Museum of Unintended Use

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2011-05-18T20:49:00.003+02:00

Yes, this is the curator speaking. Really! He is still alive, thank you, and he thought it was a pity that so many examples of unintended use pass without people really noticing. So he thought it would be good to start a Facebook page for the Museum. Find it here! (Don't forget to Like us!)

The Museum is temporarily (?) closed

2011-01-13T15:35:00.006+01:00

The maintenance of the Museum of Unintended Use takes a lot of time. Time the curator doesn't really have anymore. Books have to be written, dishes to be cooked, kids to be raised and muscles to be trained. So the curator decided not to put new pieces of unintended use on display anymore. Feel free to look around, though. There are lots of very nice old things to see. And if you still want to share your examples of unintended use, please send them to the curator. He might change his mind within a few months. Cheers!

Icy iPad

2011-01-11T07:04:00.000+01:00

Thanks, Olaf!

Phone scarf

2011-01-09T07:19:00.001+01:00

No picture, just a sketch. 'Muslim lady in train in front of me makes functional use of her head scarf', wrote Justus Bruns when posting it on Twitter. Brilliant.

Doorunlocker

2011-01-07T07:28:00.003+01:00

When Petra van der Heijden visited her dentist in Haarlem, the Netherlands, she noticed this smart way to keep the door unlocked. (Which makes this the first unintended use of clothespins in the Museum so far. There must be more, right? Let us know!)

Childhood nutcracker

2011-01-06T07:12:00.001+01:00

'During these long and cold evenings', Marieke Peelen from the Netherlands wrote, 'I love to crack and eat fresh nuts. I like them all: hazelnuts, walnuts, pecans and of course almonds. However, a large almond can cause a lot of frustration being one of the toughest nuts to crack. Then I remember that during childhood, my brother and I used to crack all our nuts in the shed with my fathers vise. This ones works just as well (maybe even better, because I don't have to go the cold shed).'

Paper roller (2)

2011-01-04T06:54:00.000+01:00

O, and by the way, Danny Gijsberts also uses the paint roller in his artist's studio, as you can see here. And in his kitchen, for making shopping lists.

Paper roller

2011-01-03T06:35:00.000+01:00

The best ideas pop up at the same time at different places. That's what the curator thought when he received this nice toilet paper solution, sent in by Danny Gijsbers from the Netherlands. Wasn't there something like this in the Museum's collection already? He started looking. And yes, somewhere in the depots he found this kitchen roller! And if you don't like this 'design', you might like to check this out. Have other unintended uses concerning toilet paper? Send them in!

Hairy kloot

2010-12-30T07:20:00.004+01:00

'I was on a birthday party', Francine from Utrecht wrote in an e-mail to the curator, 'and we were playing the ancient Dutch game of klootschieten. As we were playing close to a lake, we decided not to use the original balls, but coconuts. So it wouldn't be a problem if one of the balls ended up in the water.'

Pencil blues

2010-12-29T07:19:00.007+01:00

Apparently this guy, Swedish teenage YouTube-star Ulrik Munther, didn't have a capo or didn't feel like getting it. Instead, he used a pencil, which is - at least according to the Museum's standards - a much better solution. (By the way, a capo is 'a clamp-like device used on the neck of a stringed instrument to shorten the strings, hence raising the pitch.') If you know of other capo tricks, let us know! (Thanks to Frank Kockelkoren for bringing this video to our attention)

Cardboard cupboard

2010-12-28T06:25:00.000+01:00

Designed and built and used by Mike Verbruggen, who, apparently, likes to wear T-shirts, spray his armpits with Axe and read Tolstoj novels (that must be hidden behind the stack of T-shirts).

