[tps_header]Imagination, technique and intelligence always took part in realizing the most unusual and also useful inventions in the world. However, there were cases when inventing something was based on an accident and not really on years of research. Here are some of the inventions that accidentally took place and for which we are forever grateful.[/tps_header]
[tps_title]Penicillin[/tps_title]
Sir Alexander Fleming was the inventor of Penicillin and he was actually looking for a miracle medicine that could cure a wide diversity of diseases. During his research he didn’t find something promising and what it’s more interesting is that only after he finished his experiments he found what he was looking for. In one of the days of the year 1928 Fleming discovered a strange type of mold that dissolved everything around it. He then observed that this mold contained a powerful antibiotic, penicillin, that is ever since used to treat several illnesses.
[tps_title]Coca Cola[/tps_title]
The famous drink is also an accident of a pharmacist called John Pemberton. During the 1880s, Pemberton used to sell a syrup obtained from wine and cocaine extract under the name of “Pemberton’s French Wine Coca” which was actually a sort of medicine for migraines and nervous breakdowns. In 1885 alcohol was prohibited in Atlanta (the state were Pemberton lived), therefore the recipe was changed to cocaine extract and mineral water, transforming the medicine into the drink we all enjoy today.
[tps_title]Chips
[/tps_title]
In 1853, George Crum, master chef at Carey Moon Lake House of Saratoga Springs was trying to prepare average fries for one of his clients. The problem was that the client was constantly sending the fries to the kitchen telling that he wants them to be thinner and crunchier. Therefore, the chef got really angry and cut the slices of potato the thinnest as he could and when he fried them he realized that they started to harden. Surprisingly enough, the client enjoyed the meal and so did everyone in the last 150 years.
[tps_title]The Slinky[/tps_title]
We all got to play with a Slinky during our childhood. Did you know that it was originally part of a naval equipment? In 1943 Richard Jones was trying to design a gadget that was meant to monitor the efficiency of battle ships. While he was working with several traction springs he drop off one of them and observed that it started to balance from one side to the other. And, thus, the Slinky was born!
[tps_title]The microwave[/tps_title]
The rather recent invention finds its author in the name of Percy Spencer, an engineer that at the time was making experiments on a new vacuum tube. During one of his experiments, a piece of candy that was in his pocket started to melt. Then Spencer took several corn grains, placed them next to the tube and watched them how they were transforming into popcorn.
[tps_title]Anesthetic[/tps_title]
In the 1800s, substances like ether and nitrous oxide were used as recreational drugs. Scientists usually frequented parties were these substances were consumed in order to observe how consumers behaved. In 1846, Horace Wells got invited at one of these parties where someone suffered a foot injury. Even though his wound was bleeding, he confessed that he wasn’t feeling any pain. Since this “accident”, Wells started a whole series of experiments and used the mix of ether and nitrous oxide as an anesthetic to pull out a tooth. And it worked ever since.
