Superglue, viagra and other things that are not used as originally intended
When a company launches a new product on the market-whether it's a smartphone, a medicine or even a TV channel-it thinks about the needs of consumers and tries to make sure that the novelty satisfies some of their urgent needs. But it also happens that initially not too popular goods become a hit in a new, no one has previously provided for a role.
The MTV channel was originally intended to show music videos – but, as a result, it became an ordinary youth channel, where music takes up much less space than shows and TV series.
The lid of the toilet bowl was designed to close it when flushing and thus prevent microscopic particles of feces from splashing around the toilet. Today, most people use it for aesthetics – to refine the appearance of the toilet in between uses.
Slinky-a toy in the form of a springy spiral-was developed during the Second World War not as a toy at all: flexible wires helped sensitive devices to be securely attached to ships to counteract the effects of pitch, roll and yaw. Also, similar wire structures were used by scouts as flexible and compact antennas, which were easy to throw on the branches of a tree to establish communication.
According to legend, the military construction became a toy by accident. An engineer working with a slinky accidentally knocked one off his desk, saw him moving from the table to a chair, to the floor – and he had the idea to use it for a game as well.
Modern doctors categorically prohibit using ear sticks to clean the ears in order to avoid injury. Therefore, today they are used for a variety of purposes, but not for the ears.
The lower drawers in the oven are traditionally used for storing frying pans – and yet, they were designed so that ready-made dishes do not dry in the oven and at the same time do not have time to cool down before the arrival of guests or home for dinner.
Superglue appeared in the United States during the Vietnam War as a means of first aid – they tightened the edges of the wound, thus stopping the bleeding.
Guns that shoot paint balls were invented for foresters so that they could mark trees-dry or to be cut down-standing still, rather than going around every tree in the forest. Paintball appeared later.
The eggplant emoji was even banned on Instagram at one time, since it originally appeared on the network as an image of a sexual organ. Well, today an eggplant is just an eggplant.
Clothes with a zipper on the back were originally sewn for wheelchair users, since they can put it on without getting up from the stroller.
Ketamine was originally a means of anesthesia for horses. Young people discovered its hallucinogenic properties much later.
The inventor of bubble wrap believed that he had come up with an unusual wallpaper that would certainly become fashionable.
The WD-40 liquid was invented to protect the car from rust and prevent it, which is reflected even in its full name: WD is "Water Displacement," water removal. But later motorists realized that it helps much more effectively to restore mobility to rusted or soured small mechanisms – for example, locks.
Pipe cleaners are used by those who do not smoke pipes to clean anything. At the same time, non-smokers, sometimes, do not even guess about their true purpose.
When bottled beer appeared, the neck was specially given a narrow shape so that it could be held on to, and the drink did not heat up from the heat of the hand. But it seems that modern lovers of drinking from the throat have forgotten about this and usually hold the bottle for the thick part.
Minoxidil was originally developed to treat high blood pressure. But soon patients began to report an unusual growth of hair throughout the body: as it turned out, the drug produces such an effect, because it promotes blood flow to the skin pores. The developers decided to use this property – and now millions of men smear minoxidil on the scalp every day: today it is one of the few clinically proven ways to treat baldness.
Children's modeling dough was developed as a means for cleaning wallpaper.
The glove compartment of the car was originally called a "glove box": it was intended for storing gloves, in which the first motorists preferred to drive a car.
Viagra was originally a drug for the heart.
Botox was invented to treat migraines.
Excel tables are initially not a means for convenient arrangement of numbers and simple calculations, but an environment for data analysis.
Keywords: The world | Things | Interesting