15 Times Reality Crushed Every Hopeful Expectation

Disappointment is an inevitable experience in life. Through experience, we've learned that generally it's better to set your expectations low to avoid the dreadful feeling of being let down. Sometimes, though, it's nice to have some hope that maybe something will work out as expected, especially when it's advertised to you that way. Why is it that companies are allowed to fill you with such hope for what's to come by using a picture-perfect product representation? Frozen food is the biggest offender of consumer disappointment. The picture on the box shows what could be a gourmet meal, only to open up a freezer-burnt block of something food-like that never heats up evenly.

The popular term to reference when something doesn't quite go as planned is expectation vs. reality. Reddit's /r/expectationvsreality features collections of times when what was envisioned didn't quite turn out. Here are 15 times the disappointment was real.

Spent too much of the budget on marketing.

Not fun.

It's not only chip bags.

It never looks like it does on the box.

Cake decorating is never as easy as it looks.