# 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:** 14\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2021, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-known-products-with-entirely-different-uses-today-than-their-original-intended-use/946718/82 "2021-07-26T00:50:55Z")
> [@erysichthon](#): > > An Avon representative I knew many years ago gave me a long, much-photocopied list of _even more_ uses for SSS. Apparently it is a miraculous substance that can do anything (the only one I remember is “removing sticker residue”). Did the list mention water displacement? 😃 ---
**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 26, 2021, 2:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-known-products-with-entirely-different-uses-today-than-their-original-intended-use/946718/83 "2021-07-26T02:25:32Z")
> [@dropzone](#): > > And the non-fizzy ingredient of Alka-Seltzer is what? Aspirin and bicarbonate of soda. ---
**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 26, 2021, 3:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-known-products-with-entirely-different-uses-today-than-their-original-intended-use/946718/84 "2021-07-26T03:14:10Z")
> [@griffin1977](#): > > 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? Well, as a pipe smoker, I regularly use pipe cleaners to clean my pipes. My pipe cleaners may be part of that tiny fraction you mentioned, but at least some pipe cleaners are still being used for cleaning pipes. ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2021, 4:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-known-products-with-entirely-different-uses-today-than-their-original-intended-use/946718/85 "2021-07-26T04:36:04Z")
Some time back, I went to a store (I forget which one) to get some pipe cleaners. I needed to clean a tube out. The only ones I could find were decorative ones meant for arts and crafts. They were worthless for actually cleaning anything. ---
**Author:** ![mordecaiB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mordecaib/32/7725_2.png) [@mordecaiB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mordecaiB)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2021, 7:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-known-products-with-entirely-different-uses-today-than-their-original-intended-use/946718/86 "2021-07-26T07:32:20Z")
> [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](#): > > Avon Skin So Soft was intended as a bath oil, but nowadays it’s often used as an insect repellent. I first remember reading about this in a memoirs of Vietnam vets, mostly Special Forces, thirty years ago. > [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > And then doctors learned about [Reye Syndrome](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reye_syndrome) I still refer to them as baby aspirin. > [@echoreply](#): > > Lysol was originally a contraceptive douche. I remember seeing ads for this on a website many years ago. It still makes me wince and I’m not even a woman. ---
**Author:** ![WildaBeast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wildabeast/32/6_2.png) [@WildaBeast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WildaBeast)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2021, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-known-products-with-entirely-different-uses-today-than-their-original-intended-use/946718/87 "2021-07-26T21:26:42Z")
> [@glowacks](#): > > but any antenna will work to pick up the waves. Most new TV antennas nowadays are marketed as “digital” or “HD” antennas, which is complete bull crap, and merely an attempt to trick people into thinking they need to buy a new antenna. As you said, an old pair of rabbit ears from 40 years ago, or a coat hanger, will work just fine. ---
**Author:** ![asterion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/4da419/32.png) [@asterion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asterion)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2021, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-known-products-with-entirely-different-uses-today-than-their-original-intended-use/946718/88 "2021-07-26T23:54:59Z")
> [@panache45](#): > > The mouse that came with my Mac - the Apple Mouse 2 - is totally unusable as a mouse, but makes a great doorstop. Similarly, the mouse that came with the original iMac was a terrible mouse but made a passable street hockey puck if you cut the cord off. ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2021, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-known-products-with-entirely-different-uses-today-than-their-original-intended-use/946718/89 "2021-07-27T01:23:18Z")
> [@erysichthon](#): > > Vicks Vaporub is widely used for foot ailments, such as toenail fungus and athlete’s foot. Apparently some crime scene techs/cops etc. dab it under their noses, or used to, to block the smell of corpses at crime scenes. > [@mbh](#): > > Bag Balm is used for the same purpose, but in a different species, than originally intended. Likewise [Mane 'n Tail](https://manentail.com/about/). ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2021, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-known-products-with-entirely-different-uses-today-than-their-original-intended-use/946718/90 "2021-07-27T01:38:21Z")
Almost any cardboard carton can be reused as a cat receptacle. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Winston\_OBoogie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.winston_oboogie/32/2945_2.png) [@Dr.Winston\_OBoogie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Winston_OBoogie)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2021, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-known-products-with-entirely-different-uses-today-than-their-original-intended-use/946718/91 "2021-07-27T01:39:06Z")
> [@mbh](#): > > I have met a few paramedics who swear that tampons work better than the dressings officially made for the purpose. My son, the wrestler, used them to stop nosebleeds. ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2021, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-known-products-with-entirely-different-uses-today-than-their-original-intended-use/946718/92 "2021-07-27T02:48:10Z")
I’ve seen both tampons and condoms being used as makeshift lab equipment for liquid containment. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2021, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-known-products-with-entirely-different-uses-today-than-their-original-intended-use/946718/93 "2021-07-27T03:00:40Z")
> [@Kimstu](#): > > I’ve seen both tampons and condoms being used as makeshift lab equipment for liquid containmen To quote David Bromberg, you’ve got to suffer if you want to sing the blues. ---
**Author:** ![Asuka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@Asuka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asuka)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2021, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-known-products-with-entirely-different-uses-today-than-their-original-intended-use/946718/94 "2021-08-02T20:09:32Z")
A bunch of different companies make “Gun Swabs” which are basically giant Q tips which match the bore diameter of the gun you want to clean. The cotton on them though is much more tightly wound, you rarely get any flaking off which is why I assume they’re safe to use. ---
**Author:** ![Reeses\_Monkey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/reeses_monkey/32/2885_2.png) [@Reeses\_Monkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reeses_Monkey)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2021, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-known-products-with-entirely-different-uses-today-than-their-original-intended-use/946718/95 "2021-08-02T23:39:24Z")
If you ask the younger clerks where to find pipe cleaners, they won’t know what you’re talking about. The hip, trendy new name is “chenille stems.” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-known-products-with-entirely-different-uses-today-than-their-original-intended-use/946718.md?page=4)