Products are usually well thought-out. After all, companies are investing time, money, and other resources into developing them. But even though they are created to satisfy a specific need, things happen and products can evolve into something else entirely, taking on new forms and applications.
To learn more about these examples, Reddit user u/EpicEllis2004 submitted a question to the platform, asking what are some of the products that have drifted away from their main purpose. Turns out, it's a topic that really interests people. In just a week, the post has received over 34K upvotes and 14K comments, providing quite a few interesting insights into consumerism. Here are some of the answers.
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History Channel... as far as I am concerned the secret relationships between aliens and the illuminati do not qualify as "history"
The toilet lid of a toilet. Seen too many not even know you're supposed to put the lid down before flushing. Microscopic fecal matter flies everywhere otherwise. Apparently this isn't common knowledge.
This. So many arguements about putting the toilet seat up/down when honestly, everyone should just close the lid once they’re done. The particles spread up to 6 m (19 ft) otherwise.
Slinky, the toy. It was originally designed during WW2 to help sensitive instruments remain steady on ships... to counter the effects of pitch, roll, and yaw. The engineer working on them knocked one off his desk accidentally, saw the way it moved from the table to the chair, to the floor, and a new purpose was born.
On a side note... during the Vietnam War, when the Slinkys were metal, radio operators would carry them through the deep jungles. If they couldn't get a good signal in the jungle mountains, they'd sling a Slinky high into the tree limbs while holding onto one end. It created an instant antenna extension that they would attach to the radio.
Q-tips. The only thing they are used for is the one thing you are explicitly told not to use them for.
The warming drawer on the bottom of all our ovens, which is used as pan storage for exactly %100 of oven owners.
Super glue was meant to be a temporary method of stitching a wound. It was used that way during the Vietnam War. Tell people today to super clue their cuts shut, however, and most will think you're crazy
Apparently paintball guns were invented for foresters/loggers/park rangers to mark trees (for cutting etc.) without having to approach each tree.
Wonder how many minutes it took after the initial product release that 1st forester thought that it would be funny to shoot Mike on back.. Maybe hours but definetly not days..
Snuggy was originally designed for wheelchair users. Outerwear designed for walkers is cumbersome to take on and off for wheelchair users so snuggies were designed to help with this.
Ketamine is for horses and not for Saturday night.
It's been approved for use as a human sedative, it's used in operating rooms and ICUs. And remember those Thai kids that were trapped in the flooded cave? Each kid got a shot of Ketamine before the final rescue, it kept them quiet as heroic spent hours dragging them to safety through a dangerous flooded cave.
WD-40 was developed as a rust preventative (it’s even in the initials: “WD” means “Water Displacement”). Nowadays people use it to lubricate mechanical parts.
Pipe cleaners,
Use them for all sorts of arts and crafts as kids. It wasn't till I owned a tobacco pipe and went to buy them that it actually clicked
Oh my Jesus Christ. I haven’t thought about these since I was in primary school. Back then, I assumed the ‘pipe’ in pipe cleaner referred the things that ran along the walls of my house and I didn’t question it. It’s only now, reading this as a fully grown adult, that I realise it’s not that kind of pipe at all. That update has been pending for decades!
I think people already know this but the neck on the beer bottle is actually supposed to be held so you don’t warm your drink too fast.
No thank you. I don't trust my clumsy hands to hold it steady at the neck.
Gloveboxes were originally meant to store gloves because people used to drive with gloves on for some reason.
People used to drive with at the very least - gloves, dust coats, goggles, and hats on, if not full face masks. Because cars didn't have roofs or windows and the roads weren't paved, anyone who drove the first cars was going to get all the dust, mud, or weather in the world in the face.
Minoxidil was originally developed to treat high blood pressure and people reported unusual hair growth all around the body, since it promotes blood flow to the skin pores. They came up with a topical version and voila, millions of people smear that sh*t on their scalps and beards everyday and its the one of the only clinically proven ways to cure baldness.
