There are many products in our world, some more useful than others! But did you know that some common household names weren’t always used for what we do now? Here are ten products that ended up being used for something other than their original purpose!

Related: 10 Victorian Invention We Just Can’t Do Without

10 Play-Doh

Everybody recognizes Play-Doh—the fun, moldable clay-like substance! But did you know Play-Doh wasn’t always meant to be a children’s toy? Play-Doh’s inventor, Joseph McVicker, had initially created Play-Doh in about 1930 as a wallpaper cleaner!

It was created in Cincinnati, Ohio, and you would use it by rolling it against a wall to remove built-up soot. By the late ’40s, vinyl-based wallpaper had reduced McVicker’s business to moderate success. Later, a friend of his, who happened to be a teacher, told him about her students having difficulties with the clay they were using. McVicker had the great idea to give them his wallpaper cleaner, which could be molded much easier. By 1955, this wallpaper cleaner had become “play-dough” after he supplied it to other Cincinnati schools, becoming what we all know today as Play-Doh.^[1]

9 Post-it Notes

Post-it notes have come to the aid of millions of people, whether for school teachers, students, businessmen and women, and so much more. These small sticky notes have reminded us to do our chores, go to work, and that the test is on the 15th. But these notes have quite an interesting backstory.

In 1968, a U.S. scientist working at 3M was attempting to develop a super-strong adhesive. The scientist was Dr. Spence Silver, and what he created instead was…a pressure-sensitive, weak adhesive. It garnered the nickname “unglue” for its useless practicality. However, in 1974, a colleague of Dr. Silver’s and another 3M scientist, Art Fry, found a use for it in his Hymn book! Art found his bookmarks unreliable and annoying, for they would frequently fly out of his book when he was done reading it. When Art applied the adhesive to a piece of paper and stuck it to his book, he found a solution to his problem! The adhesive and paper combo would stick well to his book, and when he was done using it, he could take it right off without any damage.

After this discovery, in 1977, 3M tried to sell it under the name “Press ‘N Peel’ with underwhelming results. A year later, however, they changed the name to “Post-its” and were met with great success! Can you imagine a world without these tiny, handy things?^[2]

8 Bubble Wrap

Bubble wrap, one of the most useful packaging products there is, and an even more useful noise machine! But there’s more to bubble wrap than just meets the eye. Let’s get popping because it was originally wallpaper!

Two engineers working at Sealed Air Corporation, Alfred W. Fielding and Marc Chavannes, attempted to make it big with their new invention in 1957. What was it, you ask? Well, it was a textured wallpaper! This interesting idea was created by pushing two shower curtains with bubbles spread across them and sealing them together. Unfortunately for Fielding and Chavannes, their wallpaper idea didn’t do them any good. They searched for alternative uses, and by 1959, they found some luck.

The tech company IBM announced their new computer, and Sealed Air Corp proposed using bubble-wrap as a packaging material to protect the computer. IBM approved, and soon enough, bubble wrap was used for packaging things worldwide—computers, phones, microwaves. They all came in this amazing packaging^[3]

7 Super Glue

Super Glue doesn’t play around when you want to stick two things together. Super Glue is the go-to when you want the job done with its incredible adhesive power and quick-dry. But can you believe Super Glue wasn’t always supposed to be a super glue? In fact, it was almost something other than super glue twice!

During World War II, Dr. Harry Wesley Coover attempted to create clear, plastic gun sights for the allied armies to use. While searching for materials for his project, Coover and his research team came across a substance called cyanoacrylate, an extremely sticky compound he deemed perfect for holding the gun sights. The problem with it was that the cyanoacrylate would stick to anything it came in contact with, nearly destroying the project. So Coover searched elsewhere for materials.

However, in 1951, Coover came across the substance again! At Eastman Kodak, he rediscovered this sticky substance when assisting a team attempting to create heat-resistant polymers for jet engines. This time, however, an assistant of Coover’s, Fred Joyner, put the adhesive to use when he used it to glue two prisms together. To both of their amazement, the prisms stuck together almost instantly without any problems. Eastman Kodak began production of the adhesive and set it up for sale. The name “Super Glue” comes from when Eastman Kodak licensed the cyanoacrylate to the company Loctite, which sold it under the name “Super-Bonder.”

