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29 Common Items That Are So Widely Misused You Might Not Even Know Their Original Purpose

Did you know that frisbees were originally just pie containers? Or that Play-Doh was intended to be a wallpaper cleaner? Sometimes, customers find a better use for products than what they were originally marketed as, so companies decide to pivot. But there are also plenty of cases of companies being in denial about what their products are used for, regardless of how many people purchase them for different reasons.

Redditors have recently been discussing some of the most commonly misused items people buy, so we’ve gathered their thoughts down below. Enjoy scrolling through, and be sure to upvote the products you’re guilty of using for different purposes too!

This post may include affiliate links.

#1

29 Common Items That Are So Widely Misused You Might Not Even Know Their Original Purpose Back in the days before digital cameras, 35mm film came in plastic bottles that everyone used to store their weed in.

Dependent-Sign-2407 Report

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#2

29 Common Items That Are So Widely Misused You Might Not Even Know Their Original Purpose Treadmills. Intended for exercise, but globally recognized as the best clothes racks you never knew you needed.

Aggressive-Pin-170 Report

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#3

29 Common Items That Are So Widely Misused You Might Not Even Know Their Original Purpose Ozempic for weight loss which leads to shortages for people with diabetes.

Everyday_ASMR Report

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#4

29 Common Items That Are So Widely Misused You Might Not Even Know Their Original Purpose Flat head screwdriver - scraper, pry bar. chisel, weapon, stake, etc...

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#5

29 Common Items That Are So Widely Misused You Might Not Even Know Their Original Purpose The 'Terms and Conditions' booklet. It's the world's most popular unread bestseller.

Acrobatic-Law-2114 Report

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#6

29 Common Items That Are So Widely Misused You Might Not Even Know Their Original Purpose The drawer beneath your oven. It's for keeping baked goods warm, not for storing pans.

SirKensingtonsSlop Report

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#7

29 Common Items That Are So Widely Misused You Might Not Even Know Their Original Purpose I'll start : QTips/cotton swabs. Everyone puts them in the canal, but the boxes always pretend like they're made for the outside of the ear.

EVERYTHlNG_WAS_TAKEN Report

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#8

29 Common Items That Are So Widely Misused You Might Not Even Know Their Original Purpose Back in the days of the Prohibition, a lot of grape juice was sold with extremely explicit instructions of all the things you'd need to do to ferment it but with the disclaimer of "here's what's illegal to do".

PixelArtDragon Report

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#9

29 Common Items That Are So Widely Misused You Might Not Even Know Their Original Purpose Think Johnny Appleseed was planting apple trees for the health benefits of apples? Nope it was to make cider.

Going way back, farming advances and the cultivation of grains was primarily to make beer, going way back to Mesopotamia.

Skid-Vicious Report

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#10

29 Common Items That Are So Widely Misused You Might Not Even Know Their Original Purpose I caught a friend of mine rubbing one of the antibacterial hand wipes from KFC all over his friends chicken. The little packet said 'a hint of lemon' on it, and he thought that he was meant to flavour the chicken with it...

Fantastic-Sunshine Report

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#11

29 Common Items That Are So Widely Misused You Might Not Even Know Their Original Purpose Cookie dough. We'll keep eating it raw.

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#12

29 Common Items That Are So Widely Misused You Might Not Even Know Their Original Purpose Back massagers.

ArcTan_Pete:

Especially the famous Hitachi Magic Wand for 'relieving sore muscles and back tension'

Telrom_1 Report

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#13

29 Common Items That Are So Widely Misused You Might Not Even Know Their Original Purpose Up until recently, Pedialyte. Marketed as a drink for babies, but was used as a hangover cure. Recently they started marketing to adults however.

bmg_7474 Report

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#14

29 Common Items That Are So Widely Misused You Might Not Even Know Their Original Purpose Hydroponics kit. To help you grow some really big tomatoes, innit.

BigBird2378 Report

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#15

29 Common Items That Are So Widely Misused You Might Not Even Know Their Original Purpose The various items that Hospital ERs have to remove from people’s rectums…

TPS_Data_Scientist Report

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#16

29 Common Items That Are So Widely Misused You Might Not Even Know Their Original Purpose Recently, I found out the existence of fake urine for "experiments" and "pranks."

The real use is to bypass drug tests.

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#17

29 Common Items That Are So Widely Misused You Might Not Even Know Their Original Purpose No one uses Miracle Whip as a salad dressing.

RexBulby Report

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#18

29 Common Items That Are So Widely Misused You Might Not Even Know Their Original Purpose In the UK, sales of nitrous oxide cannisters used for whipping cream have skyrocketed in the past 10 years.