Wartime beer opener

2010-12-26T07:32:00.000+01:00

'In 2003 I was on an assignment for La Prensa in Waspan Nicaragua', photographer Ryan Conaty said on C.J. Chivers' website. 'A representative from the World Bank was there to talk to folks about their goat herding. Some soldiers had been sent along to keep an eye on him and when he was done with his presentation they were to give us a ride to our next stop. In preparation for the long ride over dirt roads we packed a cooler of beer but we’d forgotten a bottle opener. As we tried to figure out a solution one of the solders (who’d clearly encountered the problem before) realized our situation, picked up his rifle and called us over. I’ve attached the picture I took of our savior with his AK in action.' (Thanks to Ryan for the permission to use this picture)

Cheers!

2010-12-24T06:34:00.000+01:00

Big guitar

2010-12-22T06:41:00.003+01:00

The curator doesn't know a lot about music, but he knows you normally don't play the cello like Ernst Reijseger did during his 2008 concert with Harmen Fraanje and Mola Sylla in Tilburg, the Netherlands. Nevertheless, it sounds beautiful! (Thanks to Marlies Swinkels for bringing this to our attention!)

Pepperspray steak

2010-12-20T10:12:00.003+01:00

A couple of years ago, the curator decided to taste peach shampoo. It didn't taste like peach. Today he was reminded of this uneventful event when reading a fascinating question on Twitter, posed by John Bosma: could you use pepperspray for preparing your dinner? Do we have museum visitors who experimented with that? Let us know!

Sports cycles

2010-12-20T06:44:00.001+01:00

(Found here.)

Fun with a bottle

2010-12-18T07:21:00.000+01:00

Is this a new game for the elderly in Eastern Europe? Is this a former circus employee without a pension doing tricks to make some money? Or is it Photoshop? It is definitely unintended use of bottles... (Picture found here.)

It's official: this is the best unintended use of 2010!

2010-12-16T13:53:00.009+01:00

We have a winner! In the last couple of weeks over 200 people voted for the Whipping Pope Award (and the curator heard rumours that even the pope himself voted). So what was the best example of Unintended use of 2010? Well, it's the plunger used as iPad stand! It received almost a third of the votes. Second place was for this brilliant bagel transport mechanism, third place goes to the lovely prof. Chairman. Find all results right here. Thanks for voting!
UPDATE: It is still unknown who was the 'inventor' of the iPad plunger. If you have an idea, let us know!

Unintended Muse

2010-12-16T07:15:00.001+01:00

No, the curator didn't see examples of unintended use in this video. It's just that he stumbled upon this song so many times when searching for unintended use, that he decided to purchase it for the Museum's music collection. The song is called Unintended. The band Muse. That's why, nothing more. (Original & very much nicer video is here, but the curator didn't manage to embed it...)

Rolling pin attacks

2010-12-14T06:58:00.001+01:00

Dutch author Ernest van der Kwast recently published his widely acclaimed new novel 'Mama Tandoori'. In this fictionalized non-fiction book (or something), the author wrote about his Indian mother, who used to hit him with a rolling pin. At the book presentation in Rotterdam the author could dodge her attack. (Picture by Vincent Menzel)

Going bald? Play the electric guitar (says Prince)

2010-12-13T06:59:00.001+01:00

BREAKING NEWS - 'Pop superstar Prince believes playing the electric guitar his entire life has stopped him from going bald', wrote Contactmusic.com. The artist said: 'Playing electric guitar your whole life does something to you. I'm convinced all that electricity racing through your body made me keep my hair.' Is there a scientist among the Museums visitors who can set up a fascinating experiment with old men and electric guitars?

PVC instrument

2010-12-12T06:43:00.000+01:00

Many people tipped the Museum about this guy, apparently named Snubby, who built a fabulous instrument out of PVC pipes. Initially, the curator tended to be very strict: this is no unintended use, as the original pipes were adapted until they suited their new function. In other words, it is not reversible: might this guy want to fix his sewer system, he won't be able to use these pipes anymore. But then again, this is so nice, let's give this guy the benefit of the doubt...

What is the best example of Unintended Use of 2010?

