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!
#1
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.
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565points
#2
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.
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433points
#4
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!
383points
#6
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, look over here" as people walk by- great for people who believe in ghosts!
* 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
* 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
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294points
#7
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!
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292points
#8
"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?
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286points
#9
Hair conditioner works best as shaving foam than some brands of shaving foam.
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283points
#10
Listerine was used as a surgical antiseptic when it was first invented and now it's a mouth wash.
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266points
#11
Newspapers are really good for cleaning windows.
264points
#12
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.
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258points
#13
Pipe cleaners, meant for cleaning tobacco pipes. More often used in a million craft projects.
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252points
#14
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
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228points
#15
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!
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214points
#16
Two things. Duct tape and baling twine.
Add wd40 in the mix and you can fix almost everything.
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205points
#17
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? :-/
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192points
#18
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
191points
#19
Toothbrushes for cleaning bikes and cars (not the whole car, just little corners).
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184points
#20
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.
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172points