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13 Products That Had Alternate Uses So Strange They'll Make You Scratch Your Head In Confusion

One thing manufacturers have to keep in mind, is that people will almost always use their products for purposes other than intended. Like how some chug cold medication for instance, to battle insomnia. And throughout history, there have been a few.
Gwyn D'Mello Updated on Dec 30, 2018, 10:53 IST

If there's one thing manufacturers have to keep in mind, it's that people will almost always use their products for purposes other than intended. Like how some people chug cold medication for instance, to battle insomnia. And throughout history, there have been a lot of those.

1. Botox was originally used as a mild paralytic to treat crossed eyes and facial muscle spasms. It worked too, but it gained more prominence when treatment providers noticed it alleviated wrinkles too. And thus, one of the most famous cosmetic procedures was born.

2. In around 1945, scientists took a previously naturally occurring mould and weaponised it as a rat poison. It would cause the vermin's blood to stop clotting, resulting in them bleeding to death internally. Eventually, chemists realised they could use the chemical compound in the rodenticide as a therapeutic anticoagulant. That was the start of Warfarin, a now common heart medication.

3. Tissues as we know them today were originally crafted as a sort of replacement for cotton bandages on the battlefield during World War 1. Once the war ended, the manufacturers repackaged the face tissues as makeup removers and sold them to the public. The problem was, women kept complaining their husbands were stealing the tissues to sneeze into them. The companies took notice, and then changed their marketing tactic to that of disposable handkerchiefs.

4. Originally developed as a treatment for morning sickness, Thalidomide actually ended up causing birth defects in thousands of children. Years later however, a cancer research institute discovered that solid tumours need blood flow to grow. Shortly after, they made an additionally discovery that Thalidomide seals off blood vessels. And that's why it's now used as a potential treatment for multiple myeloma.

5. In 1957, two inventors stuck a pair of shower curtains together to form bubbles, while trying to create a textured wallpaper. When that idea failed to sell, they began marketing it as greenhouse insulation, but that tanked too. It wasn't until 1960, when IBM released one of its first personal computers, that one of the inventors realised it would be perfect to protect the device during shipping. Hence bubble wrap.

6. Superglue was discovered accidentally by an engineer trying out different plastic formulas to make gun sights during World War II. He did market it as a bonding agent, but the twist came decades later, when soldiers in the Vietnam war used the compound as a way to quickly seal battle wounds, a use it's retained until date.

7. Back in the 1930s, one man was attempting to create putty-like wallpaper cleaner. It's mains pros was that it was non-toxic, was very effective at gathering dirt, and didn't leave stains of its own. Those are also the reasons it came to be widely used in school arts and crafts, and was later rebranded to Play-Doh

8. Back in the 1880s, a chemist was trying to develop a headache and hangover cure by mixing coca leaves with kola nuts. He eventually added carbonated water to the solution, which at the time was believed to have health benefits, as well as a few other ingredients. Over a century later, you know this drink as Coca-Cola

9.The candy-coated coverings on M&Ms was originally inspired by a method soldiers used to carry chocolate in warm climates without having it melt. Hence the company tagline "Melts in your mouth, not in your hand." Eventually though, the coating became popular in its own right for the little crunch it provides.

10. In the early 1950s, before it gained use as a disinfectant, Lysol was used as a "feminine hygiene" product, and sometimes even as birth control. And if you think about how Lysol can cause inflammations on your skin today, its ingredients prior to the 1950s were a lot more powerful.

11. Ecstasy, the recreational drug common at music festivals, has actually been shown to aid in treating PTSD sufferers. Because it releases serotonin and oxytocin in your brain it causes euphoria. For someone with PTSD though, it allows them to relive traumatic experiences during therapy, without overloading the parts of their brain that trigger fear and stress responses.

12. Liquid Ass is a common prank item in the US, basically just a stink bomb to the max. However, it's proven useful in their military training schools as well, where military medics use it in "decomposed" prop bodies to have soldiers acclimate themselves to the smell of corpses on a battlefield

13. Virtual Reality still hasn't really picked up in the gaming market, but it's being heavily adopted in other fields. For one, it's proven to be a perfect modern substitute for 'Mirror Box' therapy, which is used to treat psychological pain like phantom limb syndrome in amputees.

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