Besides being the product to use when needing a strong bond, Super Glue was also used in the Vietnam war to seal American soldiers’ battle wounds on the field. When injured, the main focus was to stop the bleeding, so the soldiers could be brought to the medic before they bled out. Super Glue almost instantly sealed the wounds and saved countless lives.^[4]

6 The Treadmill

The treadmill, one of the most popular pieces of exercise equipment! It gets your cardio game up and your heart pumping. But did you know it was not always meant to help you lose weight?

The first known treadmills originated in the Roman Empire, where they were used as a winch in their ancient cranes. Here, the treadmill was a “tread wheel” of sorts, where men would walk inside the wheel to lift double their weight. The treadmill evolved in the 1800s, when farmers, needing a more reliable energy source for their stationary machines, found that if they put horses on the treadmills, they could produce much more energy than wind and water. The power needed to power the machines became known as “Horse Power.”

Our next iteration of the treadmill brings us to 1818 Great Britain, where engineer William Cubitt created a prison treadmill (or penal treadmill). These treadmills were used by putting prisoners on them and having the mills grind corn, occasionally being used for punishment only. The Prison Act of 1889 ended these treadmills, though, as hard labor was abolished in the prisons. At last, in the 1960s, Bill Staub and Dr. Kenneth Cooper brought to fruition the first home exercise treadmill, which is where it has comfortably stayed for the most part. The treadmill has had hundreds of years of innovation and history—just be grateful it’s in your home and not in a prison!^[5]

5 WD-40

WD-40 is most commonly used as a maintenance product, usually as a lubricant of sorts, but for the most part, it’s a multi-use substance! WD-40 wasn’t always this multi-use wonder it was today, though.

In 1953, the three-person staff of Rocket Chemical Company decided to look into creating a rust-preventing, slick chemical to use in the aerospace industry. In San Diego, California, the staff members tried multiple times to get the results they wanted. It took them 40 times to perfect their Water Displacement substance. That’s right, WD-40 is an acronym, which stands for Water Displacement, 40th attempt.

WD-40 was first used by Convair to cover the outer shell of the Atlas missile, surprising so many Convair employees with its good results that they took some bottles of WD-40 for themselves. In 1960, Norm Larsen, the founder of Rocket Chemical Company, decided to put WD-40 in commercial cans to sell to the public.

The company grew substantially, and by 1961, WD-40 was being used to treat damage to vehicles and houses after Hurricane Carla struck the U.S. Gulf Coast. By 1969, Rocket Chemical Company was renamed the WD-40 Company, Inc., and the rest is history. WD-40 has come quite far, with a product meant simply for rust prevention turned into a product with thousands of uses. WD-40 can be found in 4 out of 5 American homes—that’s a lot of WD-40!^[6]

4 Chewing Gum

Chewing gum—the tasty, chewy, addicting candy “rubber”—pleases adults, children, and those who stick it under tables. Chewing gum wasn’t always meant to be heard because of lip-smacking, though!

Gum has existed for thousands of years, specifically in the Mayan and Aztec cultures, where it was known as chicle and used as a food and a breath freshener, respectively. The chewing gum we know today brings us to the United States in 1869, where Thomas Adams Sr., learns of “chicle” from Mexican general Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna. Adams tries creating many things with the chicle: rain boots, face masks, and even toys! However, none of these creations brought him any success.

Later, though, Adams had a bright idea. Add flavor to the chicle! Adams began commercially selling the flavored chicle as “Adams New York Chewing Gum.” By 1870, Adams and Sons began selling sour orange-flavored gum as a candy. Adams eventually patented a chewing gum machine, and after years of innovation, we were given the chewing gum we know today. Can you imagine wearing rain boots made out of gum?^[7]

3 The Necktie

The necktie, one of the most formal items you can wear! It’s dapper, classy, and all-around gives you a sophisticated look. But did you know the necktie wasn’t always meant to serve as a simple fashion item?

It is the 17th century, and the 30 Years’ War is raging throughout most of Europe. French King Louis the VIII has paid off mercenaries from Croatia to fight on the side of France. These Croatian soldiers had an ornate piece of cloth around their neck, used to hold up the top of their jackets. (LINK 18) King Louis the VIII took a liking to these cloth designs, so much so that he made them an official part of Royal Gatherings, making them a mandatory accessory to wear. He gave them the name “La Cravate.” While ties were much different in the 17th century, sometimes old habits don’t die hard! The tie we most commonly know was most likely brought into fashion around the 1920s.^[8]

2 Listerine

Listerine, one of the most popular mouthwashes in the world, is used by about a billion worldwide. That’s a lot of people, hopefully with clean teeth! But Listerine wasn’t always meant to be a mouthwash.

