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.

Image credits: hazelnutdarkroast

#2

Newspapers are really good for cleaning windows.

Image credits: fresh_scents

#3

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.

Image credits: anon

#4

Viagra WAS intended to help treat high blood pressure

Image credits: ItsAllAboot

#5

Silly String is used by soldiers to detect tripwires.

Image credits: kelephon19

#6

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.

Image credits: Myhandsunclean

#7

Pipe cleaners, meant for cleaning tobacco pipes. More often used in a million craft projects.

Image credits: StovardBule

#8

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!

Image credits: siliconalleymarketer

#9

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

Image credits: Pancake_Nom

#10

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!

Image credits: SwingGirlAtHeart

#11

Neoprene. Apparently it was originally used as a lining for industrial waste but obviously now makes a good wetsuit (and has many other industrial uses).

Image credits: notenoughtimetoride

#12

Toothbrushes for cleaning bikes and cars (not the whole car, just little corners).

Image credits: anon

#13

Listerine was used as a surgical antiseptic when it was first invented and now it’s a mouth wash.

Image credits: Naweezy

#14

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!

Image credits: dkcs

#15

Tube guitar amps. They were never intended to produce distortion, but a whole genre of music was born by “misusing” them!

Image credits: DaveCanada

#16

I use default web browsers to download Firefox/Chrome.

#17

Originally, gasoline was a by product of making kerosene. Dunno if it counts but by products don’t usually have an intended use.

Image credits: YddishMcSquidish

#18

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

Image credits: Naweezy

#19

Barbie doll’s legs. They served as a great scratcher for my itchy leg when I had a cast on it. The arch of her foot was perfect.

#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.

#21

Condoms are awesome.

They are used to cover gun barrels, cook meatloaf, waterproof phone covers, ice packs, and everything in between.

If you ever need a cheap, waterproof container that can be used for many different things, use a condom.

Image credits: nebuchadn3zzar

#22

Safety pins, originally designed to fasten cloth baby diapers now used in a million other ways.

Edit: I’m a little surprised no one mentioned separating eyelashes after applying mascara, popping blisters, removing splinters, and protesting the President.

Also I once knew a goth girl who lined her backpack with them so ppl would respect her personal space in the hallway. Worked for her apparently and as far as I know she didn’t get in trouble.

Image credits: Gloworm02

#23

My grandma keeps a special pair of scissors for when we’re eating pizza.

I have admired that stroke of brilliance my entire life.

#24

Until they ripped out the “Other OS” option, PS3s were AWESOME at doing tasks requiring many computers all working on a single project, like drug research.

My guess is that Sony took that option out when they were seeing thousands of PS3s purchased (which they take a loss on) with no games (where they make the real profit) bought with them.

#25

Apparently, coca cola has some amazing cleaning purposes. Lime stains, water rings, oil stains in the driveway, just google or youtube it.

#26

Hair conditioner works best as shaving foam than some brands of shaving foam.

#27

Vinegar: not just used to put on your hot chips
Bicarbonate of soda: not just used for cooking

Have a blocked sink? If you can, remove the drain cover, pour in some bicarb and then follow with white vinegar. It fizzzes and causes a reaction that helps loosen the blockage. Throw some hot water down the drain. Repeat if necessary. Soooooo much cheaper than a plumber.

Create a paste of bicarb and water. Use it to scrub stubborn stains off your stove top.

Grab an empty spray bottle. Put I cup of white vinegar and one cup of liquid dish washing detergent. Wet the shower screen, spray the mix on and leet it sit for about 10 mins. Grab a light scouring pad and starting at the top, scrub (lightly) the glass. You might need to be a bit heavier on the bottom of the glass. Rinse off and voila! Clean clean glass! Also good on the oven doors too! Actually…any glass.

#28

Paint can opener. I’m a cable technician, and I find myself outdoors in all manor of conditions. I keep a paint can opener in my vehicle to get mud, dog c**p, and rocks out of the treads of my boots. Way better than the stick that breaks. Now, I keep one in my personal vehicle for when we take the dogs out to the park.

Edit: I’m aware there are dozens of flat objects to open paint cans, but the thread was about better alternative uses for objects, and a paint can opener fits the bill. Also, props to those who added that the tool makes a great free bottle opener.

#29

I’m going to say kerosene as it relates to glass cutting. Kerosene is a freaking energy dense fuel, which is why we use it to put s**t in space. But damn when you dip your glass cutting tool in it before scoring a pane, freaking magic happens.

#30

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

#31

Mayonaise. Its amazing for removing stubborn stcky residues. Use it a lot in my job.

#32

A whole slew of medications.

My daily medication is an anti-seizure medication. Works like s**t as an anti-seizure medication, but works **fantastically** as an anti-psychotic.

Image credits: BoneYardBetty

#33

Remember the red ring of death and overheating issues with the 360?

Well when I was a kid my dad was a penny pincher and wouldn’t turn the heat on in winter until HE decided if it was cold. So I used my Xbox 360 as a heater for my room.

EDIT: Phone auto corrected to penny puncher instead of penny pincher lol.

#34

Two things. Duct tape and baling twine.

