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1. BUBBLE WRAP

A bubble wrap-lined room seems like the sort of idea that would come about after people everywhere had become obsessed with the satisfying sensation of popping the bubbles that keep our fragile items safe in transit. And yet, wallpaper was actually the original intent behind engineer Al Fielding and Swiss inventor Marc Chavannes’ invention. Turns out, the market for textured wallpaper was not what they had hoped, and the pair struggled to find an alternate angle. Despite some viability, the plan to pitch the material as an insulator for greenhouses didn’t pan out either. Then, in 1959, IBM had announced their new 1401 variable word length computer, and Fielding and Chavannes had an idea. They pitched bubble wrap as a packaging material for the fragile new technologies, and IBM agreed to give it a try. From there, bubble wrap found new purpose and people were left wishing they had whole rooms lined with the stuff. Probably.

2. KLEENEX

The public was slow to come around on the idea of disposable, publicly marketed sanitary pads that Kimberly-Clark, the producer had a great supply of. While they waited for the tides to turn, Kimberly-Clark found another use for its supply of creped wadding. Scientists created the super thin, soft tissues we know today before they even knew what it would be used for. Initially, marketers promoted it as a replacement for “cold cream towels,” which were used to apply skincare serums. Ads focusing on the cosmetic value—calling it “the new secret of keeping a pretty skin as used by famous movie stars”—sold Kleenex from its inception in 1924 until nose-needs were introduced into the marketing campaign in 1930.

3. VIAGRA

Viagra, or Sildenafil, as it’s officially known, was originally conceived as a treatment for hypertension, angina, and other symptoms of heart disease. But Phase I clinical trials revealed that while the drug wasn’t great at treating what it was supposed to treat, male test subjects were experiencing a rather unexpected side effect: erections. A few years later, in 1998, the drug took U.S. markets by storm as a treatment for penile dysfunction and became an overnight success. It now rakes in an estimated $1.9 billion a year.

4. BRANDY

Brandy, that delightful, caramel-colored after dinner drink, started off as a byproduct of transporting wine. About 900 years ago, merchants would essentially boil the water off of large quantities of wine in order to both transport it more easily, and save on customs taxes, which were levied by volume. After a while, a few of these merchants, bored perhaps after a long day on the road, dipped into their inventory and discovered that the concentrated, or distilled, wine actually tasted pretty darn good. Voila! Brandy was born.

5. COCA-COLA

Coca-Cola, one of the world’s most famous brand names, was originally invented as an alternative to morphine addiction, and to treat headaches and relieve anxiety. Coke’s inventor, John Pemberton—a Confederate veteran of the Civil War who himself suffered from a morphine addiction—first invented a sweet, alcoholic drink infused with coca leaves for an extra kick. He called it Pemberton’s French Wine Coca. It would be another two decades before that recipe was honed, sweetened, carbonated and, eventually, marketed into what it is today: the most popular soda in the world.

6. PLAY-DOH

Play-Doh, that strange, brightly colored, salty clay that all of us grew up molding and poking (and, occasionally, nibbling), was first invented in the 1930s by a soap manufacturer named Cleo McVickers, who thought he’d hit upon a fantastic wallpaper cleaner. It wasn’t for another 20 years that McVicker’s son, Joseph, repurposed the goop as clay for pre-schoolers and called it Play-Doh, a product that remains wildly popular among the under-5 crowd today.

source: mentalfloss

Find the mistakes in the sentences and correct them with the right piece of information from the text.

1. Bubble wrap was intended as insulator for greenhouses first.

2. Kleenex was created with a specific purpose in mind.

3. Viagra’s side effect is curing hypertension, angina and symptoms of heart disease.

4. Brandy is the byproduct of straining wine.

5. Coca-Cola was always carbonated and non-alcoholic.

6. Play-Doh’s name came from its inventor.

Key:

1. Bubble wrap was intended as wallpaper first.

2. Kleenex was created with no specific purpose in mind. Scientists created it before they even knew what it would be used for.

3. Viagra’s side effect is erection in males. It was originally conceived as a treatment for hypertension, angina, and other symptoms of heart disease.

4. Brandy is the byproduct of distilling wine.

5. Coca-Cola was first an alcoholic drink and was carbonated only later.

6. Play-Doh’s name came from the inventor’s son 20 years later.