2010-12-10T13:01:00.000+01:00

Yes, you can still vote for the Whipping Pope Award (read here why it was called like that)! This very special prize will be awarded to the most fascinating example of Unintended Use of 2010. Until December 15th you can vote on one of these 7 nominees. Is this bagel your favorite? Or one of the other nominees? And why? Let us know!

Tooth extraction (5)

2010-12-10T07:08:00.000+01:00

Tooth extraction (4)

2010-12-09T06:45:00.000+01:00

Tooth extraction (3)

2010-12-08T07:16:00.000+01:00

Tooth extraction (2)

2010-12-07T07:12:00.003+01:00

More tooth extractions! Favourite moment: when this rocket has done its job, the boy's father says: 'That was the coolest tooth pulling out I've ever seen. Congratulations!'

Incredible: football pitch as toilet paper!

2010-12-06T12:14:00.004+01:00

We showed goalkeeper Jens Lehmann using advertising hoardings for unexpected business, but it can be worse, as Gary Lineker told the BBC recently...

Another fresh air solution

2010-12-06T06:29:00.001+01:00

Yesterday's picture reminded Susette from the Netherlands of her 1962 Eriba Puck (no, the curator didn't know what that was either). This window wouldn't stay open by itself, she wrote, but luckily she found a solution. By now, the bottle isn't necessary anymore. Her boyfriend repaired the window.

Tooth extraction

2010-12-05T21:50:00.005+01:00

This video was shown before in the Museum, but it's the curator's all time favourite example of unintended use, so he decided to put it on display once again. It's about a child with a milk tooth, hanging from a tiny piece of gum. How to remove it? Watch this!

Spikes with cops

2010-12-05T21:00:00.004+01:00

Yesterday afternoon the curator was interviewed on the Dutch radio show Spijkers met Koppen. You can listen to it here (in Dutch - first interview after the news).

Fresh air solutions

2010-12-04T22:57:00.000+01:00

How to keep your window open, when it doesn't keep itself open? Well, in Lincoln, UK, they use a pencil, as you can see on this picture taken by Astrid. (Elsewhere they use other object - this for example.)

Vibration. Boom!

2010-12-03T09:55:00.003+01:00

'One afternoon in the West Bank', American journalist C.J. Chivers wrote in his Esquire story on jihad, 'an engineering officer in the Israel Defense Forces showed me how Palestinian terrorists wire bombs to the vibration function on mobile telephones. When a bomber calls a telephone rigged this way, the phone's battery sends an electric pulse down the wires. Boom.'

Pv zk pv pv zk pv zk (German to German)

2010-12-02T07:00:00.004+01:00

'Best unintended use of Google Translate evar!' wrote professional game programmer Ian Bullard on Twitter. He asked Google to 'translate' this nice collection of sounds from German into German: 'pv zk pv pv zk pv zk kz zk pv pv pv zk pv zk zk pzk pzk pvzkpkzvpvzk kkkkkk bsch'. Then he pushed the 'Listen' button. And he heard a nice beat! Listen here. Please post your own Google Translate beats in the comments! (And note that - for reasons unknown - English to English doesn't work!)

Bagel, chair or Gaga?

2010-12-01T09:28:00.001+01:00

What is the best example of unintended use of 2010? Vote here for the Whipping Pope Award!

Salt & paper

2010-12-01T07:12:00.004+01:00

Dutch tv-host and fair trade chocolate enterpreneur Teun van de Keuken owns a small allotment garden with a cabin with a toilet. Now winter is coming, he decided to perform an act of double unintended use: first het put dishwasher salt inside...

...and then newspapers. To prevent the bowl from cracking when it's freezing. Smart and cheap, but does it work?

Rubber dunes

2010-11-30T07:11:00.000+01:00

In Ghana they build everything out of car tyres. Even dunes. (Picture by Dieuwke's friend.)

