It's stuff like this which gives birth to the phrase, "This is why we can't have nice things."
Of course, you could always look past the unfortunate history almost every item possesses.
After all, it's not your fault the shoes you might be wearing were invented by Nazis or the car you're about to get into was developed by Nazis or the dealership you drive by was once run by a Japanese company who associated with the Nazis.
Manufacturing has a long, complex history.
Reddit user, Stoned_Black_Nerd, wanted to know what we use that comes from a dark place when they asked:
"What everyday item has a sick and twisted origin story?"
We don't have to know where something comes from to enjoy it.
After all, time passes, companies change hands, and the people in charge don't share the same beliefs as their predecessors.
Right?
Big Misstep There, Dr. Kellogg
"Sylvester Graham believed unwholesome foods created 'impure' thoughts."
"So he created Graham Crackers to keep women from becoming sluts."- Superlite47
"Kellogg believed we were facing an epidemic of masturbation that could only be curbed with a widespread combination of bland cereal, corn flakes, invented for this purpose, and circumcision."
"Non-religious circumcision in the US basically originated from Kellogg's campaigns."- wildfire393
The Most Kissable Lips
"The CPR doll that we use to practice CPR in most work places in the UK has the face of an unknown French cadaver found dead in the Seine river in the 1800s."
"She is known as The Most Kissed Woman in History. Bleugh!"- Adi3m
Let's Overthrow This Government Then Have A Banana. Good Day.
"Chiquita, banana company, is both directly and indirectly responsible for political violence and human rights abuses in south america"- Cheesydilfdog
"The term 'banana republic' comes from these practices."
"It's synonymous with an economy that almost exclusively produces raw materials, which are then shipped to more 'developed' countries, turned into finished products, and sold back to them."
"Colonial era started it, and it continues to this day."
"It's part of why the homespun cotton thing was such a big deal in India during Ghandi's time'."- WesternTrashPanda
Medical advancements requires years of research, experimentation, and trials done on volunteers, putting their own bodies and health on the line for the greater good of an advanced society.
Most of the time.
When You Need It Absolutely Clean, I Guess
"Lysol was marketed as a feminine hygiene product."- SidAndFinancy
"Listerine was marketed as a floor cleaner and a cure for gonorrhea."- NeedsMoreTuba
Open Wide
"The chainsaw was originally introduced to help during childbirth."- Environmental-Fix-71
"The chainsaws invented to aid in childbirth."- CreatrixAnima
At What Cost Do We Find Medical Breakthroughs?
"The modern speculum was created by a man named J. Marion Sims who performed invasive experimental surgeries on enslaved women without anaesthesia."- beerandbuds
"Most obstetric surgical techniques were originally practiced on enslaved women."
"Because these women were looked upon as disposable, it didn't much matter if they survived the procedure, never mind suffered pain and disability as a result."
"This way the doctors could then safely use these techniques on white mothers."- AlarmedAeriel
"Every medical procedure was first done by doctors winging it."
"Often without anesthesia."
"Patients were non consenting."- BatmanAwesomeo
Nazis.
Just, so many things we use come from Nazis.
And cults.
That Thing Your Parent's Are Afraid Of Happening? It Happened.
"The protective seal on OTC medications were a result of a round of murders caused by cyanide-laced Tylenol in the 80s"-throwingplaydoh
Shave And Some Bloodletting. Two Bits.
"Not necessarily 'sick and twisted' but the red and white pole outside of barber shops use to be used to identify barbers who could perform bloodletting during the Middle Ages especially through the course of the Black Death."- OneOddOtter
"Barber shops."
"They used to be doctors offices where they would make incisions on the patient and let the sickness 'bleed out'."
"It did not work."
"Was the method fell out of practice, they switched to hair."- NotaFossilFool
War Brings About Innovation...? Sigh...
"The founders of Adidas and Puma were brothers and were both Nazis"- Super-Noodles
"Volkswagen was literally, factually founded by Hitler."- DemSumBigAssRidges
"Don't forget Ferdinand Porche he designed and built tanks among other weapons."
"Also Mitsubishi Heavy Industries maker of the AM6 i.e. the Zero"- sd1360
"Volkswagen cars have a nazi background."- Greninja_is_Bestpkm
Check Your Silverware, Folks
"Oneida silverware."
"Check out the Wikipedia page for The Oneida Community ."
"It’s a real pearl clutcher."
"It was a religious communal society founded in 1848 in Oneida, New York."
"The community believed that Jesus already came back in AD 70 and they were creating paradise on earth."
"They practiced complex marriage, free love, and male sexual continence , read: don’t finish."
"Sex was mostly for pleasure, making babies was on purpose and the children were raised collectively."
"Older men had sex with young girls/women; older women sexually mentored younger boys."
"A local dad sued to get his daughter out of this scandalous cult, with claims of mental illness and violence surrounding the case."
"The community supported womens’ suffrage and free divorce."
"And eugenics."
"And when the community split apart, some members moved out West to found… Orange County."- Digressionista
Not A Desirable Source Of Fitness
"The treadmill was used for prisoners as a tool for punishment and profit."
"It was a power source to grind grain or pump water."- orosofia
You Can Never Be Too Sure Of What You're Eating...
"All most any candy with shiny coat and some food dyes made from crushed bugs and the fda allows low numbers of insect parts in some foods."- Apprehensive-Fox3187
"Cheetos."
"Made from discarded cow chow."- AutumnAtronach
What Purpose Did It Ultimately Serve?
"The first machine gun, the Maxim Gun, the Gatling Gun doesn't count as it's a Gatling style weapon, was invented by Hiram Maxim."
"His inspirations for it were he was firing a rifle and got knocked over by the recoil."
"He figured that he could use the roil to continuously fire a gun."
"The other inspiration was he was in Europe and an American said to him 'if you want to make a lot of money, come up with something that will help these Europeans cut each other's throats with greater facility'."- shiftyfired1056
Beneficial Side Affects?
"Viagra was originally a drug to treat altitude sickness."
"The bone was only a side effect."- Altruistic-Honey2341
Taking Pleasure In Pain
"Dog toys with squeakers."
"I’ve recently learned that the squeak noise is supposed to represent the the sound of a suffering small animal."- Roody-Poo_Jabroni
Don't feel bad if something you use in your everyday life was on this list. Like we stated earlier, the people who are in charge of the companies and organizations are not the same as those who developed them.
Life is complicated. You shouldn't have to change your shoes.
