20 Peculiar Products And Packaging That Left Us Perplexed

Daniel Mitchell-Benoit
A crosswalk button for people on horseback.
reddit | LockStockNL

As the demand for just about everything grows and young entrepreneurs are trying to find their niche in a flooded market, some strange choices are coming out of the business realm in order to make them really stand out.

Be it the product itself or just the way it's packaged, some choices featured in this certainly are confusing, with whether or not they're good being left up to the individual.

"This circular playing card deck from 1929."

A deck of round cards.
reddit | Blitz139

I'm fully aware that these would play the exact same way as rectangular cards, but I can't shake the thought that they'd be harder to handle, or that a swift breeze would send them all rolling away.

"This 'assorted fruit' snack bag had carrots."

A fruit gummy pack with a carrot gummy.
reddit | TownIdiot25

We've beaten the 'tomatoes are fruits' and 'cucumbers are fruits' arguments to death, is Mott's trying to get a new one going by claiming that carrots are fruits? That's where I draw the line!

"Someone paid me $5 in mini bundles of dimes today."

Five small rolls of dimes.
reddit | mildishclambino

At least this person had the decency to tie them into bundles, that's a level of dedication I can't say I've ever seen in a customer before! It's probably easier to stay organized at home this way too, pretty clever all around.

"The name of this school is School."

A sign for a place called "School Ages 2 1/2 to 5".
reddit | HarryTOMalley

Hey, this is a place of academics here, very left-brain run. The people who founded this institution are teaching intellect, they're not masters of creativity. That's also why they chose Comic Sans for the logo.

"This official customized presidential box of M&M's I was given by a Secret Service member."

A presidential box of M&Ms.
reddit | toysarealive

These are probably meant to be given out to guests or at events as a little souvenir or what have you, but the wording of 'presidential box of M&Ms' makes it sound like they were customized for the president himself and this is the only method with which he can enjoy M&Ms.

"Bag of bags of M&Ms come in 13.5g tetrahedrons in Malaysia, instead of the flat rectangle packs in the USA."

A triangular prism shaped package of M&Ms.
reddit | DisorganizedSpaghett

Alright, apparently strange M&M packaging is a theme here. Why are these ones shaped like tetrahedrons, and why did this person know the name for this weird, weird shape off the top of their head?

"The toilet paper in Peru has a smaller paper roll in its centre, to be taken on trips/purse!"

A toilet paper roll with a mini one inside.
reddit | evolving-me

Whenever I saw photos like these, I always thought the extra roll was just a nice bonus, but carrying one in your bag is definitely the smarter way to use these. No longer will you walk into a public bathroom with fear of there not being toilet paper! Your confidence will be unwavering!

"Cigarettes In Mexico have images of people suffering from lung cancer on them."

A pack of Malboros with someone in the hospital on it.
reddit | introspection101

They have similar warnings where I'm from, too, showing nasty photos of what cancer can do to the body. Comparatively, this one's pretty tame, but hey, whatever discourages people from smoking 'em.

"Bought this lighter that uses another lighter as a gas tank."

A large lighter with a normal lighter inside.
reddit | suburbanhavoc

Looking at this can kind of feel like a ripoff, but if you change the perspective a little it's normal. You didn't buy a heavy-duty lighter, you bought a heavy-duty attachment for your regular lighter, and it's perfect!

"Cadbury Mini Eggs from UK (left) and US (right)."

The UK mini eggs have speckles on them.
reddit | HotPinkSkateboard

Sure, the UK eggs get cute little speckles, but we get the blue eggs! Wait, is that a purple one in the UK bag? Dangit, alright, maybe this will have to come down to a taste test to see whose chocolate eggs reign supreme.

"This poster container came with a popsicle stick attached so it wouldn’t roll around while shipping."

A poster roll with a large popsicle stick rubber banded to the outside.
reddit | Zazzz

I appreciate the simple ingenuity here, but seeing as it's a poster, would it really matter if it rolled around during transport? It's not like spinning will damage it, right? At least it's simple!

"A traffic light button for horseback riders in the Netherlands."

A crosswalk button for people on horseback.
reddit | LockStockNL

Oh to live somewhere where people riding around on horseback is so common that the city finds it suitable to install horse crosswalk buttons. Instead, I live in a metropolitan apartment building. I haven't even seen a horse in years!

"'Extra Strength' Vs. 'Migraine' same drug different packaging."

Two boxes of meds with the exact same ingredients.
reddit | ExpFilm_Student

There are loads of examples like this, or so I learned after reading the comments. Benadryl and most sleeping medication, like ZzzQuil? The same. Not to mention all those vitamins labeled 'for women' when there's barely a difference besides a pink bottle.

"Convenience store in Kentucky has SUPER generic soda that look like movie props."

A selection of extremely on the nose knock off sodas.
reddit | Orifinal18

The charm of a knockoff Coca Cola just called "cola" but with Pepsi branding. If Coca Cola and Pepsi were to have a baby, it would look just like that Cola bottle.

Mtn Holler is also an excellent name.

"My store sells big bags of broken Oreo pieces."

A package of Oreo "Medium Cookie Pieces".
reddit | OnionTuck

It labels itself as perfect for ice cream, but I bet it's probably extremely handy for bakers. Finally, no need to separate the filing from the cookie, they removed a very time consuming step from Oreo-based desserts!

"500 packaged silk flower petals vs 500 separated silk flower petals."

A box full of slower petals next to a tiny package of flower petals.
reddit | lazlopoof

I really did think this was a box of loose potato chips at first, but I feel a lot better knowing they're just flower petals that hopefully won't be going in anyone's mouth.

Or so I thought until the uploader responded to a comment and said, "I just licked one and it just tastes like glue [...]."

"This chocolate bar advertising a new allergen as if it were a feature."

A chocolate bar with a "new allergen" notice on it.
reddit | baquea

"BREAKING news! New allergen, never before seen! You won't want to miss this season's hottest new allergen, featured right here in this white chocolate bar. Make sure you stay tuned to Cadbury packaging for all the latest in allergen news."

"[The] adorable dish soap that's in my hotel room."

A tiny bottle of Palmolive dish soap.
reddit | DavidRichter0

We've all seen the tine shampoos and soaps that hotels happily leave us knowing for a fact that we're going to steal them, but tiny dish soap is new, and a lot handier. I'm picky about my shampoo because I have long hair I'm trying to protect, but I'll use whatever dish soap is put in front of me.

"My parents' 2-slice toaster toasts bread side by side rather than in front of each other."

A long, skinny toaster.
reddit | EileanBharraigh

Or you could stick a good chunk of sideways-sliced baguette in there, even a nice wide piece of a french loaf would be perfect for this. More compact, more practical. why didn't this design win over the standard two-slicer?

"The dairy queen I went to has 'chewable' ice."

A drink machine advertising "Chewable Ice".
reddit | I_wanna_hellcat

I know they don't mean chewable in the rubbery sense, but that's all I can think about now and it's definitely making me feel not great. I'm don't want to take a dip of my Sprite to be met with tiny bits of chewiness in it.