What is something really stupid you purchased that turned out far better than expected?
I bought a piece of 1.5 inch stiff foam to try to fix a sag in a bed. It didn't work but having that thick piece of solid foam around has been a life saver.
Need something flat to put a laptop on? Throw it on the foam. Going to be doing something that requires you to be on your knees for a while? Get the foam!
It went from stupid purchase to something I'd gladly replace if it broke.
10 lengths of 10 foot 1/2" copper pipe. when I bought it it was cheaper than now by a lot. I ended up never using it for plumbing because we went with a larger diameter and different material. Now I have the coolest patina curtain rods ever.