45 Everyday Things With Surprisingly Dark Histories

Thalidomide was used for nausea in pregnant women through the 1950s. But had a few adverse effects.

BPA was originally used as a treatment for menopausal women. Later chemists found that it was also good as a plastic hardener. It is a hormone disruptor and why it was banned in baby bottles in the US, and pretty much in use at all in other countries. It’s still used in US to line metal food and soda cans and also in water bottles. Heat and acidic foods can cause the BPA to leach out of the plastic.

Not quite everyday, but Charcuterie boards were served at mass during the Spanish I*********n in order to out fake converts (Muslims and Jews don’t eat pork). Deliciously evil history!

Not necessarily "sick and twisted" but the red and white pole outside of barber shops use to be used to identify barbers who could perform bloodletting during the Middle Ages especially through the course of the Black D***h.

V*brators were invented by psychiatrists to help hysterical women. Certainly made them happier.

Sugar, even more than cotton, was the reason for the trans-Atlantic s***e trade.

Bild Lilli which inspired Barbie was a doll based on a German cartoon and originally sold as a gift in adult stores. Eventually it was sold as a kids' toy. The inventor of Barbie came across this doll and Barbie is a redesign of Lilli.

A**l gland secretions from a beaver are a source for “natural raspberry & strawberry flavors”

Shnapps in Sweden flavors its alcoholic beverages with “beaver-derived castoreum”.

I looked thru the thread first but, there's the one about superglue, it was invented to seal gaping wounds during vietnam.

Cheetos were originally cow food.

Glyphosate (Round Up) was initially patented as a commercial descaling agent for pipes and water heaters. We now spray it on our food and in our yards.

Bayer Aspirin

They were a part of the German chemical conglomerate known as IG Farben and we all know how Germany loves chemicals during the first two World Wars.

IBM was responsible for calculating devices that would aid the N**i's in the orderly cataloging and m****r of Jewish people. So, while the computer itself wasn't a product of an IBM/N**i collaboration, the money earned before and during the Final Solution definitely went on to fund IBM's foray into personal computing.

Not terribly sick, more “what in the name of OSHA violations is this?”

the slinky was invented because a guy working in a metal shop saw some spring-shaped metal scraps and said “ah yes, free toys for my kids, this is perfectly safe.”.

Don't know if this qualifies as an everyday item, but Japanese Genmaicha tea is said to have gotten it's name from some poor servant who accidentally dropped rice in the emperors tea. The emperor supposedly k****d him in anger, then drank the tea and, liking the flavor, named it in Genmai's honor.

Ketchup was invented to cover the taste of rotting meat prior to refrigeration.

Not that sick and twisted but homework was originally created as punishment for bad kids.

Not exactly sick/twisted, but tampons were originally developed as bandages for soldiers

Not an "everyday" item, but the Gatling Gun was invented by a doctor

Edit: I should have said "kotex and/or disposable pads".

Tipping in restaurants.

Tipping came about because of all of the freed sl*ves working steward kinda jobs on the railroads and in restaurants, and they didn’t want to pay them. So, they made the workers rely on tips only.

You see how many restaurants in the South still have a reduced minimum wage of like $2 an hour or some borderline wage s***e amount.

Parmesan cheese is made with the inside of a d**d calf's stomach.