Nov 25, 2018
Image: The frisbee - clipartpanda.com
Many of the products we use every day have been around for generations. Coca-Cola, Frisbee, Play-Doh, Silly Putty: These names are so ingrained in our culture that they’ve become synonymous with the purpose for which they’re used according to definition.org. Frisbee isn’t just a flying disk; it’s a sport. And there are certain parts of the U.S. where “coke” actually just means any kind of soda. But did you know that some of our most-used products started as something else entirely? There are many things on the market today that, if their inventors saw the way we currently use them, they’d be quite confused. These iconic product origins are fascinating, and, in some respects, quite bizarre.
1. Bubble Wrap
In 1957, engineer Al Fielding and Swiss inventor Marc Chavannes set out to make a textured wallpaper — you know, because it was the 50s, and why not? They thought they had a good one when they sealed two shower curtains together, creating air pockets in the middle, but it was a huge failure on the market. So after years of being pretty unpopular as a greenhouse insulator, it began its true purpose: keeping IBM 1401 computer parts safe in transit.
(Imagine, though, that alternate universe where it did succeed, and you could pop your walls when you’re feeling stressed out.)
2. Coca-Cola
Coke is so mainstream now that the word is synonymous with soda in general in some parts of the U.S. Originally, though, it was not created as a beverage, but rather a treatment to help people with morphine addictions. Originally called Pemberton’s French Wine Coca, the now-famous soda contained cocoa leaf extract — the same thing that makes cocaine. Its market later expanded, and it was claimed to relieve exhaustion, stress, anxiety, and headaches. All traces of cocaine were removed from the drink in 1903, but it remained just as popular.
3. Chocolate Chip Cookies
This cookie, arguably the most famous cookie on Earth, was actually a complete accident. In 1930, Kenneth and Ruth Wakefield ran a place in Massachusetts called the Toll House Inn. (Sound familiar?) One night, while Ruth was trying to make a batch of chocolate butter drop do cookies (an old colonial recipe) for her guests, she discovered that she was out of baker’s chocolate. An experienced baker with the confidence to improvise, she simply chopped up a block of Nestlé chocolate and threw that in there instead, expecting it to behave as baking chocolate would and disperse throughout the cookie. It did not, and guests loved the result. The Wakefields published the recipe in newspapers, and after it was featured on the Betty Crocker radio show, the rest was history.
4. The Slinky
In 1942, engineer Richard James was trying to come up with a way to keep naval equipment steady on especially rough seas. Several failed prototypes in, he accidentally knocked one of them off a shelf and watched it walk —or slink— right across his desk and onto the floor. He saw the potential and took it home for further development. It was his wife, Betty, who came up with the name Slinky. She found it in the dictionary, with the definition “sleek and graceful.” The toy was a hit, with the first shipment in a Philadelphia Gimbel’s selling out within 90 minutes.
5. Viagra
The little blue pill wasn’t always associated with sex. Viagra was originally meant to lower blood pressure; marketing changed when a peculiar side effect was discovered in its test subjects, however. As you can imagine, it ended up becoming far more popular than anybody developing it ever expected. And, as a special bonus, a 2007 study done by the British Heart Foundation confirmed that it does, in fact, increase the amount of blood sent to the heart and lungs. (So it’s not just effective in that one special area…) There you go, guys: Viagra is good for your health!
6. 7 Up
Yet another popular soda once used as a drug, 7 Up used to contain lithium. Yes, that’s right, we’re talking lithium like in batteries, but it’s also a well-known treatment for bipolar disorder. The name 7 Up was decided upon because 7 is the atomic mass of lithium, and “up” conveyed the idea that it would lift your mood. The soft drink was marketed as a mood stabilizer until 1950, after which the lithium was removed and it became just another lemon-lime soda.