Botox was created to treat migraines
This is absolutely false. Here are the dates of various FDA approvals for botulinum toxin: Strabismus (cross eyes) and blepharospasm in 1989 (but created for this purpose in 1970) Cervical dystonia in 2000 Glabellar lines in 2002 Axillary hyperhidrosis (excessive sweating) in 2004 Chronic migraines and upper lip spasticity in 2010 Urinary incontinence in 2011 Crow's feet (lateral canthal lines) in 2013 Source: https://www.verywellhealth.com/how-botox-came-to-be-1124145
I was searching for this comment! I don't know if it was used for migraines as well, but I know for sure that initially it was used for patients with spasticity and severe muscle tone problems! Which is why botox shouldn't be overused, cause it's a medicine made to cause temporary paralysis to spastic muscles so they can't be used better!
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Neurologist told me that it works on tension headaches but many people muddle the two.
Back in my day, Botox killed people who ate dented tomato-paste cans.
That's botulism. Botox is a derivative from that horrid stuff.
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I have to contradict this. I was a test subject in 1998 for clinical trials to see if Botox could help migraines. A very fancy, beautifully dressed doctor came in from New York (I don't know his name) who was the one trying to get this treatment approved. He was actually a neurologist. As I was getting 43 injections put into my head, neck, shoulders, face and dripping blood like a horror movie., I was told that Botox was first used in the 1960-70s to treat children and those with crossed-eyes, and a bit later, muscle spasms or facial ticks due to stroke or nerve damage etc., In using Botox near eyes it was noted that it smoothed out the lines around people's eyelids and eyes. I think it was approved for migraines in 2010
This is incorrect. Botox has only recently been considered as a treatment for migraines. So recently in fact that some insurances consider it experimental and therefore not a covered service. The original use was for eye muscle hyper activity and eyelid spasm.
LOL. I am getting injections every 3 months and I still suffer from migraines!
But the real question... DID it effectively treat migraines? Because dangit... if I can get prescription botox ... (I am a migraine sufferer)
I've personally had no success. Can't quite see how - and apparently neither do the medical profession exactly. Botox is injected into muscles around your head and neck area that are associated with headache pain. It helps to block a chemical neurotransmitter known as acetylcholine that carries pain signals. When injected, Botox helps to prevent activation of the pathways in your head and neck. Migraines, as I understand them from a neurologist, are principally in the brain. It helps tension headache pain. Though pain from a migraine can be exacerbated by tension etc so it improves things overall but not necessarily the migraine per se. This is what I was told. I suspect part of the problem is that they're not 100% sure.
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Botox can also CAUSE migraines. ** Clostridium botulinum was first discovered by a Belgian scientist named Emile Pierre van Ermengem following a botulism outbreak in Belgium. 12 By the 1920s, scientists at the University of California, San Francisco, first tried to isolate the botulinum toxin.
No, it wasn't. In 1978, ophthalmologist Alan B Scott began Food and Drug Administration (FDA) trials for the use of botulinum toxin to treat crossed eyes. The drug, which Scott called Oculinum, received its first FDA approval to treat crossed eyes (strabismus) and eye twitching (blepharospasm) in 1989.
After having been around for years, scientists decided to seek development of botox for the treatment of medical issues. A large number of diseases and conditions were considered. Migraines were just ONE of the many medical uses that developers were aiming for. And migraines are one of the uses that was successful.
That is lipfiller, Temporary, injectable hyaluronic acid (HA) lip fillers are the most commonly used lip fillers because they generally provide smooth, even results with a lower risk of side effects and adverse reactions that other dermal fillers used in the lips. Botox removes wrinkles and fine lines.
Botox is a toxin intended to treat cronic nerve issues (sedate the nerve) So if a muscle eg. In the back would be permanently triggered by a nerve firing up, the nerve could be sedated for a few month and phisio could take place to train right mind muscle connection (of the other correct muscles) so eventually the posture / function of all muscles of the area would be correct and the nerve no longer triggered. Sedating you face was never ever the intent.
It works against migraines... it's a wonderfull treatment.. its hurt a lot every 3 month... 😉
Wtf,there is cure for migranes?I get migraine attack and the best cure I know is death.
Not sure about this one. Botox was used for cosmetic reasons long before they started using it to treat migraines.
I've been getting Botox in my head for 5 years for migraines, so yeah it's for migraines. It also is for other muscle related pains i get it in some muscles in the back and sides of my upper thighs for my cerebral palsy.
