CHANCE, SIMPLE INSPIRATION OR STUBBORNNESS?

Products Created For Other Purposes? Kleenex, Coca-Cola, And 8 More!

Image: Isaac Weatherly

It seems that the inventors listed in this article took to heart the famous phrase of French chemist Antoine Lavoisier "Nothing is lost, nothing is created, everything is transformed". Many of them were working on other things when chance had it that their creations found a different meaning.

Far from just discarding their research, they —or other visionaries later— used these technological advances to develop products we still use to this day. Did you know that the pacemaker, Coca-Cola, and the corkscrew originally had totally different purposes? Keep reading to discover the origin of these and 7 other inventions that came about while we were busy making other plans.

Image: ulleo

Today, the pacemaker saves thousands of lives, but it was originally designed for a whole other purpose. Wilson Greatbatch was a prolific American inventor who held more than 300 patents. In 1956 he was working on an audio recorder that was meant to be placed in the heart to record its sounds. However, as he was building it, he misplaced a resistor. This caused his device to produce a pulse that would sync with the heartbeat instead of recording sounds.

Greatbatch realized that his invention was of little use as a sound recorder, yet it could be used to monitor the rhythm of a sick heart. He presented it to surgeon William Chardack in 1958, who, after testing it on dogs, developed the first pacemaker to be implanted in a human being in 1960.

Image: Kelly Sikkema

Have you noticed how Kleenex has gone from being a brand name to a generic term for any disposable tissue? These super-thin, soft paper rectangles are now a synonym for sniffles and sneezes. Even Oxford included the word in its dictionary! However, that was not what Kimberly-Clark, the company that originally created them, had in mind when it launched them in 1924.

Initially, the company promoted Kleenex as a skincare product, for cleansing makeup. Nevertheless, they soon began to receive letters from customers suggesting another type of application: they could be useful to alleviate the effects of colds and the flu. Finally, in 1930, the tissues were relaunched on the market with the slogan "Don't Carry a Cold in Your Pocket".

Image: Ron Lach

Whether it's to relieve tension or to secure a delicate object during a house move, we've all had bubble wrap in our homes at one time or another. Bubble wrap was invented by engineers Alfred W. Fielding and Marc Chavannes in 1957, but their original idea was very different from the use we give it today. What these two inventors really wanted was to create textured wallpaper.

At that time, wallpaper was very popular and they thought their concept would be a success, although it was far from it. Two years later, Frederick W. Bowers, a salesman promoting the failing bubble wrap, heard that IBM was looking for a way to pack their brand new, huge IBM 1401 computer to ship to their customers. Immediately, Bowers saw his opportunity and bubble wrap became the go-to packaging system for the tech pioneer and all the products to come.

Image: Mishaal Zahed

Nowadays, Listerine is one of the best-selling mouthwashes in the world. However, when the American chemist and doctor Joseph Lawrence, inspired by the research of Sir Joseph Lister, formulated the product in 1879, he did not imagine that it would end up being in the bathrooms of so many households.

Listerine was originally created as a surgical antiseptic and as a cure for gonorrhea. In 1888 an article recommended its application on sweaty feet to treat fungus. In the following years, it was marketed as a cure for colds, an additive for cigarettes, and a remedy for dandruff. It was not until the 1920s that the brand found its niche in the market: the battle against bad breath.

Image: Thirdman

The popular fast-drying adhesive known as Super Glue was invented by American engineer Harry Coover in 1942. Coover was working for the Kodak photographic company and was looking for a plastic material that would be highly translucent. He ended up inventing cyanoacrylate, a very promising compound but not quite adequate for what he needed.

This new material had a surprising property: it was liquid and sticky and, in contact with air, it solidified quickly. Coover perfected his invention for a while, but its first commercial use came several years later, during the Vietnam War: it was used to glue soldiers' bones together when fractures occurred. Eventually, the health authorities banned super glue as a sanitary product, although they did allow its domestic use to repair broken things.

Image: Zahraa Hassan

What is now the world's most famous soft drink was actually born as a substitute for morphine, and was later sold as a cure for various ailments: headaches, nerves, indigestion, and even impotence. Little did its creator suspect that, a century later, his invention would be known worldwide.

