We live in a very comfortable world. Even if you go back a century, you will not find things like a television, mobile phone, internet, cars and many others. Every single one go these items have a story behind it, a person who thought of it, created it and introduced it in our lives. While most of them are invented after years of handwork and research, there are some inventions, life-changing inventions, that were created by an accident. Here are 10 of our most favourite inventions that were created accidentally and have changed our lives for the better!
Post-it Notes
Not many people think about the story behind the invention of post-it notes. However, it is one of the biggest inventions created by an accident. Dr. Spencer Silver was a 3M scientist who was conducting a research on a very strong adhesive. Instead of a super strong adhesive, he created quite a weak adhesive that would peel off very easily from any surface without leaving any marks. While no one thought much of it at that time, years later, another 3M scientist, Art Fry, had the idea to use it as a bookmark, which eventually became a Post-it note.
Potato Chips
Who does not love potato chips? We all have days where we just want to curl up on our couches and binge on potato chips while watching our favorite shows. This American favorite snack was invented by George Crum in 1953. He was a chef at a lodge resort in New York. He actually created the potato chips specially for a customer who kept sending his fries back for being too thick and squishy. His solution- very thinly sliced potatoes fried until golden brown. The customer loved them and that is the story of the first batch of potato chips.
Coca Cola
Coca Cola is easily one of the most famous drinks in the world. One would think that the most famous drink in the world would be invented after years of research and work and not just by an accident. It was invented by John Pemberton, who was a pharmacist serving as a lieutenant colonel. When he was wounded, he got addicted to morphine. He wanted to create an alcoholic drink filled with caffeine for so that people with chemical addictions like himself would wean off drugs. However, due to prohibition, he had to take out the alcohol from his formula and finally the first bottle of Coca Cola was created in 1886.
Artificial Sweetener
The world’s first artificial sweetener was discovered by Constantin Fahlberg in 1878. While working in a lab, he tasted some chemicals accidentally. After realising how sweet some of the chemicals were, he began experimenting. He found out that the sweet flavor came from benzoic sulfinide or saccharin, which is the name of artificial sweetener.
X-Ray Image
X-Ray images were invented by German physics professor Wilhelm Röntgen in 1895. As Wilhelm had all his lab noted burned after dying, there are conflicting accounts of the discovery. Most likely, when he was investigating the properties of a cathodic ray tube, he noticed light shining through the cathodic ray tubes. He noticed that the fluorescent paper in the lab were illuminated, despite the machine having an opaque cover. He discovered the medical use after he made a picture on a photographic plate of his wife’s hand. It is the first photograph of a human body using X-rays.
Ink-jet Printer
An ink-jet printer was discovered in 1980’s. However, the concept was first developed in 1950’s. While there is no single inventor, the idea first came to a canon engineer who rested a hot iron on his pen accidentally. A few moments later, the ink was ejected from the pen. This was the principle behind the invention of an ink-jet printer.
Corn Flakes
This may be the most important invention created accidentally to every person who loves his or her breakfast. Who knew the most famous cereal in the world was created by accident? The two Kellogg brothers were seventh day Adventists who promoted vegetarianism and restraint from alcohol for life. During an experiment in 1894, they were making dough from boiled wheat. One of the brothers left the mash to dry out for too long. When the time came to roll the dough, it splintered into hundreds of individual flakes. He baked the flakes to taste them and, in the end,, created a cereal called Granose. After some time, they switched the wheat with corn, thus giving us corn flakes.
Penicillin
Until 1928, life was brutal and painful. Even a simple cut would sometimes lead to gangrene. The invention of Penicillin changed it all. It was discovered accidentally by Sir Alexander Fleming. He was a chemist who was working towards creating a miracle drug. He noticed a Petri dish that was left open containing Staph was contaminated by a mould and had formed a visible growth. The ring of mould apparently killed the bacteria. This is how Penicillin was discovered in 1928. However, mass production did not take place until 1939, just in time for the World War II.
Microwave Oven
Can any one of us imagine living in a world without microwave ovens? This is one device that definitely changed our lives for the better. Percy Spencer was an electronic genius widely known for his work in the Navy in World War I. In 1939, he was working for Raytheon and was involved in a radar research project. While testing out the radar equipment, Spencer felt the chocolate in his pants melting. The chocolate was melting when it was exposed to the waves created by the radar equipment. He even tested it with other foods, included popcorn kernels. The kernels popped and he knew he had created something life changing.
The Pacemaker
The Pacemaker is undoubtedly the biggest invention in our list of inventions created accidentally. It has changed the world and saved millions of lives and all the credit goes to Mr. Wilson Greatbatch. He was working as an assistant professor at the University of Buffalo. In 1956, he was working on a device that would record the rhythm of the heartbeat of a human. While trying to finish the circuit, he accidentally picked the wrong size resistor. When he installed the resistor, the circuit emitted “intermittent electrical pulses”, similar to the rhythm of a human heartbeat. He constantly worked to make the device smaller to fit inside humans and increased the battery life from 2 years to 10 years.