Empty police cars

2010-11-29T16:30:00.006+01:00

BREAKING NEWS - Police cars that are not in use, should not be parked in the official police parking lots near police stations, says Rotterdam's political party Leefbaar Rotterdam in the Telegraaf (in Dutch). Instead, they should be parked in streets with frequent robberies. In order to scare away robbers. Isn't that a cheap and brilliant unintended use of police cars? (As you can see on the picture, the curator took action right away, using an unused police car found in the children's section of the Museum!)

How to fix your tro tro with a handkerchief?

2010-11-29T06:50:00.001+01:00

And another one from Ghana, also sent in by Dieuwke from the Netherlands: a handkerchief to keep the door of this tro tro, a share taxi, shut. Luckily none of the passengers had a cold...

Rubber stairs

2010-11-28T06:44:00.001+01:00

Dieuwke from the Netherlands climbed and photographed these fascinating rubber stairs at a beach near Accra in Ghana. Would the curator ever consider building a real Museum (and not just a virtual one), he would definitely build one of those.

Microwave Hotmail

2010-11-26T07:38:00.007+01:00

Apparently, some people like to heat their mail before reading it. (Picture by David Miller, taken near Urunga, NSW, Australia.)
UPDATE: How-to instructions here.

Kissing Miffy

2010-11-24T07:14:00.002+01:00

The Dutch language differs from English in a lot of ways. One of the interesting differences, is the use of spaces. In Dutch, we like to glue words together. So if there is a pillow with the famous rabbit Miffy on it, we would call it a 'Nijntjekussen' ('Miffypillow'), whereas in English you'd keep the words seperated: 'Miffy pillow'. Sometimes people write Dutch the English way, which is, according to the curator, unintended use of spaces. So they write for example, as you can see on the picture above: 'Nijntje kussen'. Which is not only wrong, but also funny if you know it has a totally different meaning: 'Kissing Miffy'. (If you happen to speak Dutch, and (dis)like unintended use of spaces, vote for the 'Wrong Space of 2010')

Battery tower

2010-11-22T07:05:00.004+01:00

As seen by Astrid in Lincoln, England.

Vote!

2010-11-21T07:39:00.000+01:00

If you haven't voted for the Whipping Pope Award yet, the curator recommends you doing it right away. Find the nominees here!

Playing doctor

2010-11-20T06:52:00.001+01:00

Watching your x-rays like a pro? Vittorio Arenella from Studio Clusterlab in Italy knows how to do it. Just scan your picture and set your desktop background to white!

Is this better than Lady Gaga?

2010-11-19T06:39:00.002+01:00

gIf this brilliant car lock is your favourite piece of unintended use of 2010, why not vote for it in the sidebar on the right? It might win the first Whipping Pope Award. You don't especially like this one? Then check out the other nominees here (including Lady Gaga!).

X-rated building

2010-11-18T07:17:00.003+01:00

BREAKING NEWS - 'Frisky students discovered a new way to entertain themselves — by projecting 30ft-high porn images on to buildings', the Sun wrote. 'A group of youngsters from Bournemouth University, Dorset, projected the x-rated video on the wall of an opposing halls of residence, covering four whole floors. The video featured a curvy blonde woman stripping before engaging in a steamy romp with a dark haired man.'

Vote for the Whipping Pope Award!

2010-11-17T06:38:00.002+01:00

For the first time ever, the visitors of the Museum of Unintended Use can vote for the Whipping Pope Award (read here why it was called like that)! This very special prize will be awarded to the most fascinating example of Unintended Use of 2010. From today until December 15th, you can vote on one of these 7 nominees. You can vote in the sidebar on the right.

iPad Photoshoot

2010-11-16T06:51:00.002+01:00

Using iPads as a light source for a photoshoot? Yes, that's what Jesse Rosten did. 'Now before the haters start commenting let me first agree with you, yes, this is totally impractical', he wrote on his website. 'Nine iPads will set you back around $4,500. That amount of money can buy you a LOT of lumens in the form of a generic monobloc. This is not intended to be an exercise in excess, but rather a self-imposed limitation to help flex the creative muscles, and to make a point.'