Spoiler: This isn't due to the correlation in popularity of 'The Great British Bake Off', it's due to its disassociative psychoactive effects.

RedditUser3525 Report

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#19

29 Common Items That Are So Widely Misused You Might Not Even Know Their Original Purpose Whoever makes the little tiny ziplock baggies to hold 'buttons' or 'jewellery' in.

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#20

29 Common Items That Are So Widely Misused You Might Not Even Know Their Original Purpose I have a dry herb vape that from the instructions seems to think that people really want to inhale the essence of rosemary or thyme.

CommunicationHot7822 Report

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#21

29 Common Items That Are So Widely Misused You Might Not Even Know Their Original Purpose Cup ramen in the foam containers… they are not supposed to be microwaved and supposedly only recently are they designing a cup that can be.

TheKiwiQueen Report

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#22

Cough medicine containing dextromethorphan (robocough, robotabs). If taken as prescribed, it's a cough suppressant. If taken in much higher dosages, it's a dissociative anesthetic, like pcp or ketamine. Kids and adults have been abusing the stuff for decades. There's a whole subculture around it.

GooniesNeverSayDie11 Report

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#23

Handheld massaging shower heads.

Beholder_V Report

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#24

29 Common Items That Are So Widely Misused You Might Not Even Know Their Original Purpose Kmart "Spice grinders" that for some reason are one of the only products in the kitchen aisle to have anti theft devices on them.

Edit: kmart is still really big in Aus

HelloFoxie Report

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#25

Had a co-worker order an electric water distiller.

I works just as well for making nearly pure alcohol, although it is marketed specifically for distilling water.

Throwaway_Old_Guy Report

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#26

Bobby pins. Groove side faces down towards the scalp to effectively hold the pin in place.

Moon_Jewel90 Report

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#27

29 Common Items That Are So Widely Misused You Might Not Even Know Their Original Purpose Poppers, "leather cleaner, do not inhale or ingest"

beretta_vexee Report

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#28

29 Common Items That Are So Widely Misused You Might Not Even Know Their Original Purpose Not exactly misuse, but I've heard that those thin packets of sugar are supposed to be bent in the middle, not torn from the side.

Sounded bizzare, but it actually works. And leaves you with only a single piece of waste too.

_Weyland_ Report

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#29

29 Common Items That Are So Widely Misused You Might Not Even Know Their Original Purpose Travel neck pillows. I’ve only seen about 5 people wearing them correctly (opening in the back, not the front) and I fly at least three times per week so I see them constantly.

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Mindaugas Balčiauskas

I'm a visual editor at Bored Panda. I kickstart my day with a mug of coffee bigger than my head, ready to tackle Photoshop. I navigate through the digital jungle with finesse, fueled by bamboo breaks and caffeine kicks. When the workday winds down, you might catch me devouring bamboo snacks while binging on the latest TV show, gaming or I could be out in nature, soaking up the tranquility and communing with my inner panda.

I'm a visual editor at Bored Panda. I kickstart my day with a mug of coffee bigger than my head, ready to tackle Photoshop. I navigate through the digital jungle with finesse, fueled by bamboo breaks and caffeine kicks. When the workday winds down, you might catch me devouring bamboo snacks while binging on the latest TV show, gaming or I could be out in nature, soaking up the tranquility and communing with my inner panda.

Adelaide Ross

Howdy, I'm Adelaide! I'm originally from Texas, but after graduating from university with an acting degree, I relocated to sunny Los Angeles for a while. I then got a serious bite from the travel bug and found myself moving to Sweden and England before settling in Lithuania about two years ago. I'm passionate about animal welfare, sustainability and eating delicious food. But as you can see, I cover a wide range of topics including drama, internet trends and hilarious memes. I can easily be won over with a Seinfeld reference, vegan pastry or glass of fresh cold brew. And during my free time, I can usually be seen strolling through a park, playing tennis or baking something tasty.

Howdy, I'm Adelaide! I'm originally from Texas, but after graduating from university with an acting degree, I relocated to sunny Los Angeles for a while. I then got a serious bite from the travel bug and found myself moving to Sweden and England before settling in Lithuania about two years ago. I'm passionate about animal welfare, sustainability and eating delicious food. But as you can see, I cover a wide range of topics including drama, internet trends and hilarious memes. I can easily be won over with a Seinfeld reference, vegan pastry or glass of fresh cold brew. And during my free time, I can usually be seen strolling through a park, playing tennis or baking something tasty.

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