Here Are 13 Super Common Items That Were Invented For Deeply Disturbing Reasons
Like many things throughout history, everyday items (that, let's face it, are probably in your home right now) often have dark and disturbing backstories. Oftentimes, these objects were invented to solve problems — perhaps healing injuries on the battlefield or aiding communities after natural disasters — but on the flip side, many inventions were used for nefarious purposes, such as prison torture or even deadly medical procedures...
Simply put, everything is not what it seems when it comes to the inspiration behind some of history's most recognizable inventions. So, without further ado, here are 13 common items that were invented for surprisingly unsettling reasons:
1.High heels:
Believe it or not, this uncomfortable fashion staple was actually invented for war. The first recorded account of people wearing high heels was by male warriors sometime between the 15th and 16th centuries in Persia (present-day Iran). Like modern cowboys — who still wear boots with a slight heel — these Medieval soldiers used the heel of their shoe to "lock" into stirrups while riding horseback. As exhibition curator Elizabeth Semmelhack told the BBC in 2013, "The high heel was worn for centuries throughout the Near East as a form of riding footwear. When the soldier stood up in his stirrups, the heel helped him to secure his stance so that he could shoot his bow and arrow more effectively."
The global spread of high-heeled fashion began in 1599 after Persia's Shah Abbas I—who possessed the largest cavalry in the world—sent diplomats to courts in Russia, Spain, and Germany to form alliances with European rulers in the hopes that these countries would help him defeat his greatest enemy, the Ottoman Empire.
At the time, a wave of interest in Persian culture washed over most of Europe. So when Abbas's diplomats arrived, their interesting footwear became the hottest new look, as heels were increasingly seen as the most masculine shoes for aristocratic men.
Although Catherine de Medici was reported to wear high heels at her wedding in 1533, it wasn't until the 1630s that heels became associated with women's footwear. Stemmelhack explained, "In the 1630s, you had women cutting their hair, adding epaulets to their outfits. They would smoke pipes; they would wear hats that were very masculine. And this is why women adopted the heel — it was in an effort to masculinize their outfits."
2.Treadmills:
Variations of the treadmill have existed since the first century — mainly to lift heavy loads or grind grain — but the now-common gym equipment had a particularly nefarious use when it was "reinvented" in the 1800s.
In 1817, engineer William Cubitt observed prisoners sitting idly in their cells and believed that his new invention, the "treadmill," would “reform offenders by teaching them habits of industry."
Thus, treadmills were known as "penal treadmills" and became one of the various harsh punishments inmates endured in 19th-century prisons. These antique treadmills more closely resembled large wheels rather than the flat treadmills we are accustomed to today. They were also fitted with steps and built to be large enough that several prisoners could be simultaneously punished. As author and academic Vybarr Cregan-Reid explained, the penal treadmill was deemed “the perfect punishment” even though it was “literally pointless” and designed only to “grind air."
These treadmills physically destroyed prisoners' physical health, as it was reported that many walked for upwards of six hours per day. In one 10-hour day, Warwick Gaol prisoners walked over 17,000 vertical feet. Acclaimed author Oscar Wilde worked the treadmill during his hard labor imprisonment from 1895 to 1897; many believe that this punishment hastened his early demise.
The Prisons Act of 1898 banned the use of these cruel devices in the prison system.
3.WD-40:
The multi-use product WD-40 was actually invented for one reason: to keep rust from corroding the Atlas Missile (the United States' first intercontinental ballistic missile).
In 1953, four employees at the Rocket Chemical Company in San Diego began experimenting with a chemical compound to prevent rust and corrosion from damaging America's first ICBM. After 40 attempts at finding the correct formula for water displacement, the product was deemed perfect (water displacement plus the 40 attempts to create the product earned it the name "WD-40").
After the product was ready, the aircraft manufacturer Convair began using it on the Atlas Missile. As with all companies, some of Convair's employees began sneaking cans of WD-40 home with them, which inspired Rocket Chemical Company founder Norm Larsen to develop a way to put the solvent into aerosol cans. His experiment was successful, and by 1958, WD-40 was available on store shelves, where it has remained ever since.
