Invention By Mistake

 

20 Things That Got Invented by Mistake

Whenever we think of inventions, we think of extraordinary people with their extraordinary inventions. But sometimes there are inventors whose inventions were an accident or a twist of fate. Who knew that something that went drastically wrong, would one day be something that the whole world would praise. The inventions are actually failures which the inventors came across but later turned out to be useful. Let us take a look at the 20 most useful things that changed the world but were invented by mistake.   

1.     Pacemaker: Wilson Greatbatch, in 1958, invented the pacemaker when he was working as an assistant professor at the University of Buffalo. He was initially making a heart rhythm recording device for the chronic disease Research institute. He reached out to a box of parts to find a resistor to complete the circuit. But he pulled out the resistor of the wrong size. After installing this resistor, the device produced emitted intermittent electrical pulses. Later he associated the timing of the electrical impulses with the human heartbeat.               

2.     Microwave: Percy Spencer was testing upon a contemporary vacuum tube called magnetron. He was carrying out research for the Raytheon Corporation in 1945. He tried another experiment with the pop-corn when the candy bar in his pocket began to melt. In the wake of his chocolate melting, he realized the potential of his invention. Later the company launched the first-ever microwave which weighed 750 pounds (approximately 350 kg) and was 25.5 feet tall. It was priced at $5,000. 

            3.   Penicillin: Alexander Fleming noticed a Petri dish left open in the basement of St. Mary's                       Hospital in London. The Petri dish contained staphylococcus that had been mistakenly left                       open. It was contaminated by blue-green mold form an open window, which formed a                             visible growth. Fleming concluded that the mold later caused the lysing of the bacteria. Thus,                 the first antibiotic penicillin was formed. This was the traditional version of the story. It is                     suspected that the story is inaccurate, with the modern theory of how mold and bacteria react.                                               

        4.     Ink-Jet Printer: A canon engineer accidentally placed his hot iron on a pen. The pen ejected                 ink a few moments later. The principle led to the creation of the ink-jet printer.

                                                                              

5.     X-ray Images: It was 8th November 1895, when a German physics professor Wilhelm Rontgen was stumbled on X-rays. He was experimenting with Lenard Crookes. There are contradictions on the discovery since the laboratory and notes burned after his death. But it is a reconstruction by his biographers, that he was working on cathode rays using a fluorescent screen painted with barium platinocyanide and a Crookes wrapped in cardboard. He observed a faint green glow from the screen about a meter away. He concluded that there were some invisible rays that are making the screen glow. Thus the X-rays were discovered. Later it was observed that the rays passed through books, papers. The medical use of X-rays started when he tested them on his wife's hand.

      6.     Vulcanized rubber: Thomas Goodyear accidentally spilled sulfur, lead, and rubber on the                      stove for a long time. This gave rise to an extremely helpful product named vulcanized rubber.                This is used to make tires and shoes.

                                                               

7.     Stainless steel: Harry Brearly was ordered to make a rust-free gun barrel for the soldiers. He experimented with different varieties of metals and studied them thoroughly. He found out that 13% of chromium steel had not corroded over several months. And this is how stainless steel came into existence.

                               

8.     Teflon: Teflon was invented completely by accident. Dr. Roy Plunkett was trying to make a better coolant gas in refrigerators for DuPont. He left a batch of gas overnight and observed that it had polymerized very rapidly. It left behind a slippery wax-like solid with exceptional properties. Now, Teflon is used as a coating over non-stick pans & for dentistry.

        

9.     Artificial sweetener: Saccharin was discovered by Constantin Fahlberg. He was working with a coal tar derivative benzoic sulfimide. After a long day at work, he went home. When he sat down for dinner without washing his hands he found out a sweet taste. He later compared the taste with the compound and gave it a trivial name- Saccharin.

10.  Post-it notes: In 1968 a scientist ar 3M company created a very weak adhesive that would peel of when removed from any surface. The pun lies in the fact that he was trying to create a super strong glue. Later another scientist found out that the adhesive gets off the paper without leaving any mark. 

11.  Slinky: Mechanical engineer Richard James invented the Slinky by accident. He was trying to make a tough spring which could keep sensitive ship equipment steady at sea. He kept all of his samples on a shelf. One day accidentally e dropped one of the samples and that began to walk on the ground all on its own. 

12.  Velcro: Swiss electrical engineer George de Mestral invented this unique fastener. He went hiking with his dogs in the woods. Upon arriving at his home back he observed that burrs stuck his coat and of his dogs. He further researched on it and made a distinctive type of fastener named- Velcro.

                                                                        

13.  Superglue:  The glue was invented by scientist Harry Coover in 1942. He and a team of chemists were working on creating clear plastic. The team failed to achieve the goal but came out with a different product. It was first rejected but later became popular by the name of super glue.

14.  Matchstick: John Walker, in 1805, was once cleaning up his laboratory with a wooden stick. He was shocked to observe the sparks that came out from the stick. He later researched the chemicals and invented the matchstick.

15.  Coca-Cola: While serving a lieutenant colonel, John Pemberton who was a pharmacist was wounded. He got addicted to morphine,. He later began to work to create a potion that was narcotics-free and would cure an upset stomach. But he ended up creating Coca-cola which became immensely popular among the public for its unique taste.      

16.  Plastic: Swiss chemist Charles Schonbein accidentally spilled nitric acid-sulfuric acid mixture on some cotton. He observed that it turned out to be a polymer. Later on, when he came to know about the properties of the material he was highly astonished. He was highly surprised to know that how after heating it could be molded into any desired shape.

17.  Synthetic dye: In 1856 a teenager William Perkin accidentally discovered a dye. He was trying to make a vaccine that could cure Malaria. This accident spawned a revolutionary change in the textile industry.

18.  Safety glasses: Edouard Benedictus was carrying a flask filled with liquid plastic in it. Fortuitously he dropped the flask, but surprisingly the flask did not break. This patent was used by scientists to make safety glasses.

19.  Potato chips: The most esteemed snack, potato chips were also invented by mistake. Long back, in a restaurant in Newyork, a customer repeatedly complained about the fried potato being too thick and soggy and sent them back to the waiter every time. The waiter got so fed up that he cut the potato into thin slices and fried them. He sprinkled salt over them and served to the customer. The customer was delighted and the world got to know about an all-time favorite snack.

20.  Laughing gas: In 1772 a scientist Joseph Priestly, accidentally dropped some iron filings in nitric oxide solution. It created fumes of nitrous oxide. He started to laugh heavily. Later when he brought the gas to a chemist he found that it contained anti-panic properties. The gas was later used by Harry Davy as anaesthesia while dental surgery.

These were some inventions which were all made by mistake but were very helpful for the world. Some of these marked-up important revolutions in the international market.