Accidental Inventions that Changed the World

Champagne

The drink that laces the parties and celebrations, is actually an accidental discovery of the 17th century. A Benedictine monk wanted to create a bubbly wine; two years of constant work led to the formation of sparkling, white liquid, that we today know as 'champagne'. Dom Pierre Pérignon, is believed to have come up with it, however, he actually wanted to create white wine favored by the French court and devised a unique way to extract juice from the grapes. As Champagne has a relatively lesser temperature, it took two seasons to ferment it; but when the bottle was opened, bubbles were found; it was carbon dioxide. Pérignon carried out futile efforts to eliminate it, but the aristocratic French crowd enjoyed it and eventually it became a hit amongst the Englishmen too.

Microwave Oven

A microwave oven is an essential appliance in today's modern homes. We treat ourselves with hot, cooked meal with a mere push of a button. What was once known as "Popcorn and Hot Pockets Warmer," was actually an unintentional conception. Percy LeBaron Spencer, an engineer working on radar technology after WWII, had a weakness for chocolates that led him to stumble upon this remarkable idea. While working with the magnetron in the lab, a bar of chocolate melted in his pocket which he proposed was due to the invisible rays and not body heat. Soon, his fascination with the invisible radiation rays helped him design the microwave, and he began exploding eggs and popping popcorn with his microwave oven.

Pacemaker

One of the greatest inventions of all time in the medical history, is perhaps the pacemaker. This lifesaving device is a contingent discovery by Wilson Greatbatch. He was working on a circuit that helped record fast heart sounds, he incidentally replaced a 10,000 Ohm resistor with a 1 Megohm resistor. Later realizing that his circuit pulsed for 1.8 milliseconds, he stopped for one second, and repeated the cycle, creating the perfect heartbeat.

Penicillin

Those unaware of Sir Alexander Fleming and his accidental finding, here's a flashback. Sir Alexander Fleming working on a strain of bacteria called Staphylococcus, and left one of the culture plates in a sterile environment, that got contaminated with fungus. He observed that the bacteria refused to grow in the contaminated area, his findings were published and soon work began on it by other scientists. Not until 1945, penicillin was produced on an industrial scale. This changed the way doctors treated nasty bacterial infections.

Vulcanized Rubber

The inventor of tire rubber was a man named 'Charles Goodyear'. He did not have a very 'good year' (pun intended), in fact the worst 10 years of his life trying to produce a strong and durable form of rubber that could withstand the friction during drag races and car chases. Goodyear was so determined with his pursuit that he spent time in and out of jail, lost all his friends, did not give up even when he saw his children starving. Sometime during the 1830s, he used acid to smoothen and toughen the rubber and sold his mailbags made of the acidulous rubber to the government only to be subjected to denial yet again as the rubber was defective. He tried again, in 1839, and failed again miserably; frustrated, he flung a piece of rubber in a hot stove and voila! He realized the burnt remains of the rubber were far more durable and weatherproof and he then came up with 'vulcanized rubber'. However, one should note that the company 'Goodyear' was founded about 40 years after his death.

Teflon

In the 1930s, chlorofluorocarbon or CFCs were emphasized upon in the refrigeration industry. Unaware of the effects of these CFCs on our ozone layer, scientists worked on it endlessly. One such chemist, Roy Plunkett working on similar lines, came up with a theory that if he could react a compound TFE with hydrochloric acid, an improved coolant could be produced. He cooled the TFE gas and pressurized it in canisters to store it for further use. Later, when he opened the canisters, to his astonishment, he found flakes falling out of it, he forwarded these to other scientists at DuPont, an American chemical company and the rest is history.

Super Glue

Dr. Harry Coover, in 1942, worked for Eastman Kodak; his job was to find a plastic that could be used as a clear gun sight. During his research, he observed that the compound used, cyanoacrylate, was very sticky, it polymerized on contact with moisture and stuck to the test material and thus, discarded it. After about 6 years, he again came across cyanoacrylates and this time set to work on it realizing it could form an adhesive that did not require heat or pressure to develop a strong bond. With a bit of chemical change, "Alcohol-Catalyzed Cyanoacrylate Adhesive Composition" or Super glue came into existence.

Safety Glass

Edouard Benedictus, a multi-talented Frenchman, who was a painter, composer, writer and, a chemist, accidentally knocked off a flask of a shelf and thought it would have broken into pieces, but to his surprise the flask did break but had not shattered completely. After inquiring, he found out that the glass contained cellulose nitrate which acted as an adhesive. Benedictus came up with 'Triplex' within 24 hours, which was durable and used in production of gas masks for WWI and for windshields and windows of the cars.

Potato Chips

Potato chips - a discovery that changed the world, or rather the waistlines! It is said that one fine day in 1853, Cornelius Vanderbilt, went to a restaurant in Saratoga, New York for dinner. He refused to eat the fries served to him as they were too thick and soggy. When several plates were returned, the chef George Crum sent thin-fried slices of potato to Vanderbilt, who found them to be a tasty treat. Others, too, wanted to try the new dish and soon 'Saratoga Chips' were added to the menu. Today, we all have a bag of chips under our arms, while we enjoy our favorite TV shows.

Ice Cream Cone

This cool and delightful invention came into existence in 1904, before which, ice cream was served in cups and dishes only. During a World Fair, people ran out of dishes to serve ice cream, and started using thin waffles, making it an instant hit and thus, the rolled cones came into being.