In 1865, after the findings and theory of germs had been published by Louis Pasteur, the first surgery performed in a sterilized chamber was achieved by Sir Joseph Lister, allowing for a drop in death rates among patients. A man following the footsteps of both of their works, Doctor Joseph Lawrence, concocted an interesting solvent that would disinfect wounds, both on an operation table or on a battlefield.

He dubbed it “LISTERINE” after none other than Sir Joseph Lister. Throughout the late 19th and early 20th century, Listerine was sold as a floor cleaner, deodorant, and even a remedy for diseases. In 1923, it was finally settled on as an antiseptic mouthwash. Listerine has had quite an interesting history—it makes you wonder if it can still clean your floors!^[9]

1 The Slinky

The Slinky, one of the most infamous toys there is! Almost everyone has played with a slinky at least once in their lives, a simple spring coil that looks cool while going down your stairs! The Slinky has quite a significant history, though!

In 1943, a mechanical engineer named Richard James attempted to invent a spring that could keep a naval ship’s equipment steady as it voyaged across the sea. While working, James knocked a couple of his previous spring designs down off of a shelf. Rather than tumbling over or rolling off the shelf, the springs uncoiled and “gently” landed off the shelves. Astonished by what he saw, James set off to turn this tension spring into a toy.

When his wife Betty caught wind of his idea, she scavenged the dictionary for a name for his new toy. She found the word “Slinky,” meaning “graceful and sinuous in movement.” The name matched the toy perfectly, and thus it stuck. After another two years of experimentation with different lengths and sizes for the Slinky and a 500 dollar loan to manufacture the product, Richard and Betty James hit the jackpot after an initial sales slump. At the 1945 Gimbels Department Store in Philadelphia, Christmas time, the two sold 400 Slinkys in minutes! From a maritime device to a children’s favorite toy—the Slinky is quite the novel invention!^[10]

Like them or loathe them, condoms are a part of daily life. Experts predict that 18.6 billion will be used worldwide in 2015. They live in our nightstands, our wallets, our handbags and frequently go where we go, double entendre not intended. But just how much do we know about them?

“Enough” is probably the most popular answer to that question, and a fair answer it would be. But read on anyway, and the next time a conversation about contraception pops up, double entendre again not intended, you’ll be able to amaze or disgust your friends with your knowledge.

10. They’re Ancient

The very first representations of condoms were discovered in a cave in France, and are dated at around 12,000 to 15,000 years old. The oldest extant condom was found in Lund, Sweden. It’s made from pig intestine, is reusable and dates back to around 1640. It came with a handy user manual written in Latin, which recommended washing it in warm milk in order to avoid disease. Keep that in mind the next time you complain about having to use one.

9. They Used to be Hard to Get

Once available in the United States by prescription only, condoms first became available via a vending machine in 1928. Before that prescriptions weren’t easy to get, unless you were a man who happened to enjoy the company of prostitutes. Some doctors, adverse to giving them to women interested in birth control and STD prevention, would happily dish them out to husbands for their extra-curricular activities.

But if you’re famous, the condoms will come to you (like most other things if you’re famous). At the Sochi Olympics, athletes at Olympic Village received 100,000 condoms. That works out to 35 condoms per athlete, or more time spent employing them than actually competing.

8. They Were Developed to Combat Syphilis

In 16th century Italy, a man named Gabriele Falloppio (of Fallopian tubes fame) wrote a paper on syphilis. This was once known as the French disease, a name we’ll leave up to you to decide the fairness of. It was a major killer at the time, and Falloppio performed the first reported test using linen sheaths. These were soaked in a chemical solution, dried and used to cover the glans of the penis, while being held on ever so quaintly with a ribbon. A test involving 1100 participants showed that the men did not contract syphilis. We’re not sure if said test would have been enjoyable given the subject matter, or nerve-wracking given the stakes.

7. The Materials Have Evolved

It’s common knowledge that condoms weren’t always made from latex, but the variety of what they’ve been made from in the past is surprising. Animal intestines, linen, silk and, questionably, leather have been used throughout history. Different countries used different materials. In the Roman Empire goat bladders were the go-to option, while in Japan leather and tortoiseshell were once used. Linen was used in Ancient Egypt as early as 150 AD. Casanova, the notorious womanizer of the 19th century, was also said to have used linen condoms, and referred to them as “English riding coats.” That must rank as perhaps the most graceful of the many nicknames the condom has acquired through the ages.