4.Kleenex:
Although Kleenexes are now symbolic of cold and flu season, they were first intended for something far worse than a seasonal bug. During the First World War, the Kimberly-Clark company developed the cellu-cotton tissues for gas mask filters. Soldiers and medics later discovered that the tissues made a great cotton substitute for dressing wounds on the battlefield.
However, by 1924, Kleenex's war days were far behind them, and Kimberly-Clark began advertising the tissues as a “marvelous new way to remove cold cream," thus cementing their cosmetic status.
5.Bicycles:
On April 5, 1815, Mount Tambora — a little-known Indonesian volcano — began rumbling to life and continuously erupted over the next week in what is still considered the largest and most destructive volcano eruption in history. The disaster immediately killed 10,000 people and would kill over 100,000 more individuals due to shortages in the following years. The eruption spewed roughly 175 cubic kilometers of volcanic ash into the atmosphere, which is why the following year was deemed the "year without a summer."
The volcanic debris unleashed into the atmosphere caused drastic changes to the climate worldwide. In July 1816, snow fell in both America and Europe. Europe also dealt with eerie rain clouds throughout the entire summer. This disastrous change in climate led to famine, as crops could not grow in the frigid summer temperatures. The famine led to soaring food prices, causing families to struggle to feed themselves, let alone a horse.
This is where German aristocrat and inventor Baron Karl von Drais enters the story. Drais lived in the southwest region of Germany, which was deeply impacted by the Mt. Tambora eruption.
Seeing that his fellow Germans were suffering, Drais invented a rider-propelled machine so people wouldn't have to rely on horses and livestock to travel or farm. This machine moved by having a rider scoot themselves around using only the force of their legs (similar to a Flintstone car). The device was patented as a “running machine" and soon became popular in Europe.
Four decades later, gears and pedals were added to the "running machine," transforming it into the modern bicycle shape.
6.Roller coasters:
Known as “Father of the American Rollercoaster," LaMarcus Adna Thompson — a devout Christian and inventor — was not on a mission to save America from boring amusement park rides, but rather from...Satan.
In 1884, Thompson took his displeasure with America's increasingly hedonistic culture to new heights (pun fully intended) by inventing and patenting the "Switchback Gravity Railway." He was inspired to create the "Railway" after visiting Mauch Chunk, a coal camp in Pennsylvania, and witnessing people riding on the coal carts for amusement. Thompson believed that the excitement of riding a roller coaster would provide a substitute for those looking for entertainment in more "unsavory" locations, such as brothels and saloons. In 1827, the Railway was constructed and became the first roller coaster at Coney Island.
However, this Coney Island coaster wasn't exactly what we would deem a "roller coaster" today. These coaster cars were gravity-powered and maxed out at a speed of six miles per hour. Unlike modern coasters, they also faced outward instead of forward, so riders could enjoy a scene that was built to mimic global landscapes, such as Venetian canals and the Swiss Alps — more "It's a Small World," less "Expedition Everest."
7.Metal detectors:
Scientists first theorized the idea of a device used to detect metal during the California Gold Rush of the mid-19th century. However, the metal detector remained an idea until President James Garfield's assassination in 1881.
Alexander Graham Bell — who invented the telephone — was also the inventor of the first metal detector in recorded history. On July 2, 1881, President Garfield was shot in the back by Charles Guiteau while walking through the Baltimore and Potomac Railroad Station in Washington, D.C. However, Garfield did not immediately die but instead was taken back home to the White House, where numerous attempts were made to save his life. One such attempt was that of Bell's metal detector.
At the time of the assassination, Bell was working at a lab in Washington D.C. and heard through the newspaper that Garfield's physician, Dr. Willard Bliss, was attempting to extract the soon-fatal bullet from the President's body by probing inside of the wound. Garfield was appalled by this primeval method and set out to finish his metal detecting device, which he had first gotten the inspiration for during his time experimenting with the telephone.
