot, it is extremely time-consuming and as such has become obsolete. This is why, since [[UsefulNotes/TheMillenniumAgeOfAnimation the 2000s]], and for some as early as [[UsefulNotes/TheRenaissanceAgeOfAnimation the late '90s]], many studios had since abandoned this technique and instead rely on digital ink and paint, CGI, [=ToonBoom=] and/or Flash, with digital ink and paint being the closest comparison to cel animation, as while some of these options may not be as fluid as traditional cel animation, they’re not only cheaper, but they’re also less time consuming and can help production much faster.

* The California Speedway (AKA the [[ProductPlacementName Auto Club]] Speedway) in Fontana started becoming this due to declining attendance numbers making it more difficult to fill the grand stands and make such a huge venue worth the upkeep as huge swathes of empty grandstands are just empty space largely doing nothing. As a result, plans were made to [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j4TfIn8Wh68 redesign the track into a 0.5 mile oval]] akin to a hybrid of Bristol and Martinsville by combining the most popular features of both in response to the demand for more short tracks in UsefulNotes/{{NASCAR}}. While there is disappointment over the 2.0 mile superspeedway being retired, it is much easier to fill the seats for a [[BoringButPractical 0.5 mile track]] and the new configuration offers spectators a better view of the race thanks to the stadium-like configuration, potentially increasing spectator satisfaction. There is also the trouble of Fontana being located in the Inland Empire within San Bernardino County, creating an obstacle for attendance from Los Angeles and Orange Counties due to factors like distance as well as the infamous freeway congestion of [=SoCal=], encouraging the redesign to a half-mile oval. The plans however, [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Auto_Club_Speedway#Planned_reconstruction hit a snag in 2022]] with NASCAR races being held in Los Angeles at the Los Angeles Memorial Colosseum and NASCAR being noncommital. The popularity of this short track event left the Auto Club Speedway's redesign plans in limbo. Even still, one common problem is how unbearably hot the region gets for spectators during the summer, further discouraging attendance during this time.

* Watching Youtube videos. It is great, enjoying memes, fails, or just learning about something irrelevant, but can take up a lot of time, it can be depressing even, especially with how much time you realized you spent, and then, you just feel so down because of all the screen time. Entertainment is great, but perhaps a book, or a few (remember, [[TVTropesWillRuinYourLife A FEW!]]) tropes on this website will give you the fulfillment you seek.

* Watching YouTube videos. It is great, enjoying memes, fails, or just learning about something irrelevant, but can take up a lot of time, it can be depressing even, especially with how much time you realized you spent, and then, you just feel so down because of all the screen time. Entertainment is great, but perhaps a book, or a few (remember, [[TVTropesWillRuinYourLife A FEW!]]) tropes on this website will give you the fulfillment you seek.

* Any modern technology when it was in its early stages. The ENIAC, arguably the first digital computer, took up a room. The first cell phone weighed 80 pounds (36 kg). The first modern cars from around a century ago were not only unreliable, but there weren't that many decent roads to drive them on, or very many stations to refuel them at. And before that, the first trains were just as bad (cinders from the steam engines starting fires, later on the wood-burning stove in a wooden framed car being a fire hazard (and wooden framed cars are no protection in a crash), the rails (which were metal straps on top of wood) impaling people through the floor of the carriages, horribly slow by modern standards, etc...). This is why the AndYouThoughtItWouldFail page for [[AndYouThoughtItWouldFail/RealLife real life]] is so long: it’s because most people at the time of the technology's release couldn’t reasonably count them as anything revolutionary, and as such, considers them as a fad or a novelty, at most, before their full potential had become more apparent.

* Any modern technology when it was in its early stages. The ENIAC, arguably the first digital computer, took up a room. The first cell phone weighed 80 pounds (36 kg). The first modern cars from around a century ago were not only unreliable, but there weren't that many decent roads to drive them on, or very many stations to refuel them at. And before that, the first trains were just as bad (cinders from the steam engines starting fires, later on the wood-burning stove in a wooden framed car being a fire hazard (and wooden framed cars are no protection in a crash), the rails (which were metal straps on top of wood) impaling people through the floor of the carriages, horribly slow by modern standards, etc...). This is why the AndYouThoughtItWouldFail page for [[AndYouThoughtItWouldFail/RealLife real life]] is so long: it’s because most people at the time of the technology's release couldn’t reasonably count them as anything revolutionary, and as such, considers them as a fad or a novelty, at most, before knowing the full potential of the thing.

* Any modern technology when it was in its early stages. The ENIAC, arguably the first digital computer, took up a room. The first cell phone weighed 80 pounds (36 kg). The first modern cars from around a century ago were not only unreliable, but there weren't that many decent roads to drive them on, or very many stations to refuel them at. And before that, the first trains were just as bad (cinders from the steam engines starting fires, later on the wood-burning stove in a wooden framed car being a fire hazard (and wooden framed cars are no protection in a crash), the rails (which were metal straps on top of wood) impaling people through the floor of the carriages, horribly slow by modern standards, etc...). This is why the AndYouThoughtItWouldFail page for [[AndYouThoughtItWouldFail/RealLife real life]] is so long.

* Any sweet or junk food definitely tastes good, especially after a long day or to celebrate an occasion, but at the same time, they are full of processed substances, their taste is unnatural due to even more processed substances, and in some cases, [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking they can even get stuck to your teeth]].

** Teams at lower levels of US soccer often opted for baseball parks, which almost always have the room to house a FIFA-size soccer field and, in the case of minor-league ballparks, have capacities that are more in line with what minor-league soccer teams tend to draw. However, joint soccer/baseball use has the same sight line issues as with football/baseball. Also, the dirt parts of the baseball field need to be covered over for soccer, ''and'' a removable pitcher's mound is needed because of the need for soccer to have a level field. An even bigger problem is that the US soccer season almost completely overlaps that of baseball, making it anywhere from very difficult to impossible to maintain a field to the standard required for professional play in both sports. This has led to pretty much all soccer teams at those levels moving into dedicated stadiums or planning to do so.