7. Propecia
Propecia, originally called Proscar, was supposed to treat enlargement of the prostate, but after it was discovered that it worked to cure male-pattern baldness, the product was renamed and remarketed. (Because what’s more important here, guys? Your prostate, or those luxurious, silky locks?) Good news for men who do use it: It still works to prevent prostate enlargement, and puts you at lower risk for prostate cancer! Talk about killing two birds with one stone.
8. Rogaine
What do Viagra and Rogaine have in common? Rogaine also started as a blood pressure medication! Originally called Lonitel, the drug was undergoing clinical trials in 1988 when those taking it experienced a strange (and, in some cases, unwanted) side effect: They were growing more hair. Everywhere. The developers saw that they couldn’t overcome this side effect, but also saw its potential. With a little bit of tweaking, they launched the popular hair growth product as we know it today. Buyer beware: It still lowers blood pressure, and has been known to cause fainting episodes for some users who already have average to low blood pressure.
9. The Frisbee
First baked in 1871, Frisbie pies were an American classic. They came in a stable, slightly raised trademark tin and were sold across the country for decades. Then, in the 40s, students at Yale University discovered a second use for them: Throwing them at each other. It was a popular game on campus to launch the tins as far as one could, and then yell “FRISBIE” as they were about to hit someone. In 1948, the first plastic copycat, the flying saucer, was sold, becoming popular because it flew for longer and with more accuracy. Eventually Wham-O, the company behind the hula-hoop, picked up the idea and named their product the Frisbee, purposefully misspelling the name to keep the brand but avoid copyright infringement. They marketed frisbee-playing as a new sport, which worked quite well and evolved into the game we know on college campuses today.
10. The Chainsaw
Chainsaws were invented around 1830, by German Bernhard Heine, as a solution for cutting bones in surgery. Don’t worry: They weren’t like the chainsaws you’re thinking of, the giant ones used to cut down trees. Those didn’t come around until about 1905, and they were never used in surgery (at least not by reputable surgeons). These were actually smaller, handheld devices which worked via a hand-operated crank to make the angled teeth saw through the bone…
Actually, now that we think about it, that sounds so much more painful. A slow-mo bone cutter? Ouch. No thanks.
11. Play-Doh
Play-Doh was released in 1956 as reusable modeling clay for children, but it was once marketed towards their mothers, instead. Cleo and Noah McVicker, after telling a company that they had a way to clean coal residue from wallpaper, had to actually come up with an idea quick. They developed the original putty in 1933, made from a combination of flour, water, and salt. You rolled it across your walls, and it picked up all the dirt and grime. However, in the 50s, new vinyl wallpaper proved easy to clean with soap and water, unlike its paper predecessor. With sales falling, a new use had to be discovered.
A handy tip for moms, though: If your kids have old Play-Doh that they’ve mixed together so many times that it’s no longer a recognizable color, it should still be able to serve its original purpose.
12. The Modern Pad
During WWI, a small company called Kotex created and marketed a new material called Cellucotton. The product, which was soft like cotton, was far more absorbent, and was used for wadding for war wounds in army medical tents. (The name Kotex came from “cotton texture.”) The female nurses, however, found another highly convenient use for the material, and out of this, the modern sanitary napkin — or pad — was born. After the war ended, Kotex followed the nurses’ lead, buying up the military’s surplus cellucotton and making it into pads. Women everywhere were (and are) very grateful for this discovery.
13. The Sun Lamp
Another World War I invention: The ultraviolet sun lamps we now see used in tanning beds used to be more of a health necessity than a health hazard. Malnourishment of children in WWI, especially in Germany, often caused rickets, a deficiency in which bones become soft and deformed. A Berlin doctor, noticing his patients were all also very pale, decided to place them under a UV light to see if there was any correlation. There was, and the UV lamp worked to strengthen the children’s bones because their bodies began absorbing the Vitamin D. It became common practice after that to put sun lamps in the rooms of babies and small children to make sure they did not develop the crippling disease.
