Did you know that Play-Doh was originally created as a putty to help clean up soot-covered walls in 1933? After becoming obsolete with the invention of vinyl wallpaper, it was rebranded as the fun modeling clay we know and love today. And did you know that Viagra was first sold as a blood-pressure lowering drug, used to treat symptoms of heart disease like hypertension and angina? It was only a few years later that their marketing team latched onto one of the side effects that male test subjects were experiencing in their clinical trials… Even Coca Cola was first sold as a way to counter morphine addiction, with its original formula containing coca leaf extract (the same plant used to make cocaine).
Sometimes, what a product is marketed to do does not actually live up to the item’s full potential. In fact, that might be the case with many things you own, according to this thread on Reddit where consumers shared their brilliant and creative ways for using everyday products. Below, we’ve compiled some of the most innovative functions for these items, that are even better than their originally intended purposes, to help you pandas become more purchase-savvy. Be sure to upvote the answers you agree with or that share ideas you plan on trying, and then if you’d like to check out another Bored Panda article spilling genius ways to use items you might already own, you can find that right here!
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Royal Dansk tins as sewing kits. It seems universal, every person I've spoken to, every ethnicity, age, culture--- they all know about it. Amazing.
I was a medic in the Army.
Tampons were part of my regular trauma kit in the field because they were perfect for quickly plugging gunshot wounds.
A tennis ball. Entertains animals for days, works as an amazing massage tool in physical therapy, protect your floors from chairs that scratch and more!
Silly String is used by soldiers to detect tripwires.
Yes. It's been a highly requested item by US military personnel since 2004. Also, the doctors who invented it were trying to create a spray on cast for broken bones.
Bluetooth speakers. I bought one once for it's intended purpose of listening to music, but then when I realized how small they actually are, they've pretty much became one of my favorite tools for office pranking and shenanigans:
* Record a co-worker's desk phone ringing, place the speaker behind their phone, and then start playing the ring tone over it
* Electronic whoopee cushion
* Hide it in an inconspicuous place in an otherwise open area, then play a whispering voice "Hey
* If someone keeps a door closed normally, hide it as close to the door as possible, then play knocking sounds
* Hide it in a cubicle/office and just play random, loud sound effects
Calm down Satan (I say as I immediately open an online shopping store to see where I can buy one)
I always keep fingernail clippers in my purse because I can use them to cut SO. MANY. THINGS. Little plastic tags on new clothes, zip ties, or even yarn when you want to knit on a plane and they don't let you have scissors!
"Water pipes"
All over the smoke shop there are signs saying that all the glass products are "for tobacco use only." However, I find that they work much better for smoking marijuana over tobacco. Who knew?
Hair conditioner works best as shaving foam than some brands of shaving foam.
Listerine was used as a surgical antiseptic when it was first invented and now it's a mouth wash.
Aluminum foil. People use it to wrap food while they can use it to make rockets, electromagnets and hats that prevent the government from mind-controlling you.
Pipe cleaners, meant for cleaning tobacco pipes. More often used in a million craft projects.
I have noticed the upvote / downvote buttons have far more utility as “I like this” / “F**k you” buttons than as a rating of how relevant the content is which it was made for
Melamine foam, AKA magic eraser sponges and Mr. Clean Magic Sponges.
Melamine foam was originally used as pipe insulation and soundproofing but was later discovered to clean surfaces like magic!
Two things. Duct tape and baling twine.
Add wd40 in the mix and you can fix almost everything.
I use the metal dental tool for pill openers. I have a hard time opening up tiny pill packets so I used my metal plaque thingy to open them. I have four or five hidden in random places. I mean what cruel AF person would design migraine meds in that freaking things. I also have one for cleaning out my tobacco water pipes but I just saw a post here that tells me I have been using my water pipes wrong. Who knew? :-/
Dawn dish soap. That s**t gets anything off anything. Also, if you wash your car with it in the water when bugs hit your windshield the first week or so, they just bounce off like rain x
Toothbrushes for cleaning bikes and cars (not the whole car, just little corners).
Toothpaste. It can be used to fix issues with plastics. Most notably it can be used on your headlight lenses as an abrasive to remove the yellowing effect that happens to car headlights over time. It can also be used to buff scratches out of CDs/DVDs/Blu-Rays. If you have a Formica countertop with a stain, a whitening toothpaste can be used to buff the stain out.
Barbie doll's legs. They served as a great scratcher for my itchy leg when I had a cast on it. The arch of her foot was perfect.
