Comment by kristopolous

Sure. What about the public citizen efforts for crumple zone and seat belts in the 1960s?

Or are you saying bad incentives, good long term outcomes?

Maybe Napoleon's rework of Paris? That was done to control public dissidents but it also made it a beautiful city.

Mass timekeeping? Those were adopted for industrial labor... Seems to be quite useful

Joint stock ownership was I think invented for the slave trade but that's proven to be generally useful.

I think magnetic audio tape was made practical for a deceitful technique by the Nazis for claiming to be broadcasting live on the radio after they had fled...

In each of these instances though the thing long outlived the initial user