The latex we all know today was invented in 1920. The London Rubber Company, now known as Durex, was the first European nation to sell latex condoms in 1932.

6. They Were Reusable

In the 1600s, condoms made from animal intestines were first made available to the general public. But due to their cost, they were re-used repeatedly. Until the advances of the 19th century, a single condom cost around the equivalent of several months pay for a prostitute in the United States.

Reusable condoms were popular much later than many might imagine. The invention of rubber vulcanization by Charles Goodyear and Thomas Hancock in 1844 revolutionized the industry, making it possible to mass-produce condoms cheaply and quickly. But these weren’t available worldwide — the rubber would perish on the long journey by sea to isolated places.

Thicker, reusable condoms therefore remained commonplace in New Zealand in the 1950s. And in Japan during World War Two, many of the women who worked in the brothels noted that the most degrading job was “cleaning the condoms at the end of the day.” Your job doesn’t sound so bad now, does it?

5. Condoms Replaced Weasel Testicles

While it’s now the most tried and tested form of birth control, condoms didn’t boom until the 20th century. Before that there are accounts of varied and far more fascinating birth control methods. In Europe during the Middle Ages, women were advised to wear weasel testicles on their thighs or hang an amputated foot from their necks. It was also believed in some quarters that should a woman wish to avoid pregnancy she need only walk three times around the spot where a pregnant wolf had urinated. Quick, easy and none of that awkward pausing or worrying that the condom’s ripped.

A more dangerous method comes from centuries old China, where women would be encouraged to drink mercury or lead. Technically, that was effective, as those who partook generally either died or became sterile.

4. Celebrities Endorse Them

It was announced in 2012 that One Direction had turned down the opportunity to appear on a range of condoms. Their management team was so against the idea that they’re considering a lawsuit against an American brand which released a One Erection range. But history has shown us that not every celebrity feels the same way.

The boy band JLS released a condom range with Durex in 2010. It was announced that every penny made would go back into the JLS Charitable Foundation. Heartwarming stuff. Other celebrities to get involved have included Daft Punk, Kesha and Madonna. There were even commemorative royal wedding condoms. What better way to celebrate the marriage of Prince William and Princess Kate? They were imaginatively titled Crown Jewels, though they were, tragically, a novelty item only. The next celebrity condom endorsement is anyone’s guess, but our money is on Bieber.

3. They Have Surprising Secondary Uses

The average modern condom can hold an astonishing one gallon of liquid, although hopefully they’ll never be called upon to do so. But their reputation for surprising strength, along with their general versatility, has seen them used for other purposes. There are reports of soldiers using them to protect their rifles from water damage. They can even be used to start a fire, help with the application of first aid and be weaponized as part of a slingshot to hunt small game.

After the Indian government began distributing free condoms to combat both HIV and a rapidly increasing population, many of the recipients found purposes for them that the government hadn’t quite intended. Health workers state that road building contractors acquired a large amount in order to mix them with concrete and tar, thereby creating crack resistant and smoother road surfaces. Builders spread beds of condoms along the base of cement plastering to prevent water seepage, while weavers would use them to lubricate and polish their looms. And in the countryside, villagers would use the condoms as disposable water containers to help them wash up after a bathroom break in the field.

2. New Advances Have Been Made

Sexual health and avoidance of pregnancy were long the priority of condom development. With those now covered, companies have been able to move on to attempting to remove the stigma of equating condoms with less enjoyable sex.

The 1990s was a decade to remember for condom enthusiasts. Flavored options appeared, while variations and combinations of lubricated, ribbed, studded, thinner and even glow-in-the-dark condoms emerged as well. An increase in the enjoyment for both partners was the driving motivation behind these creations. The march of progress continues today — Origami Condoms is currently developing the Receptive Anal Intercourse condom, which they call “radical new condoms for the 21st Century.”

1. The Future

From animal intestines to rubber, the condom has been on quite a journey in its history, and the next big step could be just around the corner. Scientists have been working on an “invisible” condom, a gel that hardens when subjected to increased temperatures. Let’s all cross our fingers and hope that science can figure this one out sooner rather than later.

A human can only live for about three days without access to water. We need to drink or we’re doomed. And while our ancient ancestors probably managed just fine with water and the odd squirt of fruit juice, we evolved to enjoy a far more diverse palate. You might even say we’re spoiled for choice when it comes to beverages these days. For evidence, just take a look at all the drinks people will consume on purpose… amazingly, without even being forced to do so. 