Viagra WAS intended to help treat high blood pressure
It is also used for pulmonary arterial hypertension. I take six 20mg a day, and the main thing that has kept me alive the past three years. FYI- I'm female
Vinegar: not just used to put on your hot chips
Bicarbonate of soda: not just used for cooking
Have a blocked sink? If you can, remove the drain cover, pour in some bicarb and then follow with white vinegar. It fizzzes and causes a reaction that helps loosen the blockage. Throw some hot water down the drain. Repeat if necessary. Soooooo much cheaper than a plumber.
Create a paste of bicarb and water. Use it to scrub stubborn stains off your stove top.
Grab an empty spray bottle. Put I cup of white vinegar and one cup of liquid dish washing detergent. Wet the shower screen, spray the mix on and leet it sit for about 10 mins. Grab a light scouring pad and starting at the top, scrub (lightly) the glass. You might need to be a bit heavier on the bottom of the glass. Rinse off and voila! Clean clean glass! Also good on the oven doors too! Actually...any glass.
Clear nail polish works so well to fix small holes or seal things.
Edit: like the small hole in my giant popsicle floatie
Neoprene. Apparently it was originally used as a lining for industrial waste but obviously now makes a good wetsuit (and has many other industrial uses).
Tube guitar amps. They were never intended to produce distortion, but a whole genre of music was born by "misusing" them!
A whole slew of medications.
My daily medication is an anti-seizure medication. Works like s**t as an anti-seizure medication, but works **fantastically** as an anti-psychotic.
Paint can opener. I'm a cable technician, and I find myself outdoors in all manor of conditions. I keep a paint can opener in my vehicle to get mud, dog c**p, and rocks out of the treads of my boots. Way better than the stick that breaks. Now, I keep one in my personal vehicle for when we take the dogs out to the park.
Edit: I'm aware there are dozens of flat objects to open paint cans, but the thread was about better alternative uses for objects, and a paint can opener fits the bill. Also, props to those who added that the tool makes a great free bottle opener.
Avon Skin so Soft works as an amazing bug repellant. We go camping fairly regularly and always take a bottle!
I never once used baby oil on my baby... but I use it to remove eye makeup whenever I wear eye makeup.
And to remove tar from your skin if you inadvertently step on some on a beach.
Silly Putty is great to clean your car. All the little crumbs and dust that sink into the console creases and door lock controls. Just press and pick it up, fold putty, repeat.
Silly putty can be used to pick up Glitter spills. It's the fastest way to remove glitter.
My grandma keeps a special pair of scissors for when we're eating pizza.
I have admired that stroke of brilliance my entire life.
Apparently, coca cola has some amazing cleaning purposes. Lime stains, water rings, oil stains in the driveway, just google or youtube it.
Also quite good to settle your stomach if you have a stomach flu!!
Ginger rale for me, I once has a stomach ache really bad on a boat and some random guy said gingerale or tea( if i liked it, which i do) It works really well thats why I always drink it on planes( my stomach is very picky)
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When I was in third grade, our nun was trying to teach us the danger of some foods to dental health. She had someone bring in a tooth which had recently fallen out. (Plenty of volunteers at that age.) She put it in a glass of Coke and left it overnight. The next day she took the tooth out of the glass and showed us what bad shape it was now in. Nun: "Class, what does this teach us?" Student: "When you drink Coke, don't hold it in your mouth too long. Guzzle it right down!" He was not named student of the month.
Cleans car batteries too….imagine what that shite does to your stomach. I know people with kidney problems must stay away from it.
While this is true, that's mostly because it's acidic. You're likely better off just using vinegar for most of the same purposes!
It's because of the Phosphoric Acid (H3PO4) contained within. H3PO4 is good at breaking down mineral buildup. In fact, when I used to work as a Janitor, one of my most favorite cleaners was one that had H3PO4 and Hydrochloric Acid (HCl) mixed together, and it worked miracles at making toilets look like brand spanking new.
I think it has phosphoric acid in it which converts iron oxide (rust) to phosphorus oxide.
I soak my work clothes in CocaCola to get grease and oil out. Lit it sit overnight and rinse with a hose. Bam! Nasty mechanic coverall are now safe to wash in the family washing machine. It gets diesel, grease, all weights of oil, ATF and coolant out of denim and industrial work uniform fabric.
Makes an excellent soldering flux according to my dad (an electrical engineer).
It's also good for cleaning corroded battery connections for your car. Just unhook the connections, and dip them in a cup of coke. After a few minutes, the corrosion will burn off and you'll be left with a clean connection. Just gotta hit it with a wire brush, and you're good.
