# Well-known products with entirely different uses today than their original intended use **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [July 17, 2021, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-known-products-with-entirely-different-uses-today-than-their-original-intended-use/946718 "2021-07-17T15:52:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2021, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-known-products-with-entirely-different-uses-today-than-their-original-intended-use/946718/62 "2021-07-23T18:03:17Z")
What a fitting username / post combo! ---
**Author:** ![Ulfreida](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ulfreida/32/8014_2.png) [@Ulfreida](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulfreida)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2021, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-known-products-with-entirely-different-uses-today-than-their-original-intended-use/946718/63 "2021-07-23T18:44:56Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > Without Googling, I thought they were for marking cattle. I doubt this, based on what I know about cattle. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2021, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-known-products-with-entirely-different-uses-today-than-their-original-intended-use/946718/64 "2021-07-23T18:53:23Z")
You would be wrong. > **[Why Are Paintball Guns Called "Markers"? - Paintball Gun Doc](https://paintballgundoc.com/why-paintball-guns-are-called-markers/)** > > Ever wondered why paintball guns are referred to as markers? What is a paintball marker actually? Learn about the origins of paintball markers here! ---
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2021, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-known-products-with-entirely-different-uses-today-than-their-original-intended-use/946718/65 "2021-07-24T00:25:30Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > The guitar was originally a tool used in tuning harpsichords before it became an instrument itself. I find this claim to be specious. The guitar was developed in Spain, and the harpsichord was developed over a similar time period in Italy, Netherlands, France. The guitar was almost certainly used as an instrument in its own right before ever meeting a harpsichord. As a guitarist I cannot see the point in using a guitar to tune any other instrument. I would think that whatever method would be used to tune a guitar in those days would be just as easily applied to directly tune a harpsichord. ---
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2021, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-known-products-with-entirely-different-uses-today-than-their-original-intended-use/946718/66 "2021-07-24T00:27:57Z")
> [@SciFiSam](#): > > [Q-Tips] are still used for cleaning out ears. > > Many sources say you shouldn’t use them for that, but people still do it. They say not to insert them into the ear canal, but it’s OK to swab the outer ear with them. The concern is that if you insert it into the ear canal it’s not hard to slip and hit your eardrum. Obviously lawyers are involved. ---
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2021, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-known-products-with-entirely-different-uses-today-than-their-original-intended-use/946718/67 "2021-07-24T00:30:50Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > Without Googling, I thought they were for marking cattle. Me too, and with Googling I found that both are true (also used to mark trees). ---
**Author:** ![SciFiSam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/47e85d/32.png) [@SciFiSam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SciFiSam)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2021, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-known-products-with-entirely-different-uses-today-than-their-original-intended-use/946718/68 "2021-07-24T00:38:07Z")
> [@CookingWithGas](#): > > They say not to insert them into the ear canal, but it’s OK to swab the outer ear with them. The concern is that if you insert it into the ear canal it’s not hard to slip and hit your eardrum. Obviously lawyers are involved. Yes, and I can understand the concern - it’s not without grounds. But if you have a job that requires using headphones, especially if you also use them in your everyday life, you can end up with pretty blocked ears. I followed the advice to never use cotton buds for a couple of years while in this job, and ended up so blocked that no home remedies helped - ear drops helped, but didn’t solve it all. I couldn’t hear very well at all. I had to pull my ear, like when your ears are blocked on a plane, to be able to hear things clearly. At the GP, they syringed my ears but said my ear canals are oddly shaped, and I’d have to go to the ear nose and throat hospital. That seemed like overkill. I started using cotton buds again, just occasionally when it got really blocked, and the problem went away. ---
**Author:** ![BippityBoppityBoo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bippityboppityboo/32/5745_2.png) [@BippityBoppityBoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BippityBoppityBoo)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2021, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-known-products-with-entirely-different-uses-today-than-their-original-intended-use/946718/69 "2021-07-24T03:33:48Z")
> [@CookingWithGas](#): > > The concern is that if you insert it into the ear canal it’s not hard to slip and hit your eardrum. Obviously lawyers are involved. Or a embarrassing multi-hundred $$$ trip to the doctors to have her fish the earwax soaked swab tip out with a pediatric surgical instrument. Don’t ask me how I know. ---
**Author:** ![lobotomyboy63](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobotomyboy63/32/2900_2.png) [@lobotomyboy63](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lobotomyboy63)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2021, 5:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-known-products-with-entirely-different-uses-today-than-their-original-intended-use/946718/70 "2021-07-24T05:35:31Z")
Ear wax? IANAD but I think if you keep at it with syringes of warm water, always followed by isopropyl alcohol, you’ll probably be ok. My doc doesn’t clean ears any more. I do remember a few years ago when his assistant did mine and although I think she’s a fine nurse, she totally fucked it up. Cold water? I felt like puking and/or passing out. So they now send me to a specialist (seriously? to clean wax? higher copay?). Isopropyl kills whatever might want to cause an ear infection, which I have had and ouch! Short story long I got a syringe like the ones they use for vacuuming baby noses. I repeatedly squirted warm water into my ears and always ended with isopropyl so there was no water left behind, like you would do for swimmer’s ear. The specialist found zero wax in my right ear and only a little in my left. I have narrow canals, so I considered that a victory. ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2021, 6:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-known-products-with-entirely-different-uses-today-than-their-original-intended-use/946718/71 "2021-07-24T06:40:24Z")