Protest iPad

2010-11-14T07:12:00.001+01:00

(Thanks to Jerwin for suggesting this)

Wanted: easily moveable exit blocker

2010-11-12T06:53:00.000+01:00

Very blurry picture taken by your favourite curator: shopping carts blocking the unused cashier lanes at MediaMarkt in Utrecht, the Netherlands. Is that an international phenomenon? Let us know!

Shopping seat

2010-11-10T14:23:00.000+01:00

Noisy door

2010-11-08T13:58:00.004+01:00

Francine from Utrecht, the Netherlands has a noisy door. When it's windy outside, she gets out of bed, grabs a sock and... problem solved! Good night!

Hot glove

2010-10-30T06:35:00.001+02:00

What to do when you do not own enough trivets, but you don't want to spoil your table? Astrid from Utrecht uses an oven glove instead.

"Quotation" Marks

2010-10-29T13:16:00.002+02:00

The curator always thought that the Museum of Unintended Use was a small niche. But now he found a niche within his niche: the "Blog" of "Unnecessary" Quotation Marks, which is some sort of Museum of Unintended Use of Quotation Marks. And yes, it's nice! Keep on the good work! (And wow, she even published a book about quotation marks!)

Shoe barrow

2010-10-28T06:29:00.005+02:00

The curator found this collection of wheelbarrows in France this spring. Suggestions for a better caption? Please leave them in the comments.

Child spam

2010-10-26T07:20:00.001+02:00

No, no, no! Stop it! It may be a surprise to you, dirty spammer, but the curator did not put the child seat there for you to leave your leaflets! (It is a smart marketing strategy, though, as you can be quite sure that owners of child seats own, well, children...)

Noise containers

2010-10-24T07:15:00.000+02:00

The curator found this wall of containers in Leiden, the Netherlands. Why it was there, is not completely clear, but it is probably a noise barrier, protecting the houses on the right from the sound produced at the construction site on the left. Is that the right explanation?

Need a beer opener? Use your wedding ring!

2010-10-22T06:47:00.003+02:00

The curator already showed you how to open a bottle of wine without a corkscrew. So now it's time to talk about beer bottles. Because finally there is a good overview of the different techniques of opening a bottle of beer, made by the authors of the Dutch 'Handbook for the Modern Man'. Warning: don't try the last technique - it can be painful. (You use other ways to open a bottle of beer, let us know!)

Optimistic musicians

2010-10-20T06:39:00.001+02:00

Of course the curator loves to see street musicians unintendedly use objects to collect money. But these guys in Utrecht, the Netherlands, might be a bit too optimistic about the amount of money they will raise...

Doorstop days (5)

2010-10-17T06:45:00.000+02:00

How someone keeps his door open depends pretty much on the objects available. Which can be seen in this dvd rental store in Utrecht, the Netherlands. They keep the door open with... Indeed! You know of other doorstops? Let us know!

Doorstop days (4)

2010-10-16T07:21:00.005+02:00

Sometimes the comments on Flickr contain fantastic absurd dialogues, like the one below this banana doorstop:

hellebelle (9 days ago | reply)
is that a normal banana or is it made special for stopping doors?

margonaut (7 days ago | reply)
you're not supposed to play with your banana in public

bunnyhero (6 days ago | reply)
it's a real, normal banana.

Doorstop days (3)

2010-10-15T06:50:00.001+02:00

'The Sinclair ZX81 is such a slow and difficult to use computer', the curator read at oldcomputers.net, 'that many people found that it works better as a doorstop than as a computer...' Nice!