Botox works by paralysing the muscle, so is very useful and widely used medically when severe muscle spasm is an issue. This would make sense for certain types of migraine but not all. Botox is frequently used for jaw / facial issues - so the leap to doing this for 'beauty' isn't all that far. Why you would poison yourself for a few less wrinkles though is another discussion for another day...
botox is a powerful neurological poison, it comes from the nightshade plant, "deadly night shade"...wish is also use to make painkillers...but is still deadly deadly poison that people inject into the skin
It's botulism. Botox is an abbreviation of botulism toxin. https://www.byrdie.com/what-is-botox-made-of-4776410
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Plague: A virulent, infectious disease that is caused by the bacterium Yersinia pestis (syn. Pasteurella pestis) and is transmitted primarily by the bite of fleas from an infected rodent, especially a rat. In humans it occurs in bubonic form, marked by lymph node enlargement, and in pneumonic form, marked by infection of the lungs, and can progress to septicaemia.
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Microsoft Excel/Google Sheets used as informal databases instead of as a data analysis tool
Facebook... originally intended to help college students meet, now used to control political behavior.
Zuck started it for dude-bros to rate the "attractiveness" of female students. So...It went from shitty to shitty in a different way, really.
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Lots of medical products had entirely different intentions! Dramamine was originally meant to combat hay fever, but turned out to be exceptional at preventing nausea (which is good as it's useless at preventing hay fever). Spironolactone was being tested for blood pressure uses until they realized that it acts as a testosterone blocker (it does actually affect blood pressure, but barely compared to more traditional blood pressure medications). Pharmaceuticals is basically an entire industry of "not what I was going for but let's roll with it".
Skin So Soft (S.O.S.) from Avon was a beauty product, but was found to be an excellent mosquito repellent
Should I say autotune software. I think it was invented to improve the mistakes made after recording, now it's used to enhance voice and sound quality, and hide flaws of the singer and musicians.
Coke was a soft drink before,now I use it to clean my toilet and sink.They're quite cheap.
Coke actually started out as a medicine and was developed by a pharmacist. It originally contained cocaine but that was removed in the early 1900's and became a drink.
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And canola (rapeseed) oil was originally developed as an industrial lubricant too - the petrochemical industry shut that down fast!
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Here in India, 'Clinic Plus' is still sold and promoted as a shampoo but is an amazing bike and basin/bathroom cleaner.
BoredPanda. It was created for art/photography and such and now it contains a lot of posts shaming people.
It seems like you pushed a Qtip a lot too far in your ear.
Load More Replies... Facebook... originally intended to help college students meet, now used to control political behavior.
Zuck started it for dude-bros to rate the "attractiveness" of female students. So...It went from shitty to shitty in a different way, really.
Load More Replies... Lots of medical products had entirely different intentions! Dramamine was originally meant to combat hay fever, but turned out to be exceptional at preventing nausea (which is good as it's useless at preventing hay fever). Spironolactone was being tested for blood pressure uses until they realized that it acts as a testosterone blocker (it does actually affect blood pressure, but barely compared to more traditional blood pressure medications). Pharmaceuticals is basically an entire industry of "not what I was going for but let's roll with it".
Skin So Soft (S.O.S.) from Avon was a beauty product, but was found to be an excellent mosquito repellent
Should I say autotune software. I think it was invented to improve the mistakes made after recording, now it's used to enhance voice and sound quality, and hide flaws of the singer and musicians.
Coke was a soft drink before,now I use it to clean my toilet and sink.They're quite cheap.
Coke actually started out as a medicine and was developed by a pharmacist. It originally contained cocaine but that was removed in the early 1900's and became a drink.
Load More Replies... And canola (rapeseed) oil was originally developed as an industrial lubricant too - the petrochemical industry shut that down fast!
Load More Replies... Here in India, 'Clinic Plus' is still sold and promoted as a shampoo but is an amazing bike and basin/bathroom cleaner.
BoredPanda. It was created for art/photography and such and now it contains a lot of posts shaming people.
It seems like you pushed a Qtip a lot too far in your ear.
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