John Pemberton, a pharmacist and veteran of the American Civil War, had become addicted to morphine, a drug he took to relieve the pain caused by the wounds he had received. Concerned about his addiction, he started looking for an alternative. Thus, he created an alcoholic beverage infused with coca leaves that he called Pemberton's French Wine Coca. He began selling it in his drugstore for 5 cents a glass. When in 1886 the state of Atlanta passed a law restricting the sale of any alcohol, Pemberton developed Coca-Cola, which was basically a non-alcoholic version of his earlier invention.

Image: StockSnap

Microsoft Solitaire, along with Minesweeper, are considered the two most played games in history. They were installed by default in the Windows operating system, and it is estimated that more than 1 billion people have played them at some time. One might think that these games were intended as a pastime for users, but that was not the case.

Microsoft developed Solitaire and Minesweeper not as video games, but as learning tools. They were created with the sole purpose of teaching users how to operate the mouse. Before Windows, operating systems were based on typed commands. Along with the new OS, the mouse was introduced, and although it may sound bizarre today, at that time few people knew how to use it. These games required continuously moving the mouse all over the screen and doing a lot of precise clicking. So now you know, all those hours you spent playing were actually learning a new skill!

Image: MART PRODUCTION

NASA has given mankind numerous cool inventions, from smoke detectors to running shoes. Perhaps one of the most curious, however, is the cordless vacuum cleaner. And no, they were not invented to clean out the dust from spaceships!

In fact, NASA needed a gadget capable of extracting samples from the surface of the Moon, without the astronauts having to bend down all the time —let's face it, their suits aren't the most flexible. So they contacted Black & Decker engineers, who, after some research, produced a handheld vacuum cleaner that worked without wires. Years later, the company used this same technology to manufacture the DustBuster, the first commercial cordless vacuum cleaner, launched in 1979.

Image: Skitterphoto

What would be of dinner parties without a corkscrew? This small object has become essential to enjoy a good bottle of wine among friends. But in its beginnings, the corkscrew had a very different use than today. Its origins date back to the 17th century and have a military background.

A 1795 patent indicated they were used for extracting bullets that got stuck inside muskets. And also —why not?— to extract bullets from inside a wound, when they were deeply embedded in the bone or the muscle. It was not until the 18th century when cork stoppers began to be used in wine bottles, that the corkscrew acquired the use it has maintained for more than 200 years.

Image: Thirdman

It is well known that nowadays blind people use Braille to read. Yet, this system was inspired by another language created some years earlier. In 1815, French army captain Charles Barbier invented the night language, a written alphabet intended to be read with the fingers, completely in the dark. It was actually developed for spies so that they could read coded messages in the middle of the night without being detected by the enemy.

Years later, after completing his military work, it occurred to Charles Barbier that his Alphabet could be used by the blind. But it was not until 1824 that Louis Braille, a 15-year-old who had lost his sight after a childhood accident, developed the tactile writing system that to this day is used by blind people all around the world.

A LITERARY GIANT

Discover The Life Of R.L. Stevenson, The Ultimate Writer-Adventurer!

Image: kladcat

The sea breeze blowing our hair. The wind pushes the sails towards the sun rising on the horizon. Life as purpose, celebration, challenge, and legacy. The adventure lies ahead every day, and an inescapable villain, ruthless and tenacious, following in our footsteps.

All these qualities that build the spirit of an extraordinary literary character are embodied in one of the greatest adventure writers of all time. Robert Louis Stevenson - The Man Who Lived.

Image: Dylan Chan

If anyone seemed to have his destiny assured, it was Robert Stevenson. Like his grandfather, father, uncles, and cousins, the Stevenson illuminated the world: Three generations of lighthouse builders along the entire coast of Britain. Over 50 buildings since 1791, some of which are still standing, attest to their outstanding work.

And although he did not know it yet, Robert would also light up the world in his unique and marvelous way.

