What’s an invention that’s still around today but has lost sight of its original purpose?

I’m uncertain.

Let’s just say that it’s not the first time someone has asked me this; I am now a full time EH&S manager and part time consultant/tech but years ago I supervised the lab and I also used to train new employees on how not to kill/maim themselves and/or their coworkers with chemistry (also called Hazard Communication) and afternoon introducing myself and telling them my background, I would get one or two a year asking me this, which is funny because I look nothing like him (and I’m a woman). But it somehow always came back to “Could you really use HF to dissolve a body?” I would always (remember the name of the person who asked and) say you could but it would take a while and it was a major health risk to the person doing the dissolving. There are quicker, less dangerous ways with more easily available chemistry. And those ways are google-able because I’m not going on any list again, so on to the next topic.

/r/AskReddit Thread Parent