Hello there;
 I have an unusual question. I am looking for a list of 50 things that
only have practical value when used with something else. Let me
elaborate: e.g: a dog leash (only really works when attached to a dog
collar, otherwise serves no real purpose on it's own). I am looking
for a list from the top of someone's head (there of course is no right
or wrong list here-- I am just looking for ideas..). The list should
contain things that, when combined with something else (maybe even two
other things..) has value. But, in itself, isn't really functional. 
Here.. I'll get you started..:
1) rubber nipple for baby bottle 
Why this is a good answer: the nipple doens't have any utility outside
being put on the bottle, and the bottle doesn't have any usage
outside when it has a nipple placed on it)


Here is an example of some bad answers: 
1) egg (you can't bake a cake without it.) 
Why egg is a bad answer: it has a wide variety of uses outside the
metioned application
2) light bulb (you have to have electricity to make it turn on)
Why light bulb is a bad answer: electricity has many uses outside this
application.


To re-state what kinds of things might go on the list: Items that,
when uniquely combined/used/attached/affixed/or otherwise grouped with
something else serve a practical use, but by themselves have no
practical use. It's okay to include some things on the list that
almost always need a particular other thing, but occasionality have
utility with something else.

Use you imagination on this one! and, Thanks!
Feel free to ask any clarification questions.

---

Request for Question Clarification by pinkfreud-ga on 31 Jul 2002 21:18 PDT

I wonder if these would be the kinds of things you want? 

1. Mouse (useful only with a computer)
2. Film (useful only with a camera)
3. Videotape (useful only with a VCR)
4. CD (useful only with a CD player)
5. Shoelaces (useful only with shoes) 

I am puzzled by your example of light bulb as a bad answer because
electricity has other uses. In your first example, the dog leash, is
not the dog useful without it? Does the lack of utility have to be
mutual?

Dear puravida77,

Thanks for this very enjoyable question, I hope I can do it justice,
but I'm certainly prepared for controversy...

This quote from top psychology seemed apt:

"The one who can make out the useless things is intelligent and the
one who looks for useful things is a fool. The foolish person finds
everything useful."

http://www.top-psychology.com/Total%20Science%20Of%20Mind/intelligence1.htm

The way I interpreted the question was – If I only had access to
either one of the two parts, they would suffer severely reduced
functionality. Too often this is from personal experience :-)

1. Philips head screw and screw driver.
2. Bait and hook (fishing)
3. Dart and dartboard
4. Key and keyhole (lock)
5. Door and handle/lock
6. Pen and paper
7. Computer software and computer hardware
8. Two parts of a two epoxy adhesive (araldite)
9. Login name and a password
10. Car and registration
11. Paint and brush
12. Education and the mind
13. Knitting needles and wool
14. Electric plug and wall socket
15. Camera and film
16. Golf ball and clubs
17. Pan and stove
18. Fish tank and fish
19. Chessboard and men 
20. Needle and thread
21. DVD player and DVD etc
22. Instrument and music
23. Money and shops
24. Bubble mixture and wand
25. Can and can opener
26. Fences and livestock
27. Whiteboard and whiteboard markers
28. Shower and curtain/screen
29. Bed and sheets
30. Fuse and fuseholder
31. Barbell and weights
32. Battery charger and rechargeable batteries
33. Christmas tree and decorations
34. Pump and tire
35. Google and the Internet… are there other search engines?
36. Gun and bullets
37. Buckle and belt
38. Drum and drumsticks
39. Phone and directory
40. Cake mixer and beaters
41. Printer and toner
42. Kiln and clay
43. Sink and drain
44. Drill bit and drill
45. Sailboat and sails
46. Dingy and oars
47. Tent and tent poles
48. Stapler and staples
49. Door and hinge
50. Wheels and tires