10. End of History

The average alcohol percentage in a beer that you’ll find in the United States is about 4.5%. There are some stronger beers out there, but that is pretty standard. The Scottish Brewery known as Brewdog came up with a beer called the End of History that boasts a 55% alcohol content. And interestingly enough, that’s not why it’s interesting. The beer is actually packaged inside squirrels.

Each bottle of limited run beer was inside of a taxidermied squirrel. The company initially released 12 in the UK, and then 10 more bottles were released for Americans.The price per bottle in the United States was $20,000. Technically that wasn’t the price of the beer itself; rather, if you invested $20,000 in their business you would get one of the 10 extremely rare bottles.

9. Pruno

They say that necessity is the mother of invention and that idea was clearly hard at work when pruno was invented. Pruno, otherwise known as prison wine, is what you get when you’re desperate for a buzz but your ingredients and facilities are extremely limited.

Since all that is really needed to create alcohol is some kind of sugary base that can ferment, prisoners were able to develop ways to create alcohol behind bars in secret. The resulting concoction is known as pruno, and it’s one of the most vile drinks ever created.

Ingredients are very limited in prison, which means pruno is often made of things like fruit cocktail, sugar cubes, and ketchup. Everything is mixed together in a ziplock bag and hidden where the prison guards can’t find it. The fermentation process could take a few weeks and you’ll have to find some way to warm your mixture up, strain out all the chunks, and then enjoy the potentially lethal byproducts. The resulting mixture can contain all manner of dangerous bacteria including botulism, not to mention there’s no way to know just how alcoholic the brew might be so it could be dangerously potent as well.

8. Sourtoe Cocktail

If you’re going to list culinary taboos, you can jump right to the head of the line by mentioning cannibalism. There are few things people are willing to  entertain less than the idea of consuming the body parts of another human being. And yet despite that, the sourtoe cocktail is still a thing.

Arguably the most infamous drink in all of Canada, you can find the sourtoe cocktail in Dawson City, Yukon. The name isn’t particularly metaphorical. There’s a real human toe in a shot of whiskey that you can drink.

According to legend, Louie and Otto Linken were running booze back in the 1920s when they got caught in a blizzard. Louie ended up getting his foot stuck in a stream or a puddle when he stepped through some ice and by the time he got home again his foot was frozen. Worst of all was the big toe, which had thoroughly succumbed to frostbite.

In an effort to prevent any more damage, Otto cut his brother’s toe off with an axe. And, as one does, he dropped the newly severed digit into a bottle of booze. Fast forward about 50 years and a man by the name of Captain Dick Stevenson found the bottle, complete with toe, in a cabin.

Stevenson decided to create a little contest where you could gain entry into the Sourtoe Cocktail Club if you had the drink with the toe in it. The only rule is that the toe had to touch your lips. And word is that about 100,000 people have actually done this over the years. 

In the year 2013, one guy actually swallowed the toe. And he wasn’t even the first one. The Downtown Hotel, where the drink is served, has gone through 15 toes so far. Captain Stevenson even willed his own toes to the hotel so that when he dies the tradition will live on. Currently, the bar has 12 toes that they rotate through circulation so they can keep them clean, whatever that might mean.

7. Spirytus Stawski 

Straight out of Poland comes Spirytus Stawski, a 190-proof spirit that is 96% alcohol. That makes it the single strongest drinkable alcohol in the world. To put that in perspective, vodka is generally around 40% alcohol. Rubbing alcohol is often 70% alcohol. Even the infamous Everclear is 95% alcohol. Spirytus Stawski one-upped them with that extra percentage to ensure maximum danger.

You can buy Spirytus Stawski any number of places online, but most of them will point out in the description that this should only be used as a base for other drinks and it is highly recommended that you never drink the stuff straight, for obvious reasons. A 750ml bottle will set you back under $20.

6. Chicha

If you ever have the opportunity to visit Peru you may run across a drink known as chicha. Chicha is made from corn, and so far everything sounds okay. You can make whiskey from corn. Bourbon has a long history thanks to corn. You can even brew vodka from corn rather than potatoes, if you’re so inclined. So far so good, right?

Where chicha gets a little weird is in the preparation. If you are drinking true, traditional chicha then the fermentation process requires that the corn be chewed and then spit out. The old-timey method for making it involved several women sitting around a bucket, chewing up the corn, and then spitting it into that bucket. The saliva, along with a few other ingredients, would activate the fermentation process and eventually it would become alcoholic. There’s no real way to make that sound any better that it is, and it’s definitely an acquired taste. Weirdly enough, it’s still made this way in some parts of Peru and if you buy it from a street vendor you may not know if you’re getting the traditional kind, or a less saliva-filled brew.

