# Things that you can use in place of other things but not vice versa. **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [November 29, 2009, 4:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-you-can-use-in-place-of-other-things-but-not-vice-versa/519310 "2009-11-29T04:58:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Amber\_in\_Treasury](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/bc79bd/32.png) [@Amber\_in\_Treasury](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amber_in_Treasury)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2009, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-you-can-use-in-place-of-other-things-but-not-vice-versa/519310/21 "2009-11-29T19:23:12Z")
> [@Boyo\_Jim](#): > > it would be a really bad idea to use a balloon as a condom. Ironically enough, that sounds like something a Darwin Award candidate would do. ---
**Author:** ![norinew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/eb9ed0/32.png) [@norinew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/norinew)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2009, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-you-can-use-in-place-of-other-things-but-not-vice-versa/519310/22 "2009-11-29T19:26:54Z")
Well, if all your iced tea glasses are dirty, you can certainly put a cold drink in a good-sized coffee mug. However, I _would not_ recommend putting hot coffee into an iced tea glass! ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2009, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-you-can-use-in-place-of-other-things-but-not-vice-versa/519310/23 "2009-11-29T19:45:26Z")
You can use a book as a doorstop, but you cannot read a doorstop like a book. You can use vinegar to clean glass, but i would not use Windex to make salad dressing. ---
**Author:** ![Harmonious\_Discord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/74df32/32.png) [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2009, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-you-can-use-in-place-of-other-things-but-not-vice-versa/519310/24 "2009-11-29T20:34:00Z")
You can use a large magnet in place of a glass paper weight to hold your papers on a desk top. You can’t use the glass paper weight to stick papers to the fridge door. ---
**Author:** ![BrotherCadfael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@BrotherCadfael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrotherCadfael)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2009, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-you-can-use-in-place-of-other-things-but-not-vice-versa/519310/25 "2009-11-29T21:46:08Z")
[George Carlin]You can prick your finger, but you’d better not finger your prick![/Carlin] ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2009, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-you-can-use-in-place-of-other-things-but-not-vice-versa/519310/26 "2009-11-29T22:36:47Z")
> [@LeeshaJoy](#): > > Ever tried eating soup with a fork? [Unless it has got many vegetables](http://www.rathergood.com/moon_song) ---
**Author:** ![norinew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/eb9ed0/32.png) [@norinew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/norinew)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2009, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-you-can-use-in-place-of-other-things-but-not-vice-versa/519310/27 "2009-11-29T23:58:25Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > [Unless it has got many vegetables](http://www.rathergood.com/moon_song) But can you eat _spongmonkeys_ with a fork? Maybe for them, you need a spork. . . ---
**Author:** ![Green\_Bean](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/green_bean/32/1760_2.png) [@Green\_Bean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Green_Bean)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2009, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-you-can-use-in-place-of-other-things-but-not-vice-versa/519310/28 "2009-11-30T02:31:35Z")
You can stuff your bra with cotton balls, but it would be pretty hard to apply antiseptic to a cut with a pair of falsies. ---
**Author:** ![corkboard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e9bcb4/32.png) [@corkboard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/corkboard)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2009, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-you-can-use-in-place-of-other-things-but-not-vice-versa/519310/29 "2009-11-30T14:47:41Z")
> [@Intergalactic\_Gladiator](#): > > You can use a helmet as a hammer, but I wouldn’t reccomend that you try the opposite. Actually, any tool can be a hammer, but a hammer cannot be any tool. Except, of course, a hammer. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-you-can-use-in-place-of-other-things-but-not-vice-versa/519310.md?page=1)