I once did an experiment by leaving some old rusted copper 1 and 2ps in some coca cola, and OH MY GOD were they clean!
When I used to work on oil rigs, we had separate overalls that we called "greasers," because they would be soaked in oil and grease and drilling mud and all kinds of nastiness. In the small town where I lived the Laundromat had specific machines for washing greasers, for obvious reasons. We always put in soap and then poured a bottle of coca-cola, and it cleaned them perfectly. It's also good to pour on battery posts to clean off the deposits.
Slotted spoon (spaghetti scoops)
I bought a really good quality one to use as a back scratcher
Condoms are awesome.
They are used to cover gun barrels, cook meatloaf, waterproof phone covers, ice packs, and everything in between.
If you ever need a cheap, waterproof container that can be used for many different things, use a condom.
Safety pins, originally designed to fasten cloth baby diapers now used in a million other ways.
Edit: I'm a little surprised no one mentioned separating eyelashes after applying mascara, popping blisters, removing splinters, and protesting the President.
Also I once knew a goth girl who lined her backpack with them so ppl would respect her personal space in the hallway. Worked for her apparently and as far as I know she didn't get in trouble.
Not sure I'd want a sharp metal object that close to my eyes... hopefully there's some other way of doing it
Sealable sandwich bags (Ziploc design, not the foldover ones) are great waterproof bags for phones. Reddit in the shower. Sure, that's it. "Reddit."
On an unrelated note, buy shares in sandwich bag companies.
Originally, gasoline was a by product of making kerosene. Dunno if it counts but by products don't usually have an intended use.
I heard that about petroleium jelly too (vaseline). Oil field workers found that it made their hands soft and protected cuts and scrapes.
Mayonaise. Its amazing for removing stubborn stcky residues. Use it a lot in my job.
Remember the red ring of death and overheating issues with the 360?
Well when I was a kid my dad was a penny pincher and wouldn't turn the heat on in winter until HE decided if it was cold. So I used my Xbox 360 as a heater for my room.
EDIT: Phone auto corrected to penny puncher instead of penny pincher lol.
Bondage tape and rope. I own both, and have maybe used the bondage tape once for it's actual function, and never the rope for it's actual function. I have however used both for quick home fixes, packing, and for a few other odd house-hold jobs. Bondage tape is great for ice packs! It cannot stick to your skin, so if you're hairy, like me, you can just wrap it. The tape was one of the best purchases I've ever made.
This is more of a "less known intended use", but taking anti-histamine pills (the ones you get for seasonal allergies) makes mosquito bites stop itching.
If you go to a doctor for itching mosquito bites he'll usually prescribe you a gel or cream with the same or similar ingredients - but if you're a mosquito magnet like me and you get absolutely *covered* in them it's much quicker, easier, and safer to just take a tiny Claritin pill. Twenty minutes later and all the itching is gone.
If you explicitly ask your doctor for pills instead of gel/cream, he'll give it to you.
----
EDIT: There seem to be two frequent misconceptions in the responses to my comment.
1) I am not talking about Claritin-D, which contains both loratadine (an anti-histamine) and pseudoephedrine (a decongestant). Pseudoephedrine, as a medication, is no laughing matter, plus it is a controlled substance. I am talking about standard Claritin or Clarinase, which contains only loratadine or desloratadine. Also, I may not have made it clear enough when I said "if you ask your doctor", but you should never start taking any kind of medication regularly, even loratadine, without consulting a doctor.
2) Yes, I am aware that mosquito bites are a histaminic reaction and that is why taking allergy pills for it will work. That knowledge is in fact what led me to try it in the first place. But allergy pills are generally only marketed and prescribed for seasonal allergies; you never see Claritin advertising about mosquito bites, and it's not in the package insert. That's what makes this not the intended function. Also, reread the first nine words of this comment.
I thought this was common knowledge? I take them at least a week before I go anywhere on holiday and then taken them every day whilst there too as I get bitten terribly.
smartphones.
already this morning, i've texted 3 people, checked the weather forecast, watched sports highlights, read my email, checked work schedule and (obviously) gone on reddit.
if it rings, pretty good chance i won't answer. but i still call it "my phone."
EDIT: my point is that maybe we should call them something different than smartPHONES -- perhaps pocket computers, or handheld facebook thingy --since the *phone* part of a smartphone is oftentimes its least-used feature.
THIS, I grew up in the 80's. If I wanted to do all the things, I can now do with my smartphone, I would have to pay far more than the cost of a smart phone. Are they expensive, yes, but only in context. I don't complain about the cost, but I also don't get a new one every time a new version comes out.