Doorstop days (2)

2010-10-14T07:02:00.005+02:00

'Just place the ever-so-dainty toe of this playful pump under the crack of your very own door and it will be held open in style. Makes a great gift idea this rubber door stop has a rubber grip coating, packed in a clear and a peggable draw-string bag', says the website that sells this - rather ugly - Foot in the Door™ doorstop. Nevertheless, it shows perfectly that designers can learn from unintended use.

Doorstop days (1)

2010-10-13T06:42:00.006+02:00

Many objects can be used as doorstops, the curator recently discovered. That's why he decided to organize the Doorstop Days. Look at this fascinating thing, for example. It was spotted by Astrid, when she visited consumer electronics store MediaMarkt in Utrecht, the Netherlands. The curator wonders: where would you get a doorstop like that? Not at MediaMarkt, probably... (Your doorstop in the Museum? Send it to the curator!)

What to throw at presidents?

2010-10-12T07:32:00.007+02:00

The curator definitely doesn't want to stimule throwing objects at presidents. But it is interesting to notice that the times they are a-changing. A couple of years ago, throwing shoes was the thing to do, as you can see in the video above.

But the shoe isn't very popular anymore, which might have something to do with the aerodynamics of shoes. So what else should one throw? French president Sarkozy had to deal with a plastic bottle.

And a few days ago, as you can (hardly) see in the video below (after 0:22 minutes), president Obama nearly got hit by... a book. You know of more things thrown at presidents? Let us know!

White table

2010-10-11T06:34:00.001+02:00

'After we moved to a new building', Jarno from the Netherlands wrote, 'we had two spare cupboards and a spare whiteboard. But we lacked a table for stand-up meetings. We soon found the solution...'

Big leg

2010-10-09T07:23:00.003+02:00

When professional photographer Johannes Abeling (you definitely have to take a look at his website!) from Amsterdam was in the Geuldal in the Province of Limburg, the Netherlands, he saw this beautiful table, with one strange table leg. The owners seem to need a couple of more chairs, though...

Fire escape

2010-10-08T13:33:00.004+02:00

This sheet, hanging from a window in Utrecht, reminded the curator of people using sheets to escape from a building on fire. Anyone has a picture of such a situation?

Fridge heater

2010-10-07T07:15:00.003+02:00

Defrosting your freezer can take ages. That's why Alfonso - yes, we've seen him before - from Italy uses his hair dryer. It now takes him less than 30 minutes. (Picture by Vittorio Aranella)

Window dressing

2010-10-05T07:07:00.001+02:00

'I thought it was a sun shade at first', wrote Robert Ely from Maryland, United States to the Museum. 'But then I realised it was raining and I noticed the window was only half raised. Was the window motor broken? Or was the owner of the car washing his shirt?

iPad easel

2010-10-03T06:58:00.006+02:00

'When I saw the iPad stand my friend Mike Verbruggen donated to the Museum', Ivo Beemster from the Netherlands wrote, 'I remembered another friend of mine also had a great stand, as shown on the images. The price of the stand was only 2,95 euro, if I'm correct. And I am sorry for the lousy pics. I'm not belonging to the happy iPhone 4 club.'

iPad light painting

2010-10-02T06:50:00.001+02:00

Hey guys, this is not why Steve Jobs created the iPad! But it's certainly beautiful what Dentsu London created. (Thanks to Mike Verbruggen for tipping us.)

Germany's got... er... talent

2010-10-01T16:02:00.006+02:00

The curator is still flabbergasted, astonished, disgusted. Is this talent? Is this normal? And most important of all: is this unintended use?

Playground mystery

2010-10-01T06:31:00.005+02:00

Tibor was surprised to see this playground in Amsterdam. 'Car tires were attached to normal swings', he wrote in an e-mail to the Museum.'But why did they do that?' The curator doesn't have the answer. Do we have playground designers among our visitors? Other smart people? Let us know!

Alternative ways to enter a train

2010-09-30T15:25:00.002+02:00

When the doors are temporarily unavailable (because the train has already departed, for example) why shouldn't you use an open window to enter? A guy at Augsburg station in Germany shows how to do it. According to Deutsche Bahn he should feel lucky he survived. (Sorry, there's a commercial before the real video...)