Furiously working alongside his assistant, William Teeter, Bell completed his rudimentary metal detector in a few days. He experimented with his new device on wooden boards that had bullets in them, animal carcasses, and even Civil War veterans who had retained shrapnel from decades before.
On July 26, Bell made his first attempt at saving the President's life by scanning the metal detector over his body. However, a new condenser that he had added to the machine caused an inconclusive scan, which led the inventor back to the drawing board.
Bell returned to the White House six days later with his new and improved metal detector. However, this time, Dr. Bliss interfered with the scan of the President's body, insisting that the bullet was located on the right side of his torso. Bell proceeded with his scan before discovering that Garfield was lying on a bed with metal springs, therefore rendering his metal detector unable to get a clear reading.
(It didn't help matters that Dr. Bliss was, indeed, incorrect as it was discovered during the President's autopsy that the bullet was lodged in the left side of his chest). After a long and painful struggle, Garfield finally succumbed to his gunshot wound on September 19, 1881.
8.Pillows:
The phrase, "Sleep tight, don't let the bedbugs bite," wasn't commonly used until the 1800s; however it was still the sentiment behind the ancient creation of pillows.
The earliest known usage of pillows occurred in Mesopotamia around 7,000 BCE. However, unlike today's pillows, ancient pillows weren't intended to be comfortable, as they were often made of stone. Rather, they were created to keep insects from climbing into people's noses, mouths, and ears while they slept on the ground. Pillows later became associated with mummification as more comfortable pillows were placed under the heads of the deceased. At the time, it was believed that heads contained the sacred essence of life and required the utmost respect.
Later, the Ancient Greeks and Romans focused on making pillows that improved comfort while sleeping. Although only the upper class owned pillows, all classes were allowed to use them for various methods of physical support.
9.Coca-Cola:
In the late 1800s, former Confederate colonel John Pemberton began experimenting with a drink that would serve as an alternative to morphine. The inventor had developed a crippling addiction to the narcotic as a result of an injury sustained in battle. By 1885, he patented Pemberton's French Wine Cola nerve tonic — which was inspired by a French coca wine known as Vin Mariani — at his drugstore, Pemberton's Eagle Drug and Chemical House in Columbus, Georgia.
However, the following year, both Atlanta and Fulton County, Georgia, passed prohibition legislation, leading Pemberton to develop a non-alcoholic alternative to his wine tonic. Thus, Coca-Cola was born. It was then marketed as ‘Coca-Cola: The temperance drink’ in an effort to appeal to America's burgeoning temperance movement.
10.Super glue:
During World War II, Dr. Harry Coover was part of a research team experimenting with cyanoacrylates. This research was intended to discover a way to create clear plastic for precision gunsights on the battlefield.
However, the scientists soon discovered that the cyanoacrylates were extremely sticky, making them difficult to work with. Moisture caused the chemicals to polymerize, and since virtually everything contains moisture of some sort, the idea of using cyanoacrylates in battle was abandoned.
Six years after World War II ended, Coover was transferred to the Eastman-Kodak lab in Kingsport, Tennessee, to oversee chemists researching heat-resistant polymers for airplane canopies. Coover once again began experimenting with cyanoacrylate monomers and discovered that the adhesive was unique because it required no heat or pressure to bond one object to another. Both Coover and the Eastman-Kodak company knew they had come up with a useful new idea and soon patented the adhesive, which became known as "Superglue."
Despite not being used in World War II, the sticky substance never fully avoided war. During the Vietnam War, it was discovered that cyanoacrylate (aka Superglue) could be used as a quick treatment to seal battle wounds until soldiers could be transported to medical facilities. It proved so beneficial that the FDA eventually approved the adhesive for certain stateside medical uses, including rejoining veins and arteries, sealing ulcers, stopping uncontrolled bleeding, and dental surgery.
