Bubble wrap wasn’t invented just to keep
your items neatly stored inside packages, it was for epic stress relief! Oh, and one other
thing. Apparently someone thought their house would look awesome with 3-dimensional wallpaper.
They were going to plaster painted bubble wrap all over the walls! It didn’t work, so they tried
selling it as greenhouse insulation. That failed too. But they nailed it on the third try! Small
bubbles, big bubbles… hey, what’s your favorite? After downing a whole thing of mac n
cheese, you’ve got to clean your teeth. It’s a rule. Off you go to grab your blue
toothbrush from the bathroom. Up and down, circles, rinse, good job. Now, how about a
bit of mouthwash to keep your breath fresh? That mouthwash you’re reaching for… wasn’t always
mouthwash. It used to be an anti-septic! You know… the type of thing doctors and nurses use to
keep their hands bacteria-free? Mmm, minty! Mouthwash was also used as a floor-cleaner… and
a cure for bad diseases. It was even marketed as a hair tonic! Next time I clean my house
and find myself out of cleaning products, I might just pop a few lid-fulls
of mouthwash into the bucket! Play-doh. Yeah, you love it. I mean,
it does whatever you want it to! Stretch it, sculpt it into a dinosaur, make the
world’s longest blue pasta-type thing… Just don’t chuck it at the walls. Unless!! Yup, Play-doh
was initially supposed to be a wallpaper cleaner, and it wasn’t until 20 years later that
it became the clay we love to squeeze into weird shapes! It was a popular way of
getting all that soot off your wallpaper, everyone was using coal to
heat their houses back then! Rings are big business, people wear them
for loads of different reasons…You even get one when you win a Superbowl! Yippee! Back
in the day though, rings weren’t just for show. Archers used to wear them to protect their
fingers from their bowstrings, and people doing needlework used them to make sure they didn’t
hurt themselves. All while looking extra stylish. Egyptians used them as seals, a personal
ring-signature! You walk into your very nice Egyptian office, thousands of years ago.
Everything’s made of gold for some reason. Your boss walks in: “Sign this please.” And all
you do is place a bit of wax on the paper and press your ring on it! Sweet, great
idea, what if you lose your ring though? Along with play-doh, everyone loves a slinky.
Especially when it’s in a YouTube video with some funky music in the background. They were
actually invented by accident! Back in the 1900s, an engineer was working hard at his desk to find
a way to keep sensitive nautical equipment steady, while the boat was swishing around all over the
place. Instead, he came up with a fantastic toy. Find a treadmill, put a
slinky on it. Thank me later. Don’t know where to store your freshly baked pie?
Place it on a frisbee! If you want the chef to scream at you… In 1871 when Frisbees first came
to be, that’s exactly what they were used for, to serve pies! “Here you go, your strawberry pie
on a frisbee tin.” College students came up with a much better use for them though. Can you do the
thing where you throw it upside down? When you go to bed, you expect your pillow to be as soft as
cotton, or maybe you prefer it a bit stiffer? The first pillows, however, weren’t fluffy-wuffy
soft. They were hard as stone. Because, you know… they were literally made out of stone. They were
designed to lift your head off the ground and stop little critters from crawling all over us.
Ew!! They eventually turned soft, thankfully. I don’t think my neck could handle a stone pillow
right now. I’m sore just thinking about it. If you’re anything like me, aren’t you glad
you’re not? -- you probably can’t walk for even a few seconds in heels without falling over.
I think even standing up might be a problem... Back in the 16th century, Persian soldiers used
high heels to get more accuracy from their bows, while on horseback. It helped
them get that little bit taller! T-shirt, why is it called a T-shirt, come on
people!!! Well, they didn’t use to call them that. These classics used to be standard
issue undershirts for the navy. Back then, about a hundred years ago, the word
T-shirt wasn’t even in the dictionary! Back in ancient Egypt, some people walked around
with eyeshadow. You might think they were really ahead of the game when it came to fashion. That
might be true, but mostly, they put it on to protect their eyes from the glare of the raging
hot desert sun! No aviators back then! It was also used as a part of some ceremonies. We don’t really
know what they were doing or why, but for sure, they looked good! Can’t wait to see someone
skiing down a hill with a face full of eyeshadow! Ok, you’re having memory problems. No worries,
we’ve all been there, where? I forgot. Go to your drawer and grab a stack of…yeah! Those thingy’s,
post-its! Now write yourself a note: “I’m almost out of post-its.” Ooh! Very efficient. They
were invented by accident, by a scientist who was researching different glues. While he was trying
out different mixtures, he discovered a special recipe for a glue that only stuck very lightly
to most surfaces. He was actually trying to do the opposite, find the recipe for the biggest
baddest glue ever! One that could hold up framed paintings! Still, I’d argue that post-its are
probably way better than an adhesive that strong. A Kleenex comes in handy anywhere. Especially
if you just bit into a hotdog and mustard is oozing all over your hands. They weren’t
originally thought to be multipurpose. They were originally invented to be a
cold-cream remover, what a weirdly specific use! Over the years, people started using them
for anything and everything they could think of, especially as a disposable handkerchief. When
their marketing team took notice of this, they rebranded them into what we know
and love, Kleenex Tissues! How generic! You’re trying to blend in and look cool at a
restaurant, and you spill your drink all over the tablecloth. Uh-oh, you were originally going
to order water, but the waitress convinced you to order their new cherry infused something
or other, that’s going to stain like crazy! Well, not to worry! Cellophane was
designed to tackle this exact issue. The idea was to wrap the table cloth with
it, then any and all spills could be wiped clean! It didn’t quite work out, but instead, we
found a great new purpose for it. Storing food, and it does the job perfectly, plus it’s great for
the odd prank now and then! You know what I mean… You know pompons on caps? If you’ve ever wondered
what those are for, they’re just decorative. Still, sailors used to use them a bit
differently. They used them as sort of antennas, the way animals do to sense if an object is
too close to them. Insects have them, cats and other small mammals use their long whiskers
to test if they can squeeze into a tight spot, and humans have pom poms! Thanks
to them, no more bumps on the head! The small square patches on a lot of backpacks
nowadays are mostly decorative. Still, they used to be nice little gadgets for outdoorsy
people. They used to tie extra equipment onto those squares, or use them to tie their muddy
sneakers onto. They might have lost their usage over the years, but they kept their funny name.
You can call them lash tabs, or… pig snouts! A good pair of sunglasses completes
any outfit. They’re not just for show, a lot of professionals rely on
them! Professional drivers, pilots, construction workers… they all use them to
make their jobs safer. About 1,000 years ago, judges used to wear them! Picture this, you’re
in a 12th century trial. Wonder how the judge is going to rule on this one? You try really hard to
guess what the judge is thinking, but you can’t. The judge has sunglasses on! The perfect way to
hide your face while you interrogate someone!