Most electrifying towel ever!

2010-09-30T06:48:00.007+02:00

Drying your hands can be a risky experience at deli store Bigoli in Utrecht, the Netherlands. The blurry evidence was delivered to the Museum by Astrid.

Bottled flowers

2010-09-29T09:37:00.003+02:00

Spotted by Astrid, at 't Gras van de Buren, a pub in Utrecht, the Netherlands.

A smoker's iPhone stand

2010-09-27T19:47:00.005+02:00

'This is my colleague Xander's iPhone stand', wrote Joey Marlet. The curator wonders: what should he do when he would ever decide to quit smoking?

Candy transport

2010-09-25T06:59:00.001+02:00

Paddles can be used to transport candies from one canoe to another, showed Elisabet Janse during a trip to De Alde Feanen in Friesland, the Netherlands. Luckily Jeroen Moelands captured this nice example of unintended use on camera. (Thanks Francine for bringing this to our attention!)

Highway as airstrip

2010-09-24T06:39:00.000+02:00

Yes we can!

2010-09-23T07:26:00.001+02:00

We had crushed cans before (like this one and this one). We have a crushed can today (sent in by Astrid, who saw this in the apartment building where she lives). And we will have crushed cans in the future (because there must be more unintended uses of cans, right?).

Garden hose solution thing (2)

2010-09-22T06:31:00.003+02:00

In case there is no traffic cone available (see yesterday's post), you might want to use a spare automobile wheel, like they did in the botanical gardens in Utrecht, the Netherlands. Anyone knows of other garden hose solution things? Let us know!

Garden hose solution thing (1)

2010-09-21T07:19:00.005+02:00

Brilliant! Stunning! Masterpiece! This garden hose solution thing was seen by Meiermei, a lover of unintended use. It is located in Kaohsiung city, Taiwan, in front of a hospital named Shin Huey Shin (馨蕙馨).

Sleeping on a rope (for 7 hours!)

2010-09-20T20:39:00.002+02:00

BREAKING NEWS - 'A Chinese man who claims he can sleep on a rope tied between two trees is hoping to get into the Guinness Books of Records', wrote Orange News. 'Gao Yang, 37, says it took him nearly a quarter of a century to master the skill but he can now sleep on the rope for seven hours.'

Sleepy stepladder

2010-09-19T06:33:00.001+02:00

This pretty bedside table was seen by Astrid from Utrecht. Do you use other objects as bedside table, or do you know people who use other objects as bedside table? Send in your picture!

Tub seat

2010-09-17T07:36:00.001+02:00

This picture recently appeared in Dutch newspaper nrc.next. It's probably taken at Gamescom, a trade fair for computer games. If you happen to know which company decided to bring a bath tub, let us know!

Child containers

2010-09-16T06:57:00.005+02:00

This might or might not be an example of unintended use, and actually the curator hopes that it's not. The sign says: 'Day care 't Kasteeltje', and after some research the curator found out it is located in Den Bosch, the Netherlands. (Thanks Coen Hamers, for sending this in!)

Lady GaGa & the bible

2010-09-15T14:47:00.004+02:00

BREAKING NEWS - 'Lady GaGa admits she was so hooked on cocaine, she used to “do lines on a bible”', wrote ShowbizSpy. 'The Poker Face hitmaker says she had a raging drug problem when she was a teenager in New York.' What else could you do with a bible? Let us know! (This, for example)

Finger saver

2010-09-15T06:49:00.004+02:00

He has a lovely, 2-year old daughter, Remy from Amsterdam. The problem is, that she likes to 'play' the piano. Her father is not so much afraid of the sound she produces, he's afraid of the fallboard - the heavy wooden cover that might fall onto her tiny fingers. And that's why he always keeps this Mediterranean cookbook on the keys. Other solutions? Let us know!