Image: Luke Southern

When he was a child, it became apparent that Robert Stevenson's health was too fragile to follow in the family's footsteps. Like his mother, he suffered from respiratory conditions that later developed into tuberculosis, which plagued him for the rest of his life.

Robert spent extended periods in bed, during which he was cared for by a loving but strict Calvinist nanny. She often told him macabre tales that fed his imagination, both terrifying and captivating him.

Image: martin bennie

As a teenager, Stevenson frequently traveled along the coast of Scotland with his father, a lighthouse engineer. These experiences gave him a deep appreciation for the dramatic landscapes of northern Britain, which would later inspire some of his writing.

But his path was not in engineering, but in literature.

Chased by tuberculosis, he had to emigrate to more favorable climates. But precisely these circumstances led to his first travel books, including "An Inland Voyage", which narrates his journey through France and Belgium, as well as a book about his adventures traveling on the back of a donkey.

Image: Ashim D’Silva

While in France, Stevenson met Fanny Osbourne, an American woman, separated and with two children. They both fell in love, and she left for California to file a divorce. A year later he followed her, although the journey left him bankrupt and almost cost him his life. His experiences were captured in the book "The Amateur Emigrant".

Already married, the couple settled for a time in the American West, where Stevenson wrote stories of travel, adventure, and romance along with essays and poems.

Image: Suhash Villuri

Back in Scotland, the end of a rainy summer forced Stevenson to shelter from the inclement weather, spending his days painting to ease boredom.

Soon, the map of an island began to shape. When it was finished, the painting, with its extremely detailed depiction of bays, beaches, and small docks, intrigued the writer: What did those names suggest? Who had been the unfortunate occupant of "Skeleton Island"?

Trying to discover its meaning, R. L. Stevenson gave rise to his first novel and one of the greatest adventure stories in universal literature - Treasure Island.

Image: gunthersimmermacher

Three years later, Stevenson was trying to create a story about the duality of good and evil in human beings.

One morning, Fanny heard her husband's horrified screams and woke him up from what she believed to be a nightmare. Stevenson angrily scolded her for waking him up from what he called "a sweet tale of terror."

He immediately set to work on a new manuscript, and in just three days, he completed the first version of The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.

The novel, which was a monumental success, predates by decades the studies of personality disorder that Sigmund Freud outlined in his work.

Image: Alonso Reyes

In 1888, Stevenson embarked on a long voyage traversing the South Pacific with his family to escape his persistent illness once again.

They sailed on a schooner and visited several islands, starting from the Marquesas Islands and moving on to Tahiti. From there, they went to Honolulu, where Stevenson became close friends with the king. After that, they reached the Gilbert Islands and ultimately landed in Samoa.

Image: Alfred John Tattersall

After spending some time in Sydney, Stevenson returned to Samoa and settled there permanently with his family.

The locals were very fond of him and gave him the nickname Tusitala, which means "the storyteller" in their language. He was actively involved in defending the rights of the people of Samoa, and he even spoke out against the archipelago's domination in the British press.

Image: Unknown Author

During his years at Vailima, his residence in Samoa, Stevenson's health markedly improved.

He produced some of his greatest masterpieces: "Catriona," "Tales from the South Seas," "Bajamar" (which he co-wrote with his son), and "Saint Ives." Most notably, he embarked on his most ambitious novel, "Weir of Hermiston," which remained unfinished. In this work, he revisited the dramatic landscapes of Scotland and incorporated elements of his own story.

One night, after working on the manuscript with his son Lloyd, he was conversing with his wife when he suddenly exclaimed, "What is this? Does my face look strange?" and then collapsed.

Image: Peter Gill / UK, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

R.L. Stevenson passed away on December 3, 1894, aged just 44. He left behind a monumental body of work for universal literature and the celebration of a life that persevered every day through all adversities.

At his tomb on Mount Vaea overlooking the sea, his poem Requiem guards his grave: ¨Under the wide and starry sky / dig the grave and let me lie / Glad did I live and gladly die / And I laid me down with a will / This be the verse you grave for me / Here he lies where he longed to be / Home is the sailor home from the sea / And the hunter home from the hill.¨