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42 Everyday Items People Secretly Use For Completely Different Things
Did you know the chainsaw wasn’t originally invented to cut wood? It first appeared in the late 18th century as a medical tool meant to help during difficult childbirths. As terrifying as that sounds, it looked nothing like the large, powerful device we know today—though it probably wasn’t a particularly pleasant sight either.
It just goes to show that products don’t always end up being used the way their inventors intended. One Redditor asked people to share things that are now commonly used for completely different purposes, and the responses were full of surprising examples. We gathered some of the most curious ones here. Scroll down to see what they shared.
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#2
I use the vacuum sealing machine meant for food to save left over caulking tubes or any item that will ruin when exposed to air. Place the tube or left over glue in a bag and even a year later good to go.
#6
Pedialyte. Same use- dealing with dehydration, but instead of children with fevers, adults who have had too much alcohol.
#7
Tennis balls to wash your duvet.
Put the duvet in the washing machine, and toss three tennis balls in as well.
Wash. The tennis balls will agitate the duvet.
Same with the dryer. The tennis balls will keep the filling in the duvet from clumping.
#8
Tooth brushes when worn should not be thrown away. They make excellent grout and cleaning brushes.
Elladine DesIsles 5 minutes ago
While on a cottage vacation last week, my 6-year-old niece tried to grate cheese using the zesting side of a grater. During a heat wave. The rental cottage came equipped with sponges, but no scrub brushes. It was very much a "toothbrush to the rescue" situation; luckily I had packed an extra one.
#9
Bubble wrap was originally invented to be wallpaper.
Chainsaws were originally invented to help during childbirth.
#10
Baby oil - no one uses that to fry babies.
otiose (foxtrot delta tango) 31 minutes ago
No! You have that wrong! Baby oil is MADE FROM babies! Like baby back ribs are!
#11
Something like half of prescription meds are used for something other than the indication they've been approved for.
#12
Good ol butterknife screwdriver.
otiose (foxtrot delta tango) 28 minutes ago
I have led a sheltered life and this is the first time I have seen a butter knife like that! Googling 'butter knife with holes' makes me aware that it is a MULTIPURPOSE butter knife, although they don't list screwdriver as a use...
#13
Although the manufacturer gave up many decades ago, the classic answer is "Kleenex". It was originally marketed to be used with cold cream to remove makeup. Eventually it became obvious that they were selling far more of them for people to blow their noses into, and they became "nasal tissues".
#15
Pipe cleaners.
otiose (foxtrot delta tango) 19 minutes ago
I have only ever used them for crafts, from kindergarten onward. I, however, have never smoked a pipe. I don't think I have seen someone smoke one in person since the 70s and I don't remember ever seeing someone clean a pipe. (Love the picture, BP!)
#17
Melamine sponge (magic eraser) will scuff the surface of both acrylic paint and solvent based paint (not tried on oil) just enough to key it for a fresh layer of gesso/paint/thick medium/whatever; without damaging canvas integrity.
#18
Most university/college degrees. Many people are doing something other than using the degree they have.
#19
Ngl, zip ties are for cable management on paper, but in reality they are the only thing holding every aging car bumper and backyard fence together.
#20
Baby lotion as insect repellant.
otiose (foxtrot delta tango) 16 minutes ago
I have heard of using Avon Skin So Soft (body lotion) as an insect repellant, but not baby lotion. What kind of babies are in it?
#21
Swiffer dry mop pads: best nail polish remover ever, instead of cotton balls. 1 bloop of nail polish remover on one of those dry pads, and your nail polish will come off in 1 clean shot. The nail polish remover won’t evaporate, stays wet, and makes it so fast and less wasteful with the nail polish remover. I cut mine up into little strips. Done.
Edit: Discovered this by accident + out of laziness when I ran out of cotton balls and one of those pads was near me. I’m never going back. It works so well.
#23
I turned a heating pad for my back into a warmer for horse bits. Designed a clamshell device to put it in, place the bit across the inside, and close it. Warms them up quickly and safely in the winter.
Elladine DesIsles 3 minutes ago
I am not a horse person (though I do admire them). I very badly misinterpreted the phrase "horse bits" on my first reading.
#24
Duct tape fixes basically everything.
otiose (foxtrot delta tango) 14 minutes ago
"If it moves but shouldn’t: Duct tape. If it doesn’t move but should: WD-40."
#25
A few classics:
* WD40 and duct tape - marketed narrow, used for literally everything, and the companies lean into it.
* Vaseline - sold as skin protectant, half the internet uses it for eyelashes, squeaky hinges, and "personal" reasons the label will never mention
* Baby oil / baby powder - the "baby" branding is doing a lot of polite pretending.
* Sharpies on skin for tattoo stencils, surgical marking - not the intended surface, universally done anyway.
#26
My father bought a box of 500 (!) dehydrated napkins for our wedding; they look like white mints, but if you add a few drops of water, they unfold and are made of quite high quality paper. I keep a small ziplock of them in my toiletry bag; many European hotels don’t supply washcloths and these are made of thick enough paper to last for a few days of face-washing. They’re also great for camping. Thanks, Dad!
otiose (foxtrot delta tango) 11 minutes ago
I wonder how many people tried to eat them thinking they WERE mints?!?!
#28
Those black alligator clips for holding papers…..are the best chip clips ever. I worked in a lab and we used the hell out of them for just about anything.
Bored Jellyfish 21 minutes ago (edited)
Back in the 70s, they were mostly used for holding… things almost burnt down close to the end. 😏
#30
I came here to look for a Super Glue comment. As far as I know it was designed to be used as 'liquid stiches'. I still use it for that more than anything else, but almost no one believes me when I recommend it for wound closure.
#31
Whipped cream charger canisters. For some strange reason the community around my local dodgy gas station smoke shop are making so much whipped cream that they need industrial-sized 4-liter tanks of mango-flavored nitrous oxide available for purchase 24 hours a day. I guess there are a lot of confectioners living in the rough part of town.
#32
The cheapest hair conditioner on the shelf is the best shaving cream I've ever used. It's slicker than snot on a doorknob, it won't dry your skin out, and the bottle lasts a year or more, for like $5.
Just don't spill any on the shower floor.
#33
Apparently ramen is a universal filler for damaged masonry. At least according to TikTok. .
otiose (foxtrot delta tango) 8 minutes ago
And we ALL believe what they say on Tik Tok, right?
#35
Uncle Ben’s ready rice.
#37
Butter knives. The Swiss Army knife of kitchens everywhere. It’s a screwdriver, lock picker, garden tool and, if it’s a good one, a pry bar.
#38
I got an avocado smasher for making guacamole. Though good for guaq, its the absolute most perfect thing for making deviled egg filling.
#42
Nutcrackers to open pesky bottle lids.
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