Cans can be useful

2010-09-11T06:39:00.006+02:00

This is something Emmanuel Gilloz saw many times in the Castellane subway station in the French city of Marseille: a door that was kept open with a crushed can. Unfortunately, the doors on this picture were recently completely removed.

Flower tea

2010-09-09T07:04:00.004+02:00

For a nice collection of tea pots filled with flowers, head for 'De Bakkerswinkel' in Utrecht. And the food is nice too, by the way...

Swimming shoes

2010-09-08T07:19:00.004+02:00

What to do with an aquarium if you don't want to keep fish in it? Medical student Alfonso Amaturo from Rome, Italy, decided to use it as shoe storage. And doesn't it look lovely, especially with the lights on? (Picture by Vittorio Arenella, an Italian collector of unintended use - yes there are more of us, though he usually calls it Non Intentional Design)

Vietnam phones

2010-09-07T06:32:00.006+02:00

What happens here? Well, wrote Brit Leissler on the Core77 website earlier this year, this is a 'simple way of amplifying the sound of a mobile phone speaker.' She took this picture in Hanoi, Vietnam. 'For me it is another nice example of non-intentional design that is particularly present in poorer countries, where people are in a way forced to improvise because they are not in a position to just order the next useless gadget online.'

Minnesota spoons

2010-09-06T07:03:00.001+02:00

Peter Hoh from St. Paul, Minnesota spotted this example of unintended use at a cookie shop at the Mall of America in Minnesota. 'Each of the shop's three hanging signs', he wrote, 'had a metal spoon taped to the back of it. Not sure that I can explain why. Perhaps the ventilation system was causing the signs to swing wildly, and someone thought the weight of the spoon would dampen the swings.' You have a different explanation? Let us know.

Lego graffiti

2010-09-05T06:50:00.002+02:00

Nice invention, as seen in the beautiful, wonderful, inspiring, Louisiana Museum of Modern Art in Denmark. They glued Lego plates against the wall and offered huge boxes of yellow Lego bricks to play with. And what did people do with it? Yes, they wrote their own names. (Oh, and when you think the curator wrote his name there as well, you're wrong. It was already there.) (Really!)

Can I donate my hotdog?

2010-09-03T06:53:00.001+02:00

Copenhagen Airport, this summer. The not-so-hungry-anyway owner of the hotdog was gone when the curator bumped into this donation box...

Alcoholic support

2010-09-02T07:02:00.003+02:00

When Astrid from the Netherlands went to Friesland a couple of weeks ago, she saw that the mast of this boat was supported by a couple of beer crates. Further details (why?) are unfortunately unknown...

Phony greenhouse

2010-09-01T14:18:00.005+02:00

'During my holidays in Cornwall, United Kingdom, I visited the Bodmin Jail', wrote Corlijn from the Netherlands. 'That's where I saw this phoneless phone booth. I guess there were tomato plants inside, but I am not sure as I didn't dare to open the door and take a closer look. Why? A few metres from the phonebooth stood a guillotine.'

Large zucchini (rectum)

2010-08-31T14:33:00.002+02:00

On the still brilliant Improbable Research blog, the curator found an interesting link to a medical website, discussing 'Unusual Foreign Bodies Removed From Patients'. An anesthesiologist asked his collegues if they ever found strange objects in people's bodies:

Response from a Pathologist: "Large zucchini (rectum). The spiral from a spiral-bound notebook (male urethra). Pencil (male urethra). Cigarette lighter (stomach)."

Response from a Urologist: "At our hospital recently the general surgeons removed from the stomach a bound and gagged barbie doll that the patient had swallowed."

Response from an Anesthesiologist: "I was called in by a General surgeon for a little boy who had swallowed two small toy dogs when asked why he had swallowed two his reply so the first wouldn't be alone!"

Want more? Here you go! And if you're a doctor and you'd like to add your own experiences to this list, please put them in the comments.