20 Products That Have A Better Use Than Its Intended Function
Did you know that you can use a little bit of toothpaste on your car to erase the yellowing of your lights? There are so many products built for one reason but that can do more than its intended purpose. You may have heard about Coca-Cola being medicinal or Viagra originally being a blood-pressure lowering drug ironically enough. While designers or creators may have intended the purpose of their product to be one thing, it may have a totally different use which you may be aware of.
Redditors when called to answer what such products they had knowledge of, were quick to respond with a list of everyday items which they used otherwise and if you have any similar experiences with a product, be sure to share it in the comments.
More info: Reddit | Mental Floss | Bellette
#1
Image source: SwingGirlAtHeart, Bradley Gordon
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!
#2
Image source: Naweezy, Mike Mozart
Listerine was used as a surgical antiseptic when it was first invented and now it’s a mouth wash.
#3
Image source: hazelnutdarkroast, 2ezyo
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.
#4
Image source: kelephon19, Ellen Davis
Silly String is used by soldiers to detect tripwires.
#5
Image source: Myhandsunclean, Eric E Castro
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.
#6
Image source: Pancake_Nom, Nicolas J Leclercq
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
#7
Image source: siliconalleymarketer, Helena Volkova
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!
#8
Hair conditioner works best as shaving foam than some brands of shaving foam.
Image source: ItsACaragor
#9
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.
Image source: Jackpot777
#10
Mayonaise. Its amazing for removing stubborn stcky residues. Use it a lot in my job.
Image source: anon
#11
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
Image source: CottonCandyTacos
#12
Clear nail polish works so well to fix small holes or seal things.
Edit: like the small hole in my giant popsicle floatie
Image source: steveofthejungle
#13
My grandma keeps a special pair of scissors for when we’re eating pizza.
I have admired that stroke of brilliance my entire life.
Image source: Phyndah
#14
Avon Skin so Soft works as an amazing bug repellant. We go camping fairly regularly and always take a bottle!
Image source: chickensundae
#15
I never once used baby oil on my baby… but I use it to remove eye makeup whenever I wear eye makeup.
Image source: metubialman, Toiletries & Cosmetics Wholesaler
#16
Image source: Gloworm02, Carol VanHook
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.
#17
Apparently, coca cola has some amazing cleaning purposes. Lime stains, water rings, oil stains in the driveway, just google or youtube it.
Image source: Jean_Lily
#18
Image source: anon, Brainstorm Innovations
Toothbrushes for cleaning bikes and cars (not the whole car, just little corners).
#19
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.
Image source: putsch80
#20
Image source: nebuchadn3zzar, cottonbro studio
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.
Got wisdom to pour?