18 Everyday Items With Sick & Twisted Origin Stories You Probably Didn't Know

4.3k votes 565 voters

List Rules

Vote up the products and objects with the most surprising backstories.

"What everyday item has a sick and twisted origin story?"

Over on Reddit, people are sharing the dark and twisted history of everyday objects, and some of the responses are a little appalling. Did you know the dark uses of a charcuterie board? Or how decaf coffee came into being? The answers might shock you.

Photo: Bill Bradford / Flickr / CC BY 2.0
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496 VOTES
The Many Purposes Of Lysol
From Redditor u/SidAndFinancy:

Lysol was [once] marketed as a feminine hygiene product.

From Redditor u/MistahFrodo:

Did a brief search on this, and "feminine hygiene" was apparently a euphemism for birth control when it was illegal to use birth control. It was marketed as safe and gentle, even though it was much stronger than the Lysol we use today. The Lysol was corrosive to sperm, but at the same time, it damaged tissue inside of women and caused many deaths.
Photo: Texas Chainsaw Massacre / Bryanston Distributing Company
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597 VOTES
Chainsaws Were Invented To Help With Childbirth
From Redditor u/Environmental-Fix-71:

The chainsaw was originally introduced to help during childbirth.

From Business Insider:

Two doctors invented the chainsaw in 1780 to make the removal of pelvic bone easier and less time-consuming during childbirth. It was powered by a hand crank and looked like a modern-day kitchen knife with little teeth on a chain that wound in an oval.
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503 VOTES
The Speculum Was Tested On Women Without Their Consent
From Redditor u/beerandbuds:

The modern speculum was created by a man named J. Marion Sims, who performed invasive experimental surgeries on enslaved women without anaesthesia.
Photo: Wikimedia Commons / Wikimedia Commons
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377 VOTES
Treadmills Were Designed As Torture Device
From Redditor u/GoGoWolf:

The treadmill was once used as a way to punish prisoners. Some apparently died from exhaustion from running on it for hours on end.

From Redditor u/Various-Article8859:

Yes it was. It was a massive cylinder-type thing that lots of people would have to constantly walk on.
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344 VOTES
An Ingredient In Plastic Was Once Used To Treat Menopause
From Redditor u/Environmental-Car481:

Bisphenol A (BPA) was originally used as a treatment for menopausal women. Later, chemists found that it was also good as a plastic hardener. It is a hormone disruptor ... it was banned in baby bottles in the US, and pretty much [banned] in use at all in other countries.
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347 VOTES
Protective Seals On Medications Are Due To A Madman
From Redditor u/throwingplaydoh:

The protective seal on over-the-counter medications were a result of a round of murders caused by cyanide-laced Tylenol in the '80s.

The Many Purposes Of Lysol

Chainsaws Were Invented To Help With Childbirth

The Speculum Was Tested On Women Without Their Consent

Treadmills Were Designed As Torture Device

An Ingredient In Plastic Was Once Used To Treat Menopause

Protective Seals On Medications Are Due To A Madman