10 common items that are still not being used correctly by everyone around the world

Commonly misused items

In the world of consumer goods, we can often observe how certain items tend to be used by people in a very different state from their intended use. Despite this deviation, manufacturers turn a blind eye, allowing these alternative uses to flourish. It makes practical sense on the manufacturer's part because addressing such use cases would mean an entire overhaul of their product and possibly a loss in sales. When u/EVERYTHING_WAS_TAKEN asked the community, "What is an item that everyone misuses but the makers pretend they don't know?" people shared different opinions on the same. Here are 10 of the most interesting answers that people had to offer.

1. Fake urine 

Recently, I found out the existence of fake urine for "experiments" and "pranks." The real use is to bypass drug tests. u/anima99. I bought this once, like 15 years ago. The guy at the shop (like an alt store with a headshop/s*x toys section) was having the time of his life, giving me a long speech about the ins and outs of watersports/urineplay before letting me buy it. He knew. I've never felt so trolled in my life. Passed the test though. u/Cat_Peach_Pits

2. Fermenting instructions for grape juice

Back in the days of prohibition, a lot of grape juice was sold with extremely explicit instructions of all the things you'd need to do to ferment it but with the disclaimer of, "Here's what's illegal to do." u/PixelArtDragon. It sounds like anti-money laundering training. Here's exactly how to launder money. Now don't do it. u/atwally. Warning: Under no circumstances should you introduce yeast to this product and let it sit loosely covered in a cool area for up to seven days! A dangerous, intoxicating poison will be produced that could have negative effects on the balance and coordination of anyone who accidentally ingests the concoction! u/Tabernerus

3. People being addicted to nitrous oxide in the UK 

In the UK, sales of nitrous oxide canisters used for whipping cream have skyrocketed in the past 10 years. Spoiler: This isn't due to the correlation in popularity of 'The Great British Bake Off', it's due to its disassociative psychoactive effects. u/RedditUser3525. Companies started adding a bitter flavor additive to the inside of duster cans to try to make it miserable for whoever tries to huff it. They didn’t really make it known they were doing this. There’s only a teeny tiny small warning on the label of the additive - which no one would notice. A friend of a friend did this and didn’t notice the new warning. Instead of realizing the company did it on purpose, he thought his can was defective and continued trying many cans before concluding that the cans were “going bad” and no one was doing anything about it. No idea if he ever figured it out. u/CatmoCatmo

4. Kitchen scales for small measurements

Kitchen scales. I bought one on Amazon that had poor reviews because you couldn’t measure out portions of a gram. My stupid a** asked my husband why the hell someone would care if the measurement of their flour was 1/10 of a gram off. He just stared at me until I got it, lol. u/Elegant-Pressure-290. Hey, I want to know my coffee is down to the 1/10th of a gram when I'm making my weekend pour-over! u/A_Generic_Canadian

5. Marketed for babies but used for hangovers 

Up until recently, Pedialyte. Marketed as a drink for babies but was used as a hangover cure. Recently, they started marketing to adults, however. u/bmg_7474. I think it's been used as a drink for dehydrated adults (either hungover or ill) more than it has been used for infants. u/AthasDuneWalker. Infants are notorious for having very little money to spend on Pedialyte or anything else for that matter. u/kyledwray

6. Duct tape not being used on ducts 

I've used Duct Tape on everything BUT a duct. Not to be confused with Duck Tape, which would probably work OK on a duck if you catch the little b*******. u/CLE-Mosh. I was doing a small repair on my parents' dryer exhaust. My mom was so confused as to why I was being specific in saying, "I need duct tape. It should look and feel like tinfoil. If you buy duct tape, you gonna burn the house down. D U C T tape." I was being a little dramatic. Good times. u/Wessssss21

7. Citric acid given by chemists 

Citric Acid sold by Chemists for "Home-made Lemonade." u/UKS1977. I have a huge tub of citric acid (and gelatin) because I was convinced I was going to make a bunch of sour gummy candy. That explains how it was somehow cheaper to get several pounds of it. u/Popular_Emu1723. It really does make some foods tastier. I like all the food acids: citric, ascorbic, malic, acetic, etc. Rinse your mouth with water and don't immediately brush your teeth, since they do attack your enamel a bit. u/trainbrain27

8. Electric water distiller 

Had a co-worker order an electric water distiller. It works just as well for making nearly pure alcohol, although it is marketed specifically for distilling water. u/Throwaway_Old_Guy. I didn't even know this was a thing. I actually use a lot of distilled water for the CPAP machines in my house and we just buy a few gallons every few weeks. This would save me money in the long run and be used for the "right" reason, LOL. u/derrabe80

9. Hydroponics kits

Hydroponics kit. To help you grow some really big tomatoes, innit. u/BigBird2378. What annoys me about this is that hydroponics is a valid means of growing vegetables, but you immediately become suspect if you buy the supplies. It's like the house that was raided by the cops due to unusual heat emanating from one bedroom. Turned out that it was due to the owner's huge tropical aquariums. IIRC, the cops never had to pay to replace the front door. I mean, it's so important folks don't grow their own weed that "your home is your castle" is only an expression. I was sorely tempted to breed Cannabis with undivided leaves so the narcs couldn't identify it! (Wasn't worth the trouble to me, as I've never had any interest in smoking pot. u/BF_2

10. Cough syrup 

Cough medicine containing dextromethorphan (robocough, robotabs). If taken as prescribed, it's a cough suppressant. If taken in much higher dosages, it's a dissociative anesthetic, like PCP or ketamine. Kids and adults have been abusing the stuff for decades. There's a whole subculture around it. u/GooniesNeverSayDie11. I don’t abuse it per se, but when I am truly sick, I purposefully take a little too much of it. u/aashstrich