Others
Bridle and bit
Blackboard and duster
Saw and blade
Rod and reel (fishing)
Wrench and bolt/nut
Toilet and seat
Razor and blade
Glasses and faulty eyes
Bath and plug
Gas station and car
Fireplace and fuel
Lawnmower and blades
Blender and lid
Journal and secrets
Ironing board and iron
Clothes and washing machine
Doctors and medical insurance
Ice rinks and skates
Knife and fork
Undies and elastic
Remote control and television
Gameboy and games
Torch and batteries
Cricket stumps and bails
Cooler and beer
Sprinklers and grass… in summer our grass definitely dies.
Mirror and vanity
Diet and scales :-) 
Flowers and vase
Dishwasher and dishwashing powder… have you tried laundry powder?
Car and key… a subset of keys and keyholes, but much more evocative of
past experiences
Cigarette and lighter
Match and matchbox
Clock and hands
Basketball and hoop
Food and hunger
Life and credit card
Cork and corkscrew.
Bow and arrow.
Schools and students
Two distinctively patterned socks / gloves
Two bicycle wheels
Grenade and pin
Quill pen and ink
Compiler and code
PCs and Microsoft (cringe)
Garage door opener and garage door (locked)
Google questions and Google answers :-)

Regards,

Good answer ozguru;
  My motivation in the question is to look for items that could be
combined with another as a new product (e.g: disposable baby bottles
[nipple manufactured with the bottle, etc, etc]).
I might post another question nearly identicle to this, but with
tighter criteria that would lead to a list like I just described. Very
tough to describe what things should go on the list though..

Hi puravida77

ok, well... how much leeway can we allow to 
things having other uses?

For example,
CD... many uses. Coaster ala AOL, mirror, spacer.
Shoelaces. Anything that needs to be tied, hung up, strapped together
Dog leash... believe it or not, I have one holding a barbell up.
             I figure any nylon strap that can hold a 150 dog, can
             hold up a barbell on its end with weights. I use them
             for holding down cargo too.
Rubber Nipple... I swear I saw martha stewart use one for something
                 else.

So, my question is... do you want only things that can ONLY be
used in one way? Like I can't think of any other uses for my PC mouse.
Well, except, it is optical, and I have used it for a flashlight more
than once...

hmmmmm

-AI

This exercise would be more fun if it had more precise parameters.
(Can something be useful if it's never used? :) A dog leash has at
least as much practical value as any other length of belt, cable or
rope. A bottle without a nipple, like any open container, has a ton of
practical value. I've even seen bottle nipples MacGyvered to create
drip irrigation. Many things can be used to generate energy, recycled
into new practical items or they simply serve a natural purpose. Worse
case, something can always be one person's art or source of
stimulation.

hi Puravida77,

are you looking for some examples like these?

1. a birds cage
2. socket, without the plug, no use of the socket
3. email, without the internet no use of email
4. footwear, without the feet
5. cassette, without a tape recorder
6. wristwatch
7. gloves
8. train without tracks
9. vehicle without wheels
10. stapler without pins

pooh

I agree that the dog part of your example sort of defies what it
sounds as though you wanted.  So, assuming you are wanting mutually
dependent objects that are mutually useless without the other, then I
will list many: most every organ in the  human body depends on there
being the complete body, but the body is useless without the
individual organ.

For example:
The brain has little use outside the body (cannot really function,
therefore it would die) and the body has no use without a brain. 
Without it, it dies.

(Unless of course you are a cannibal...then perhaps there would be
argument in functionality.)

Therefore, assuming I understand what you are wanting, list any
orgrans and you could satisfiy a good number of your 50 items...

Have a wonderful day!
dexterpexter

Pooh,

footwear would not be funcitonal without feet, but feet would function
without shoes.
Same would go with gloves and a wristwatch.  The hands and wrist would
still function without the others.
E-mail will not function without the internet (assuming no local
network), but the internet would function without e-mail.
Same goes with the bird.  

This is, of course, assuming that I interpreted puravida's question.

:)
Cheers,
dexterpexter

dexterpexter,

I don't see much difference between pooh's birdcage and puravida77's
dog leash.

At this moment, my brain is something that will only function with
some snoozage, so I am out of this interesting thread for now. ;-)

~pinkfreud

About the organs suggestion, I think the original idea wouldn’t
include splitting away parts of a whole. One thing is the nipple and
the bottle, you separate them even every time you clean it. But a
lever and a stomach, well, I don’t think anyone would clean oneself so
thoroughly... :-D

Guillermo