5. Baby Mice Wine

In most parts of the world if you were to find a mouse in your drink you would probably have a well-justified freak out and send the drink right back. Well, that wouldn’t be the case if you ordered what’s been called a traditional Chinese health tonic that is colloquially known as baby mice wine.

Apparently these little mice are taken just after birth when their eyes aren’t even open yet and then jammed into a bottle of rice wine. They ferment along with the wine for a solid year, after which time it is said that the brew is able to treat medical conditions like liver disease and asthma. It also apparently tastes something like gasoline, which doesn’t seem unreasonable since it’s just rice wine with the rotting corpses of vermin inside of it. And yes, if you’re wondering, you are expected to actually eat the little mice afterward as well.

4. Kumis

Theoretically, drinking milk is kind of weird if you stop to give it much thought, at least if you’re drinking the milk of a cow or some other kind of livestock. (Really, though… who was the first person to look at a cow’s udder and think, “I’m gonna go suck on that”?)

But, since we have been doing it for centuries and it’s pretty commonplace, we’re used to it. The dairy industry is massive and even if you’re not drinking milk, there’s a good chance you’re enjoying things like butter, yogurt, or ice cream. All of that stuff tends to have one thing in common, in that it’s made from purified, non-alcoholic milk.

If you were to travel around the globe to Kazakhstan you would find a beverage known as kumis, which is made from the milk of horses. Now to a western palate the idea of horse milk probably sounds a little bit weird, but it really shouldn’t if we are okay with drinking milk from cows. However, kumis takes it one step further by fermenting the milk to make it alcoholic. According to reviews it tastes like champagne and sour cream mixed together. That’s one heck of a cocktail. 

Kumis has been made for thousands of years in Central Asia and apparently it’s something that both Genghis Khan and babies enjoyed drinking. You know you’re a hardcore baby when you’re drinking alcoholic horse milk on the Central Asian steppes.

The mare’s milk has a high sugar content naturally, so if you churn it the way you would churn butter it will thicken up and acidify to produce an alcoholic kind of carbonation. And as weird as this might sound, it’s actually preferable to drinking non-alcoholic mare’s milk. The milk, in its natural state, has so much lactose that it’s essentially a high-performing laxative.

3. Poop Wine

There’s no good backstory to this entry. There’s no clever reason why this thing exists. There’s just the knowledge that for some reason, at some point in time, someone fermented actual human poop into a drink and then intentionally drank it. That’s the story of poop wine.

Made from Korean rice wine mixed with the feces of a human child, the drink called Ttongsul has 9% alcohol and is 100% terrible. The concoction is apparently for medicinal use and was said to be able to heal traumatic injuries like bruises, cuts, and even broken bones.

Very few people have heard of the drink even in Korea, but there are one or two who still know the recipe and are willing to make it if you are so inclined to hunt it down. It should go without saying that there is no way this drink is good, or even tolerable.

2. Smoker’s Cough Cocktail

A lot of bars are willing to go out of their way to create signature cocktails that nobody else has on the menu. Sometimes these will be simple mixtures that maybe just have a unique name even though they are available in other locations by different names. But sometimes they are just over the top recipes that mix together ingredients that have no business being in the same place at the same time. That’s likely the story behind one of the most repellent looking and tasting cocktails ever made, the Smoker’s Cough.

The name itself is off-putting, and when you take a look at it you understand why it’s called what it’s called. There are only two ingredients in this cocktail making it deceptively simple but the two ingredients that you need are mayonnaise and Jagermeister. Even without tasting that you can try to imagine those two flavors and textures together in your mouth. If the idea was to mimic the sensation of acrid phlegm, then the person who created the cocktail is actually fairly clever and did a good job.

1. Semen Cocktails

This unsettling entry brings with it an entire recipe book.  The number of people on Amazon.com who reviewed the book and described it as a gag gift may or may not be aware of the added pun in their language choice. Regardless, there is apparently some kind of market out there for drinks that are made with semen. Some of the less than impressed reviews pointed out that most of the recipes in the book are just average everyday cocktails with the secret ingredient added in for no particular reason.

While this truly sounds like a gimmick if nothing else, it’s worth knowing that New Zealand is home to the Green Man Pub in the city of Wellington. Their claim to fame is a beer that  was created from stag semen. Why did this concoction even exist? Probably just to get some press for creating something utterly baffling.