> [@BippityBoppityBoo](#): > > Or a embarrassing multi-hundred $$$ trip to the doctors to have her fish the earwax soaked swab tip out with a pediatric surgical instrument. Don’t ask me how I know. I won’t. But my ex-wife is an audiologist, and she looked after my ears pretty well. I’ve always had a problem with earwax, but she took care of it. At any rate, she always said to never use Q-Tips. They have their uses, but cleaning out ears is not among them. Her advice still stands: if you don’t know what you’re doing, then you run the risk of piercing your eardrum, and losing your hearing in that ear. It’s easy enough to look at pictures in books, but I remember when she showed me my own eardrum, via her video otoscope. It looked so fragile! “Is that all that stands between me and being deaf in that ear?” I asked. “That little thin membrane?” “Yes,” she responded. “So don’t go digging in there with pens, pencils, Q-Tips, toothpicks, or any other pointy thing. If you’ve got a problem with earwax, see me, or see your doctor.” Good advice. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2021, 7:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-known-products-with-entirely-different-uses-today-than-their-original-intended-use/946718/72 "2021-07-24T07:15:40Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > Similarly, Alka-Seltzer is supposed to be an antacid and analgesic. (It was apparently once marketed as a cure-all, too) I was surprised to learn that a lot of people see it more as a cure for hangovers. Well, most hangovers come with a headache and an upset stomach, do they not? ---
**Author:** ![BippityBoppityBoo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bippityboppityboo/32/5745_2.png) [@BippityBoppityBoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BippityBoppityBoo)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2021, 7:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-known-products-with-entirely-different-uses-today-than-their-original-intended-use/946718/73 "2021-07-24T07:35:56Z")
> [@Spoons](#): > > Yes,” she responded. “So don’t go digging in there with pens, pencils, Q-Tips, toothpicks, or any other pointy thing Agreed, good advice. I am a reformed sinner. One ear foreign body surgical removal was enough for me. At least my son had a good laugh about it. ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2021, 11:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-known-products-with-entirely-different-uses-today-than-their-original-intended-use/946718/74 "2021-07-24T11:47:44Z")
> [@lobotomyboy63](#): > > Ear wax? IANAD but I think if you keep at it with syringes of warm water, always followed by isopropyl alcohol, you’ll probably be ok. When I was a kid I had a problem with excessive earwax buildup. At one point it got so bad that I was actually having trouble hearing. So my mom took me to an ENT who blasted out my ears with the warm water syringe treatment. After that everything sounded loud as hell. It was like I had super hearing. So I can testify the syringe treatment works! ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2021, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-known-products-with-entirely-different-uses-today-than-their-original-intended-use/946718/75 "2021-07-25T16:18:36Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > Well, most hangovers come with a headache and an upset stomach, do they not? I wouldn’t know, but I haven’t heard of people explicitly using, say, aspirin as a hangover cure. Alka-Seltzer seems to be the go-to product. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2021, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-known-products-with-entirely-different-uses-today-than-their-original-intended-use/946718/76 "2021-07-25T21:11:37Z")
And the non-fizzy ingredient of Alka-Seltzer is what? Angels. I’m stuck here with ruddy angels! ---
**Author:** ![griffin1977](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/977dab/32.png) [@griffin1977](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/griffin1977)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2021, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-known-products-with-entirely-different-uses-today-than-their-original-intended-use/946718/77 "2021-07-25T21:43:00Z")
Having just done a craft project with my daughter, it occurs to me: when was the last time a pipe cleaner (or at least more than a tiny fraction of the pipe cleaners sold in the world) was used to clean a pipe, rather than for a craft project? ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2021, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-known-products-with-entirely-different-uses-today-than-their-original-intended-use/946718/78 "2021-07-25T21:49:21Z")
Given the number of stoners, the number of states with legal weed, and those who don’t care, I’d say “ongoing.” ---
**Author:** ![SciFiSam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/47e85d/32.png) [@SciFiSam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SciFiSam)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2021, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-known-products-with-entirely-different-uses-today-than-their-original-intended-use/946718/79 "2021-07-25T22:51:43Z")
To be clear, I’m not recommending other people use them for cleaning ears, just pointing out that some people still do. I doubt I’m going to have a problem with them now after using them carefully for years, but that’s because I know my own ears. It’s the syringing that doesn’t work for me, unfortunately, neither at home or at the GP. ---
**Author:** ![flurb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/51bf81/32.png) [@flurb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flurb)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2021, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-known-products-with-entirely-different-uses-today-than-their-original-intended-use/946718/80 "2021-07-26T00:28:54Z")
> [@jtur88](#): > > I go thrugh a couple of coat-hangers a year. My TV antenna. Is it still possible to use coat hangers as TV antennae since the switch to digital signals? ---
**Author:** ![glowacks](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/glowacks/32/5548_2.png) [@glowacks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glowacks)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2021, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-known-products-with-entirely-different-uses-today-than-their-original-intended-use/946718/81 "2021-07-26T00:42:34Z")
> [@flurb](#): > > Is it still possible to use coat hangers as TV antennae since the switch to digital signals? The signals are modulated differently, but they’re still electromagnetic waves that will interact with appropriate-length wire with sufficient conductance. So if you have an old TV you’ll need a box that converts what the antenna receives to something the TV will understand, but any antenna will work to pick up the waves. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-known-products-with-entirely-different-uses-today-than-their-original-intended-use/946718.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-known-products-with-entirely-different-uses-today-than-their-original-intended-use/946718.md?page=5)