11.Chainsaws:
The chainsaw, often the weapon of choice for many horror movie villains, had its own horrific origins. According to the 1785 medical guide Principles Of Midwifery, Or Puerperal Medicine, the original chainsaw — invented by Scottish physicians John Aitken and James Jeffrey — was designed to be a “flexible saw… contrived to be used when there is ossification [ostructive bone]." The guide illustrated the tool in the context of a pelviotomy; however, it was also used for various other joint-related surgeries.
By 1830, German doctor Bernard Heine invented a variation of this crude, flexible saw that became known as the osteotome. It was then that the chainsaw became associated with childbirth. When a baby became stuck in the birth canal, doctors would use a chainsaw to cut away the pelvic bone to allow the baby to pass through. However, it was only used in worst-case scenarios when the parent was already dying and the baby had a chance at survival.
Despite being considered a breakthrough, the chainsaw (thankfully) fell out of favor as less painful and more sanitary medical practices became available. The chainsaw as we know it today became popular in the early 20th century to help workers in the logging industry.
12.Graham crackers:
Dr. Sylvester Graham was fascinated by sex...and not in the way you might think. Graham — a 19th-century Presbyterian minister — believed that “carnal desire” was causing Americans' ill health.
To curb these sexual thoughts and urges, the devout Christian believed that one should partake in the blandest diet possible, as he himself did. Graham's own vegetarian diet helped popularize the movement in America; however, not only was he vegetarian, but he also advocated that individuals should not eat foods with sugar, spice, chemicals, or processed flour.
He firmly believed that "pleasuring oneself" was even worse than having sex with another person; it “inflames the brain more than natural arousal” and amounts to “self-abuse," he proclaimed. Graham believed that eating the foods banned by his strict temperance diet (coffee, meat, spices, etc.) “stimulated” sexual urges.
As author, Adam D. Shpintzen wrote, “He was on a strong anti-masturbation crusade. He said, ‘If you’re eating meat, you’re acting like an animal, and you should avoid those types of primal instincts — like the urge to have sex.'"
In an effort to curb America's "sinful" urges, Graham set out to invent the blandest food ever — the graham cracker. Now, if you're thinking, "Wait, what? Graham crackers are delicious!"...you would be correct about modern-day graham crackers — but Graham's self-titled crackers were baked with finely ground, unbleached wheat flour, wheat bran, coarsely ground germ, and absolutely no sugar.
Shpintzen noted, “It [the first graham cracker] was stale-tasting and harsh to chew. It would be hard on our modern palate. It was partly a response to the rise of industrial baking, which he thought was a less healthy form of bread."
13.Cornflakes:
Believe it or not, cornflakes were also invented by man who believed that both sex and masturbation were evil. Inventor John Harvey Kellogg was firmly against anything of a sexual nature, believing that it damaged both a person's mind and body. Despite being married to Ella Eaton for over four decades, the couple never consummated their marriage nor slept in the same bedroom.
Kellogg once wrote, “If illicit commerce of the sexes is a heinous sin, self-pollution is a crime doubly abominable." In his book Plain Facts for Old and Young: Embracing the Natural History and Hygiene of Organic Life, the inventor firmly asserted that self-pleasure caused a whole host of ailments, including mood swings, epilepsy, palpitations, and, gasp...a fondness for spicy foods.
However, the invention of this morning meal was actually one of his less gruesome beliefs concerning the prevention of masturbation. One theory he had previously proposed was that women should endure the “application of pure carbolic acid to the clitoris” to prevent “abnormal excitement.”
So, Kellogg set off on a quest to invent the perfect anti-sex food, which just so happened to be cornflakes. He commercially marketed the cereal as the “healthy, ready-to-eat anti-masturbatory morning meal.”
By 1906, John sold the cereal rights to his brother W.K. Kellogg, who copyrighted the name and began mass-producing the breakfast staple — although the company no longer claimed that the flakes curtailed sexual urges.
Which one of these facts surprised you the most? Do you know of any other everyday items invented for dark or disturbing purposes? Let us know in the comments!
