The coronary stent may have saved countless lives but its design aesthetic has barely been addressed.
Similarly, few have stopped to marvel at the almost-perfect construction of the wooden crutch.
Or realised how spark plugs - when artfully arranged en masse - could appear so pretty.
Until now.
A new exhibition at the National Museum of Australia called Material World, celebrates the design qualities of utilitarian objects, from toilet roll dispensers to the tractor seat, as well as more creative endeavours, and uncovers the stories behind them.
Design enthusiast Tim Ross opened the exhibition at the museum on Thursday, saying Material World struck a chord with him.
He was happy to see everything from a winter horseshoe from the 1860s to ceramic teeth once used by a Perth dentist now on display behind glass at the museum.
"Elevating anything in a cultural context in a museum is really important because it makes us stop and consider things," Ross said.
"Once you put the spotlight on the object, it highlights the thought process that went into it, how it's played a part in our lives and how it tells a broader story of how far we've come."
Material World features 65 objects, some taken from the museum's own collection of 250,000 items. Each is made from glass, leather, ceramics, metal or wood.
The exhibition was developed in collaboration with the Swayn Gallery of Australian Design, which was named after the late Canberra architect Alastair Swayn who bequeathed his estate to the development of the gallery.
Adjunct Professor Annabelle Pegrum, chair of the Swayn Gallery of Australian Design, joked at the opening of Material World that it had nothing to do with Madonna and that it was "much, much better" than her song of the same name.
Ms Pegrum said Mr Swayn was passionate about all elements of design and wanted as broad an audience as possible to enjoy it.
That legacy continued through to every aspect of this latest exhibition.
Not least in that the curator of Material World was Adjunct Professor Lyndon Anderson, also the Swayn senior fellow in Australian design at the National Museum.
"The exhibition can be viewed as a whole or as five smaller exhibitions, each focusing on a different material or how its use has evolved from First Nations application to outer space exploration," Mr Anderson said.
- Material World is on display at the National Museum of Australia until April 15, 2024.
