In the other thread about returning unused ammo , some side discussions took place about medicals . Out of respect for those still focused on the original subject, I thought to shift my remarks about products and their unintednded used , and newly disovered properties to a seperate thread.

My main point was that a medical substance shouln't be thrown because we cannot fully understand it potential positive or negative proeperties . So, throwing something may be harmful to fish or birds because we really don't know the effects of these meds on those creatures. And even if we understood what the med was intended for , there are still other features or reactions that may pop up in the future.

I gave an exanple of Aspirin which was used for headaches, then was found out that it was good for the heart.

Bob said



Here is my comment:

That is not the point Bob. The point is that reagardless of the mechanism, new uses or misuses will be found or occur. Lets take "thinning of the blood" as an example. If we throw a box of aspirin somewhere and it (somehow) gets in the blood system of someone with excessive bleeding, it may make his/her case worse.

Aspirin was just an example of some product that was thought to do something, then it was found out to be doing something else as well.

Here is another unrelated example.
A good many years ago, I was in college and the professor asked us to try something on our HP-45 calculators (Press shift + #7 + #8 ) and the calculator became a stopwatch. He said that even the manufacturer hasn't intended or realized that this could have been done with the calculator. This feature was discovered AFTER the calculator was marketed and sold.

Actually, HP did realize this feature was avalible in the HP-45. It was programed into the software but required a part to make it accurate. This part was not very reliable and was left out of the final released model... HP changed how the timer was accessed but otherwise left the software as it was and not disclosed this a feature since it wasn't very accurate.

Yes, I am a HP calculator geek... I own 18 at current count.

Suddenly I feel better about the stuff I collect...

-Blast, just ribbing you Alan.

I’ve used my 17 Remington to open can, does that count for double duty?


I didn’t eat any of the food after opening the can so it may not truly be a double duty kind of thing. But it was fun…

Only 2 - an HP-41 CV that I keep at work, and a 48sx - although the 48sx has a LOT of dead pixels. Got a recomendation for a new calculator?

Blast, if you only knew ... my calculator collection was never intentional, I just kept buying new ones.

kc2ixe, I guess it depends on what your needs are. These days, the calculator I use most is a simple 12C since I need a scientific calculator less and less these days. If you need the functions of the 48 series then look at the HP-49 series of calculators, if you just need a scientific calculator and could care less about graphing... then get a HP-35s... look like the original 35's but with current electronics.