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.
Yes, and even though I put the lid down when I flush I keep tooth brushes, hair brushes, etc. as far away from the toilet as possible
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Mythbusters covered this, they put clean toothbrushes at different distances from an in-use toilet and tested them after a week. The brushes next to the toilet did indeed have fecal bacteria on them. The bad news, so did all the others, in approximately even amounts, even ones in a different room altogether. Conclusion: we are surrounded by this stuff all the time, toilet seat up or down makes no difference. (I still advocate putting it down before flushing, it's just polite).
Or falling in, when they're being [adorable] little idiots 😆
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I agree. Unfortunately every single stinking time I have a guest over they leave the lid up. I don't get it.
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I've been on this earth for decades now and this is the first time this has been explain. I feel like a fool because it makes perfect sense.
This is a myth, fecal matter is in the air no matter what. Fact: there is more fecal matter on your phone than anything you use in the bathroom (besides the toilet of course)
16% of both hands and phones were contaminated with E. coli, potentially illness-causing bacteria that is fecal in origin. The likely reason: because people don’t wash their hands after using the toilet.
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I am always so grossed out when I'm at someone's house and they don't have the lid closed - even worse when they do it at MY house! What the hell do they think the damn lid is for?
I always put it down. I hate waking into a bathroom and seeing an open toilet. Bleh.
Yea, I always see posts about the seat being left up and I'm so confused, like what about the lid???
I used to just leave it open, but now I can't bear the thought of letting all those particles fly out *shudder*
The rule I mandate in my home is the lid gets put down PERIOD. Luckily my family has no issue doing that. One time a friend of my fathers was passing through my city he spent the night on the couch. I almost died the next morning when I went into the bathroom and not only was the lid up the seat was too. (I get that he lives alone) but when you're a guest in someone's home have some damn manners.
I do this! After seeing something about this I started doing it straight away!
That's why my toothbrush stays in the medicine cabinet, my kids are not trustworthy
That's just common sense. I just thought people generally were lazy. I mean.. c'mon. Water. Spray. Block it.
Do we put the lid down before or after we've locked-up the owner of all that pink?
I close the lid, but whenever people come over they leave it open and it’s just ARGH.
Depends on your toilet's power, but it's just polite to put the lid down. Also, if you have pets, prevents the toilet-water-bowl issue.
Yes, and it's ALL over the house, whether you close the lid or not. Germophobes would sit down and sob if they knew what was on the surfaces of their home - the bathroom is the least of it. LOL!
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Yet some in this house don't believe it's a real issue!!! NASTY!!!
If everyone just puts the lid down every time there isn't an argument about leaving the seat up or down. Plus it looks better. It also keeps pets out of the bowl.
Has anyone gotten actually sick of this microscopic fecal matter? For all we know, it's just boosting our immune system.
I havent died yet from specs of my own bodily fluids. I don't have other people's flying up-they are already on surfaces. Builds up immune system. I touch so many surfaces that have bacteria on them in and out of the bathroom. I wash hands before eating and shower often. So I dont worry about this one.
Lol always these play things with sand and cats shitting in it and the kids digging up cat s**t. Good for your immune system.
Load More Replies... So off putting to see toothbrushes in charming and decorative holders on the sink next to the commode.
I remember a room mate refusing to do this until I put his toothbrush near the seat. He was quite upset about that but then I asked him: "why are you upset?" and that's when he got my point.
Down!!!!! Never understood why it’s left all the way up in women’s bathrooms.
Everytime I go in a public bathroom and see a toilet lid, I'm grossed out because a) I have to touch it and b) I expect a dirty clogged toilet full of poop. So I appreciate a toilet where I can quickly see that it's clean...
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Better yet! flush after it has made the exit and hit the water WHILE YOU ARE ON THE POT!. It's called a courtesy flush you filthy animal!
The downside is the particles just go all over the inside of the lid. Which some sit against, when you're on the toilet, then go spread it on the back of the couch, the chairs, your car seat, the bed. Guess you can't win
Please, there's so much s*** everywhere anyway it really doesn't matter. If you tested surfaces you'd be shocked. Your phone is probably more disgusting than the toilet. You should close the lid so you don't drop anything in it though.
I thought it was for keeping my cat, dog and child out of the toilet water.
Close it before flushing so luck doesn't go together with "everything"
Noticed one day that if you just put the lid down and then flush…. Seemed kinda obvious after that.
An advert for smelly stuff to counteract the airborne particles was on last night and the toilet seat cover was in the up position I just thought yeah whatever put the cover down before you flush you plonkers
I know this, but "fecal matter" (!) is not a term I wish to include in my vocabulary.
Tests have been done to record the levels of bacteria around a house. The bathroom levels were no higher than elsewhere, so really...............
Hmmm, no... because that doesn't happen. The microscopic fecal matter flying everywhere, I mean. Toilet lids aren't hermetically sealed. Together, the space between the lid and the seat, and the seat and rim of a toilet is about 3/8" to 1/2". Also, those who put toilet lids down before flushing will put them down after flushing once a toilet clogs up and overflows. Usually an overflow can be stopped if caught in time... when you see it start to happen. Something that can't be done if the lid is put down before flushing. Lids are to keep things from falling in the toilet. Most homes have small bathrooms so a vanity is right next to a toilet, and they also tend to use the toilet tank lid as extra counter space.
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.
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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