Frying pans are a much better solution to making instant noodles than saucepans, even though there's no frying involved. Just break the dried noodles in half, throw in a little bit of water (you need less than you think, but you can always top up because the extra will heat up super quickly; enough to just about cover the bottom of the pan usually does it), and then sprinkle the flavour powder over the top.
The flavouring coats the noodles evenly, and once the water is absorbed the noodles are done. No mess, no fuss, no draining. If you want to chop up spring onions or whatever, go nuts; if you like to fry some chicken to go with it, you can just put the noodles and water in the same pan and get that delicious crispy meat goodness in with it.
My martini shaker is great for cooling down ice coffee in a hurry.
I'm going to say kerosene as it relates to glass cutting. Kerosene is a freaking energy dense fuel, which is why we use it to put s**t in space. But damn when you dip your glass cutting tool in it before scoring a pane, freaking magic happens.
Coffee filters. Not necessarily a better use but so many other uses than just filtering coffee.
Hair dryers if you need your shirt dry in a hurry.
My cell phone works better as a way to browse reddit than it does a phone.
Pedialyte for hangovers
Have you seen the commercial with the dad on the floor of the kitchen drinking pedialyte…the little girl comes in and says, “ Hey that’s mine !” Dad says, “I’ll buy you a pony.” Love it.
Pennies are far more useful for checking your tire treads and making souvenirs at the zoo than being used as currency.
I’m Canadian, we don’t have pennies anymore. Walking into the grocery store the other day, a lady stopped right in front of me to pick up a penny off the ground and we both just marveled at it for a moment, haven’t seen one in years 😅
Reddit for market research.
I use it for all kinds of research. I'm a writer and need to know strange or obscure things sometimes.
Probably ever clear. It's supposed to be consumed, but is a fantastic cleaner
It's a legitimate treatment for antifreeze poisoning (ethylene glycol) in animals. It has to be given IV and caught in less than 6 hours. But it has saved many unlucky doggos.
Until they ripped out the "Other OS" option, PS3s were AWESOME at doing tasks requiring many computers all working on a single project, like drug research.
My guess is that Sony took that option out when they were seeing thousands of PS3s purchased (which they take a loss on) with no games (where they make the real profit) bought with them.
Those dotted 'bathroom cleaning' wipes. Absolute s**t for soap scum, feckin' godly at cleaning grease off your range
Can also be used on walls if you are moving out and need to clean...
Use our selfie stick to hold phone while netflixin' in bed.
You can use your trusty old frying pan as a *drying pan!!!*
That little plastic stand for the Wii U controller is great for a cellphone stand.
Bananas can be shoved in holes in pipes to prevent leaking
Not 'better', but medical tape is great for getting a straight line with eyeliner and eyeshadow. Not many people will use medical tape in their day to day life, but this tape pulls off to leave perfect lines without pulling off foundation.
tvs are great babysitters
One I always recommend (but get horrified looks when I do) is to use superglue to mend cuts on your body. Obviously use a non-toxic variety but I heard about it as a kid by an ex-soldier and have sworn by it ever since. I once badly sliced my thumb open on the way to work. I grabbed some superglue, sealed it closed and put a plaster (band-aid) on it. The wound healed perfectly and to this day you can only see the faintest hint of a scar considering how deep the wound was initially.
I heard it was initially invented/ intended as field wound dressing. Used it 3 times so far to glue myself shut if I don't have steri-strips.
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Here's an obscure one: hemostats! Surgeons use them to hold a surgical cut in place while they work, but their vice-like grip makes them perfect for holding anything gently-but-firmly. I've used one as a makeshift bottle cleaner many times by having it grip a paper towel square.
Manuka honey, great for wound care especially infections and burns. It cleared up recurring MSRA and is magic at pulling pus out of abscesses.
All honey is good for wound care. It's especially great for cracked or chapped lips
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If your dog/pet gets "skunked", use Massengill Powdered Douch- Mix a couple of tablespoons in some tepid water in a gallon jug and pour onto DRY fur
For migraine sufferers in Austria: go get a bottle of Veen Veen from the pharmacy. It's a kind of wine with herbal extracts, and it's supposed to help with blood circulation and "strengthening the veins", whatever that means. But it's insanely effective in stopping migraine attacks. Works way better than normal pain killers. It's a small Austrian brand, so I don't think you can buy it outside of Austria. Sorry, rest of the world 🙁
You know all that antibacterial handwash you have stocked up because of Covid? Well, it makes an awesome multi-cleaner! Use it to clean work tops, cookers floors cupboard doors and even the dishes! It's antibacterial, has a powerful degreasing agent and lasts for ages before it breaks down in water. I even use it in my jet wash to clean the car!