14. Silly Putty
They say necessity is the mother of invention, but one wonders if war really is. During the rubber shortage of WWII, engineer James Wright (along with scores of others) was looking to make a synthetic rubber substance, and accidentally created one that was too stretchy to be of any good. The government deemed the project a failure, but businessman Peter Hodgson saw its potential as a toy, and that’s where we got Silly Putty. Bonus fun fact: It comes packaged in eggs because Hodgson first sold it to the public at Easter time! (Nothing says Easter like a weird, squishy, stretchy substance in an egg-shaped container, right?)
15. Superglue
One more war story: Superglue was invented during WWII as well, when Dr. Harry Coover was trying to make a sturdy plastic material to be used for gunsights. He quickly found that the material he had discovered stuck to absolutely everything, so of course it wouldn’t work for gunsights. Later, in 1951, Dr. Coover was trying to find something that would bind polymers and be resistant to jet fuels. Fred Joyner rediscovered superglue, and this time Coover saw its potential. It even got its day in war, when it was used in Vietnam to keep war wounds shut until men could be hospitalized. We bet you never knew that superglue saved lives!
16. Lysol
You know Lysol, right? The chemical you use to clean your floor and your bathroom surfaces? Well, back in the good ol’ 1950s, the same Lysol we know and love (actually a stronger version because, you know, it was the 50s) was marketed to women as … drumroll please … a feminine cleanser.
That’s right, women were encouraged to use Lysol to clean “down there.” The ads claimed that their husbands were disinterested in them because of “one common issue” that they could fix with the cleansing power of Lysol. These ads also implied that it could be used as a contraceptive, back in the days when it was illegal to purchase such things. The company assured women that it was gentle, which was obviously untrue. Not only did it not work (obviously), but many women suffered chemical burns, bleeding, and even died. Women’s rights and gender equality are a constant battle, of course, but at least it’s not like THAT anymore.
17. Listerine
If you want a product that has a history as a real cure-all, look no further then Listerine. Listerine was invented in 1879 as a surgical antiseptic, and since then has been marketed as a floor cleaner; a cure for gonorrhea; a treatment for corns on the feet; a solution for foot odor; a fix for dandruff; and finally as a mouthwash, beginning in 1914.
There are better surgical antiseptics out there now, and you definitely should not try to use Listerine to treat any STDs, but it can still cure foot odor, clean floors, and get rid of dandruff. The more you know!
18. The Post-It Note
In 1968, Spencer Silver was working for 3M. While trying to create strong adhesives for the aerospace industry, he accidentally invented the weak, reusable adhesive that we now use for Post-it notes. Upon discovering his easily removable, pressure-sensitive adhesive, he tried to find a good use for it, but to no avail. Arthur Fry, another employee for the same company, came along and tried to help him. They had the idea for a bulletin board covered in the stuff, to stick papers to, but realized it would be rather hard to sell such a board on a large scale. Fry ultimately found the proper use when he used it to stick his church hymnal papers together. He realized that their bulletin board idea had been perfect, just backwards, and Post-its were born.
19. YouTube
YouTube is easily the biggest video platform in the world today, and has become an industry in and of itself, but did you know that it was meant to be a dating site? Their original slogan was “Tune in, hook up!” People were supposed to share videos of themselves as a sort of dating “pitch” to others. At one point early on, they were so desperate for people to post videos that they took out a Craigslist ad offering $20 to anyone who would make one. Eventually, they realized what they were overlooking, and just started uploading random videos. Popularity soared after that, and the rest is history.
20. Gunpowder
In the earliest days of society, around 700 or 800 AD, Chinese alchemists were working hard to find the elixir for eternal life. (We’re still waiting on that one, guys.) They created gunpowder instead (so, kind of the opposite). For a while, they didn’t know what to do with it. They tried to use it as a skincare solution. (Go figure on how they thought that would work.) Eventually, they realized that it exploded when set aflame, so it was used to create the first-ever fireworks, and later was used for warfare.
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