When you think of life-changing inventions, you might always think of hard-on experimentation, endless trials and errors, and countless laboratory work, but some of these inventions are actually just out of pure luck. Yes, world-changing inventions can happen in every minute of every day out of chance, luck, or even by accident! Even the most highly medical inventions such as the Penicillin and Smart Dust, to the biggest industries such as Plastic and Vulcanized Rubber, to the most practical ones like Post-it Notes, and even to the most delicious Chocolate Chip cookies – these were all brought to life because something spilled, something was left unattended, or someone failed in his project. Can you imagine that? To see is to believe in this list of 10 Inventions discovered by accident that changed the world!
10 – Post-it Notes
Can you imagine life without post-it notes to remind you of everything? I can’t! Thanks to Spencer Silver’s luck, post-it came into existence. Well, not technically. The truth is, he was trying to develop a powerful adhesive at the 3M laboratories back in 1968. But ironically, what he produced was an adhesive that could easily be detached! However, this treasure was only taken out to the market in 1980 and took a booming industry only three decades after.
9 – Chocolate Chip Cookies
Chocolate Chip cookies are here just because. Frankly, it did change the world, especially for those who have a sweet tooth! But, initially, this was not a homemade recipe passed through ages because it was only when Ruth Wakefield run out of her baker’s chocolate did she (sort of) invented it. She was trying to create her batch of chocolate cookies, but because she ran out of chocolate, she diced semisweet chocolate bars, dump them in the dough, put them in the oven, and wished chocolate cookies would come out. Instead, rather than melting, the chocolate bars only softened, and so did the hearts of everyone.
8 – Safety glass
Safety glass is used widely today and has saved millions of people, especially during vehicular mishaps. The credit to this invention goes to Edward Benedictus, who, because of knocking off a scientific flask, was able to conceive in his brilliant mind an invention that will save millions of people. The story goes when Edward accidentally knocked of a flask, causing it to fall and crash, but when he checked it out, the flask was broken but not shattered. After researching, he found out that the glass contained cellulose nitrate, which served as an adhesive and held the shattered pieces together. This glass was first used as gas masks during WWI and has become a standard in manufacturing windshields today.
7 – Microwave
If Chocolate Chip cookies are for those who have a sweet tooth, the invention of the microwave is for those who are too lazy to cook for half an hour. But, it was only by accident that this invention was brought to life. Percy LeBaron Spencer, who was then working in the Raytheon Company after WWII, was working on a sci-fi sounding magnetron capable of beaming high waves of radiation. One time, he was walking past a radar tube when he noticed that his chocolate bar (which he kept in his pocket) melted. Curiously, he tried to place a bowl of popcorn in front of the tube, and it quickly popped altogether. And you know how the history goes.
6 – Saccharine
This accidental invention may sound gross, but it is definitely worth it. The story of this invention started when Fahlberg was eating his late supper after working in his laboratory. Now, since he was in a rush, he did not bother washing his hands, which was covered with chemicals and goo that he got from coal tar. As he began to eat his bread, he noticed that it tasted unusually sweet. Aside from that, his water also tasted sweet, and even as he wiped a napkin in his mouth, he can taste the sweetness in it too! So, what is the logical thing to do? Yes, stuck your thumb into your mouth! At least that was what he did. Not only that, he went back to his laboratory and started tasking every beaker that is until he found one containing ‘saccharine”.
5 – Smart dust
Smart dust is a recent invention but has already been considered as one of the most famous inventions in the century. But you would not have thought that such great invention was actually conceived when a student blew up her project at school! Jamie Link was then working on her doctoral project at the University of California when the silicon piece she was working on blew up and shattered into pieces. However, she discovered that the tiny pieces still functioned as sensors afterward. And her work – the Smart Dust – bagged the top prize at the Collegiate Inventors Competition last 2003. Today, it has already been widely used to monitor the purity of water, detect harmful chemicals in the air, and even to locate and destroy various tumor cells in the body. Smart it is!
4 – Plastic
Can you imagine that the plastic (which is even consuming the world now) was only created because John Wesley Hyatt spilled a chemical in his shop? Hyatt was then working to bag a prize at a contest (worth $10,000) looking for an alternative to elephant ivory in billiard balls. However, while working on his project, he accidentally knocked off a bottle of collodion and spilled the chemical. However, he discovered that it became a flexible material when it dried. Together with his brother, Isiah, they coined the term celluloid and released the first-ever commercial plastic in the market.
3 – Pacemaker
Every year, more than half a million surgeries are conducted to implant a pacemaker device into someone. And every year, more than half a million people are saved because of this. It was in 1956 when Greatbatch was currently developing a heart rhythm recording device at the University of Buffalo when he discovered the device by accident. He was then trying to reach into a small box and pulled a wrong resistor and plugged it into a circuit. When he installed the device, he noticed that it was producing a rhythmic sound similar to a human heart. He was then reminded of one of his previous conversations with other scientists regarding whether an electric stimulation could replace the heart’s rhythmic beats. Thanks to his work, pacemakers that were as big as television was decreased to 2 inches and forever changed the world.
2 – Rubber
This invention also started just because someone spilled something. In this case, Charles Goodyear was the culprit. Goodyear was then trying to develop rubber by making it easier to work with but still resistant to high temperature (however, to no avail). While he was working on it, he accidentally spilled a mixture of rubber, sulfur, and lead into a stove for a short time. When he went back to it, he noticed that the mixture was charred by the heat but was not entirely ruined. Instead, it turned into a hard but durable material. And so, vulcanized rubber was created, which is widely used today for different kinds of manufacturing such as tires and shoes.
1 – Penicillin
The number 1 spot goes to the most known story of Penicillin and how Fleming’s vacation turned out to be one of the greatest feats in medicine. As we all know, Alexander Fleming went on for a two-week vacation and left his laboratory closed. Because he was in a hurry (you are always in a hurry when it comes to holidays!), he forgot to clean up his Petri dishes in the lab. One of which was smeared with Staphylococcus bacteria. When he came back, he began cleaning his mess, and he noticed that the dish containing the bacteria was almost entirely covered up except for the area surrounding the Penicillium mold, which was evidently separated from the smear of bacteria. It was as if the mold acted to block the bacteria within a small range surrounding it. Of course, Fleming came back to work, and Penicillin was created!