A restaurant I worked for had us use it to clean certain surfaces when the pandemic hit
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I don't know if this counts, but medics in the Vietnam war used shirt sleeves in arterial surgery, to repair and reinforce damaged arterial walls.
No More Tears Baby Shampoo is a better anti-fog on goggles when Scuba Diving, than all the anti-fog solutions.
I want to add one, lock picks. They are meant to unlock locks without keys, but they are so useful! Opening laptop? Use one to unhook all those little clips. Cleaning that laptop? You can use one to clean the grill over fan or to clean sides of keys on keyboard. Removing things from tight spaces? Small steel hook will help. Heck, I used one when I was cracking walnuts. You know how sometimes the shell stays around the nut? Lockpick is your friend.
In the days of the blue laws here in MA - no alcohol sold on Sunday - they had to hide the sterno - yeah, drinking sterno - that might be a sign of trouble with liquor.
I bought a radiator roller, for painting behind radiators. It was 20 years before I used it for it's intended purpose. I got it to reach the windows when they were open, so I could close them. Also for pulling stuff down from on top the the kitchen cabinets, helping me get dressed when one grabber isn't enough, back scratcher, hook it through loops on shoes to pull them on.
One I always recommend (but get horrified looks when I do) is to use superglue to mend cuts on your body. Obviously use a non-toxic variety but I heard about it as a kid by an ex-soldier and have sworn by it ever since. I once badly sliced my thumb open on the way to work. I grabbed some superglue, sealed it closed and put a plaster (band-aid) on it. The wound healed perfectly and to this day you can only see the faintest hint of a scar considering how deep the wound was initially.
I heard it was initially invented/ intended as field wound dressing. Used it 3 times so far to glue myself shut if I don't have steri-strips.
Load More Replies... Here's an obscure one: hemostats! Surgeons use them to hold a surgical cut in place while they work, but their vice-like grip makes them perfect for holding anything gently-but-firmly. I've used one as a makeshift bottle cleaner many times by having it grip a paper towel square.
Manuka honey, great for wound care especially infections and burns. It cleared up recurring MSRA and is magic at pulling pus out of abscesses.
All honey is good for wound care. It's especially great for cracked or chapped lips
Load More Replies... If your dog/pet gets "skunked", use Massengill Powdered Douch- Mix a couple of tablespoons in some tepid water in a gallon jug and pour onto DRY fur
For migraine sufferers in Austria: go get a bottle of Veen Veen from the pharmacy. It's a kind of wine with herbal extracts, and it's supposed to help with blood circulation and "strengthening the veins", whatever that means. But it's insanely effective in stopping migraine attacks. Works way better than normal pain killers. It's a small Austrian brand, so I don't think you can buy it outside of Austria. Sorry, rest of the world 🙁
You know all that antibacterial handwash you have stocked up because of Covid? Well, it makes an awesome multi-cleaner! Use it to clean work tops, cookers floors cupboard doors and even the dishes! It's antibacterial, has a powerful degreasing agent and lasts for ages before it breaks down in water. I even use it in my jet wash to clean the car!
A restaurant I worked for had us use it to clean certain surfaces when the pandemic hit
Load More Replies... I don't know if this counts, but medics in the Vietnam war used shirt sleeves in arterial surgery, to repair and reinforce damaged arterial walls.
No More Tears Baby Shampoo is a better anti-fog on goggles when Scuba Diving, than all the anti-fog solutions.
I want to add one, lock picks. They are meant to unlock locks without keys, but they are so useful! Opening laptop? Use one to unhook all those little clips. Cleaning that laptop? You can use one to clean the grill over fan or to clean sides of keys on keyboard. Removing things from tight spaces? Small steel hook will help. Heck, I used one when I was cracking walnuts. You know how sometimes the shell stays around the nut? Lockpick is your friend.
In the days of the blue laws here in MA - no alcohol sold on Sunday - they had to hide the sterno - yeah, drinking sterno - that might be a sign of trouble with liquor.
I bought a radiator roller, for painting behind radiators. It was 20 years before I used it for it's intended purpose. I got it to reach the windows when they were open, so I could close them. Also for pulling stuff down from on top the the kitchen cabinets, helping me get dressed when one grabber isn't enough, back scratcher, hook it through loops on shoes to pull them on.