Add wd40 in the mix and you can fix almost everything.

#35

Sealable sandwich bags (Ziploc design, not the foldover ones) are great waterproof bags for phones. Reddit in the shower. Sure, that’s it. “Reddit.”

On an unrelated note, buy shares in sandwich bag companies.

#36

Bondage tape and rope. I own both, and have maybe used the bondage tape once for it’s actual function, and never the rope for it’s actual function. I have however used both for quick home fixes, packing, and for a few other odd house-hold jobs. Bondage tape is great for ice packs! It cannot stick to your skin, so if you’re hairy, like me, you can just wrap it. The tape was one of the best purchases I’ve ever made.

#37

Bananas can be shoved in holes in pipes to prevent leaking

#38

Silly Putty is great to clean your car. All the little crumbs and dust that sink into the console creases and door lock controls. Just press and pick it up, fold putty, repeat.

#39

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? :-/

#40

My martini shaker is great for cooling down ice coffee in a hurry.

#41

Not ‘better’, but medical tape is great for getting a straight line with eyeliner and eyeshadow. Not many people will use medical tape in their day to day life, but this tape pulls off to leave perfect lines without pulling off foundation.

Image credits: anon

#42

Frying pans are a much better solution to making instant noodles than saucepans, even though there’s no frying involved. Just break the dried noodles in half, throw in a little bit of water (you need less than you think, but you can always top up because the extra will heat up super quickly; enough to just about cover the bottom of the pan usually does it), and then sprinkle the flavour powder over the top.

The flavouring coats the noodles evenly, and once the water is absorbed the noodles are done. No mess, no fuss, no draining. If you want to chop up spring onions or whatever, go nuts; if you like to fry some chicken to go with it, you can just put the noodles and water in the same pan and get that delicious crispy meat goodness in with it.

#43

Coffee filters. Not necessarily a better use but so many other uses than just filtering coffee.

#44

My cell phone works better as a way to browse reddit than it does a phone.

Image credits: Naweezy

#45

Clear nail polish works so well to fix small holes or seal things.

Edit: like the small hole in my giant popsicle floatie

#46

Reddit for market research.

#47

Probably ever clear. It’s supposed to be consumed, but is a fantastic cleaner

#48

Pedialyte for hangovers

Image credits: Besoffen55

#49

“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?

Image credits: Naweezy

#50

This is more of a “less known intended use”, but taking anti-histamine pills (the ones you get for seasonal allergies) makes mosquito bites stop itching.

If you go to a doctor for itching mosquito bites he’ll usually prescribe you a gel or cream with the same or similar ingredients – but if you’re a mosquito magnet like me and you get absolutely *covered* in them it’s much quicker, easier, and safer to just take a tiny Claritin pill. Twenty minutes later and all the itching is gone.

If you explicitly ask your doctor for pills instead of gel/cream, he’ll give it to you.

—-

EDIT: There seem to be two frequent misconceptions in the responses to my comment.

1) I am not talking about Claritin-D, which contains both loratadine (an anti-histamine) and pseudoephedrine (a decongestant). Pseudoephedrine, as a medication, is no laughing matter, plus it is a controlled substance. I am talking about standard Claritin or Clarinase, which contains only loratadine or desloratadine. Also, I may not have made it clear enough when I said “if you ask your doctor”, but you should never start taking any kind of medication regularly, even loratadine, without consulting a doctor.

2) Yes, I am aware that mosquito bites are a histaminic reaction and that is why taking allergy pills for it will work. That knowledge is in fact what led me to try it in the first place. But allergy pills are generally only marketed and prescribed for seasonal allergies; you never see Claritin advertising about mosquito bites, and it’s not in the package insert. That’s what makes this not the intended function. Also, reread the first nine words of this comment.

#51

Pennies are far more useful for checking your tire treads and making souvenirs at the zoo than being used as currency.

#52

I never once used baby oil on my baby… but I use it to remove eye makeup whenever I wear eye makeup.

#53

That little plastic stand for the Wii U controller is great for a cellphone stand.

#54

Those dotted ‘bathroom cleaning’ wipes. Absolute s**t for soap scum, feckin’ godly at cleaning grease off your range

#55

Use our selfie stick to hold phone while netflixin’ in bed.

#56

smartphones.

already this morning, i’ve texted 3 people, checked the weather forecast, watched sports highlights, read my email, checked work schedule and (obviously) gone on reddit.

if it rings, pretty good chance i won’t answer. but i still call it “my phone.”

EDIT: my point is that maybe we should call them something different than smartPHONES — perhaps pocket computers, or handheld facebook thingy –since the *phone* part of a smartphone is oftentimes its least-used feature.

#57

Avon Skin so Soft works as an amazing bug repellant. We go camping fairly regularly and always take a bottle!

#58

You can use your trusty old frying pan as a *drying pan!!!*

#59

Hair dryers if you need your shirt dry in a hurry.

#60

The Daily Mail is excellent for house training puppies.

#61

Slotted spoon (spaghetti scoops)

I bought a really good quality one to use as a back scratcher

#62

tvs are great babysitters

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