Off-the-Wall Stories of Off-Label Use

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May 7, 2025

Hallie Lieberman, a sex historian and author of "Buzz: A Stimulating History of the Sex Toy," leads a captivating discussion on off-label uses of products. She explores the surprising evolution of Q-tips from baby care to ear-cleaning dilemmas. The Hitachi Magic Wand's journey from a simple massager to a celebrated sex toy highlights changing perceptions of sexuality. Plus, put your hangover woes to rest with Pedialyte, rebranded as the ultimate recovery drink for adults. Listen in for a fascinating blend of history, culture, and creativity!

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ANECDOTE

Q-tips Ear Cleaning Habit

People have long been using Q-tips to clean their ears despite explicit warnings not to.
The satisfying feeling and visible results make this off-label use hard to resist.

ANECDOTE

Washboard's Musical Journey

Washboards originally designed for laundry found new life as a musical instrument.
Enslaved Africans adapted them as percussion instruments to preserve cultural musical traditions.

ANECDOTE

Pedialyte's Hangover Cure Fame

Dan Brooks battled lifelong vomiting and found Pedialyte effective in easing hangover symptoms.
Adults increasingly use this children's electrolyte solution off-label for hangover recovery.

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Hungover

The Morning After and One Man’s Quest for the Cure

Shaughnessy Bishop-Stall

Shaughnessy Bishop-Stall's "Hungover" is a witty and informative exploration of the science and culture of hangovers. The book delves into the physiological effects of alcohol on the body, explaining why hangovers occur and what makes them so unpleasant. Bishop-Stall recounts his personal experiences with hangovers, sharing anecdotes and observations from his own quest to find a cure. He also explores the history of hangover remedies, from ancient traditions to modern-day solutions. The book blends scientific research with personal narratives, offering readers a unique and engaging perspective on this universal experience.

Buzz!

Inside the Minds of Thrill-Seekers, Daredevils, and Adrenaline Junkies

Dr. Kenneth Carter

Buzz describes the world of high sensation-seeking personalities, explaining their compulsion for intense experiences through accessible neuroscience and real-life anecdotes. The book addresses the role of this personality trait in culture, the distinction between healthy and unhealthy thrill-seeking, and how it influences various aspects of their lives, including relationships, work, and leisure activities. It also challenges common myths about thrill-seekers, emphasizing that they do not have a death wish but rather a need for an adrenaline rush to enhance their lives.

How to Change

The Science of Getting from Where You Are to Where You Want to Be

Katy Milkman

In this ground-breaking book, Katy Milkman reveals a proven path to help readers move from where they are to where they want to be. Drawing on her original research and the work of her world-renowned scientific collaborators, Milkman shares strategic methods for identifying and overcoming common barriers to change, such as impulsivity, procrastination, and forgetfulness. The book offers innovative approaches like 'temptation bundling,' using timely reminders, and creating 'set-it-and-forget-it systems' to make change more achievable. It emphasizes the importance of tailoring solutions to specific roadblocks and using science to stack the deck in favor of successful change.

Products often tell you exactly how they’re intended to be used. But why leave it at that? As a culture, we have long had a knack for finding ingenious, off-label uses for things. In this episode, we take a close look at a few examples of products that are ostensibly meant for one thing, but are better known for something else entirely. We explore Q-tips, which we are explicitly told not to put into our ears; the Hitachi Magic Wand, the iconic sex toy marketed as a body massager; the musical washboard; and the children’s electrolyte solution Pedialyte that many adults swear by as a hangover cure.

You’ll hear from Hallie Lieberman, author of Buzz: A Stimulating History of the Sex Toy; Jacqui Barnett of the Columbus Washboard Company; Christopher Wilson, curator and chair of the Division of Home and Community Life at the Smithsonian; musician and educator Súle Greg Wilson; zydeco musicians C.J. Chenier and Steve Nash; Shaughnessy Bishop-Stall, author of Hungover: The Morning After and One Man’s Quest for the Cure; as well as writers Roberto Ferdman, Dan Brooks, and Kaitlyn Tiffany.

Decoder Ring is produced by Willa Paskin, Max Freedman, Katie Shepherd, and Evan Chung, Decoder Ring’s supervising producer. We had additional production from Sofie Kodner. Merritt Jacob is Senior Technical Director. Special thanks to Kate Sloan, Dr. Carol Queen, Bryony Cole, Amber Singer, Molly Born, Laura Selikson, and Nell McShane Wulfhart.

If you have any cultural mysteries you want us to decode, please email us at DecoderRing@slate.com, or leave a message on our hotline at 347-460-7281.

Sources for This Episode

Bishop-Stall, Shaughnessy. Hungover: The Morning After and One Man’s Quest for the Cure, Penguin, 2018.

Brooks, Dan. “Letter of Recommendation: Pedialyte,” New York Times Magazine, Jan. 26, 2017.

Comella, Lynn. Vibrator Nation: How Feminist Sex-Toy Stores Changed the Business of Pleasure, Duke University Press, 2017.

Dodson, Betty. “Having Sex with Machines: The Return of the Electric Vibrator,” Dodson and Ross, June 9, 2010.

Feran, Tim. “Pedialyte Is Not Just For Kids,” Columbus Dispatch, July 19, 2015.

Ferdman, Roberto A. “The strange life of Q-tips, the most bizarre thing people buy,” Washington Post, Jan. 20, 2016.

Kushner, David. “Inside Orgasmatron,” Village Voice, March 26, 1999.

Lieberman, Hallie. Buzz: A Stimulating History of the Sex Toy, Pegasus Books, 2017.

Lieberman, Hallie. “Selling Sex Toys: Marketing and the Meaning of Vibrators in Early Twentieth-Century America,” Enterprise & Society, June 2016.

Russel, Ruth. “Hangover Remedies? I’ll Drink to That!,” Idaho Statesman, Jan. 1, 1978.

Sloan, Kate. Making Magic, 2024.

Tiffany, Kaitlyn. “How Pedialyte got Pedialit,” Vox, Sep. 10, 2018.

Williams, Dell. “The Roots of the Garden,” Journal of Sex Research, August 1990.

Wulfhart, Nell McShane. “The Best Hangover Cure,” Slate, Aug. 29, 2013.

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