20 Accidental Inventions that Changed the World

Accidental Inventions That Changed The World

When we think of inventions that changed the world as we know it, typically we are lead to believe that a group of scientists and engineers were working very hard in some lab to create their invention. While that is certainly true for the most part, that is not always the case. Sometime groundbreaking inventions were created completely by accident and by chance. It seems strange, but there are actually a fair amount of inventions that were created this way. So let’s take a look at a list of 20 accidental inventions that managed to change the world in some way, shape, or form.

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Teflon

20. Teflon

Our beloved, non-stick Teflon cooking appliances were the result of an accident. Du Pont chemist Roy Plunkett was working on a method to improve the refrigerator when he came up Teflon. He was working on combining two different gasses in an experiment. The resulting gas was left in canisters overnight, and when he returned to the lab the next day, he found the gas was gone and that it left a slipper coating on the surface, and thus Teflon was created.

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Potato Chips

19. The Potato Chip

Arguably the most popular snack food in the world was a result of an accident. In 1853, chef George Crum was dealing with an unpleased patron who was complaining that the friend potatoes served were too thick. Chef Crum did not like his complaints so out of spite he cut a potato in paper thin slices thinking the guest would hate it. Well it turns out that quite the opposite was true, and these potatoes quickly caught on.

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Muave

18. Muave

In 1856 scientist William Perkin was attempting to develop a cure for malaria, when he accidentally came up with Mauve. His concoctions for the cure never panned out, but he soon realized that he had an interesting synthetic dye on his hands. Mauve would then become the first synthetic dye ever and it changed the fashion world forever.

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Scotchgard

17. Scotchgard

Patsy Sherman was a chemist for 3M that was attempting to create a rubber material that would not be able to deteriorate when she, and a clumsy assistant, came up with Scotchgard. Her associate accidentally dropped a batch that they were developing on her shoe, and quickly realized that the liquid would repel water and stains. They then realized this could be applied to protect clothing, carpets, and a variety of other materials.

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Dynamite

16. Dynamite

Mankind was looking for a more stable explosive and alternative to nitroglycerin back in the day, when Alfred Nobel came up with dynamite by accident. Nitroglycerin was certainly effective, however it could potentially explode at random. Nobel was fiddling with a mixture of explosives when he found a way to create a more stable form of explosives.

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X-ray

15. X-Ray Images

After breakthroughs in radiation in the late 1800’s, many scientists were experimenting with various forms of energy and forces that could not be seen. Wilhelm Röntgen, a physicist from Germany, was experimenting with glass tubes filled with various gasses that had an electric current running through them. He noticed some strange lights emitting from them. When he surrounded the tubes with black cardboard he realized he accidentally discovered an invisible ray, and eventually named it the X-ray.

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Safety Glass

14. Safety Glass

A French chemist named Èdouard Bénédictus experimented on a variety of different things back in the day. One day he accidentally dropped a small beaker in his lab. Instead of shattering in a million pieces, it only cracked and retained its form. Curious he then found that the beaker used to be filled with plastic cellulose nitrate which acted as a coating to keep the glass from breaking. Now safety glass is seen everywhere, especially in every automobile.

Photo from signmakingandsupplies.co.uk 

Slinky

13. The Slinky  

Richard James was an engineer during the times of World War II who was attempting to develop springs that could stabilize military instruments on naval ships when he accidental dropped one off his disk. He watched as it practically walked across the floor and realized he was on to something. This would then become the Slinky which has been one of the most successful toys of all time.

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Saccharin

12. Saccharin

Around 1870 a Russian chemist by the name of Constantin Fahlberg was working on various mixtures relating to coal tar. After working the lab one night, he came home to dinner and realized his food tasted very sweet. He realized that he had residue from one of his concoctions on his hands that was making his food sweet, and then Saccharin was created. Saccharin was one of the first synthetic sweeteners ever, and it forever changed the world of food. Without it, there would be no Sweet ‘N Low.

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Anesthesia

11. Anesthesia

While there is no single inventor of anesthesia, scientists Crawford Long, William Morton, and Charles Jackson were some of the first to observe its beneficial effects. They realized that drugs that people were using to get high, like laughing gas, could actually be extremely beneficial for surgery and medical procedures. Without it, many operations are obviously incredibly painful.

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 Vulcanized Rubber

10. Vulcanized Rubber

When rubber was first invented/discovered, it was certainly a groundbreaking material, however it had one problem: it broke down easily in hot or cold environments. Charles Goodyear wanted to find a way to make rubber more resilient, however he kept failing at it. One night he was fed up with it and turned out the lights, mixing different ingredients together at random. The result was vulcanized rubber and now that is the type of rubber used in our tires. Without it, we would be buying new tires almost every week.

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Smartdust

9. Smartdust

Smartdust is various micro-electromechanical sensors, robots, and diodes that are used for a variety of different purposes, namely small chips that are used for medical testing. Jamie Link, a student at the University of California, accidentally destroyed a small silicon computer chip that she was working on for homework. Upon further inspection she realized that these absurdly small fragments could still work as sensors, and now Smartdust is used to help find tumors and viruses in the human body.

Photo from uatrobotics.blogspot.com

Plastic

8. Plastic

In the early 1900’s, chemist Leo Baekeland was attempting to develop a synthetic replacement for a resin that was secreted by an insect found in Asia. One of his mixtures of formaldehyde and phenol first appeared to be a failed attempt at replicating the resin, however on further inspection he realized that by altering the temperature and pressure of this mixture, he could create a moldable substance that became plastic. As we know, plastics are used in a variety of different things, so this certainly was an important accidental invention.

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Matches

7. Matches

Prior to the invention of matches, humans had to carry around a flint and steel or rub two sticks together to create fire. One day in 1826, English pharmacist John Walker was stirring a random mixture of chemicals when he observed that some residue built up on the end of the stick. When he tried to scratch the hardened mixture off, it erupted in flames. He then realized this could be beneficial, and the mixture would then be used to create matches.

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stainless steel

6. Stainless Steel

For many years mankind wanted to develop a way to prevent steel from rusting, however no one was able to come up with a method that could be mass produced. In 1912 Englishman Harry Brearly was working on various methods to develop a better barrel for guns. After failing for many months he noticed that one of his “unsuccessful” steel barrels did not rust at all. Upon further inspection he discovered that the steel alloy contained small traces of chromium, that when mixed with the outside air, would create a thin film over the steel that would protect it. This accidental invention was revolutionary, and now almost everything that is made from steel is stainless.

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The Microwave

5. The Microwave Oven

During World War II, the Raytheon Corporation was experimenting with ways to increase the accuracy of radar used to find planes by altering the magnetron of the radar devices. After the war, a scientist named Percy Spencer noticed that a chocolate bar had melted in his pocket when he was working on one of the devices. He conducted more tests, and realized that food could be prepared with this device, thus inventing the microwave oven.

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pacemaker

4. The Pacemaker

A man by the name of Wilson Greatbatch was attempting to develop a device that could measure the human heart beat. When constructing the device his mistakenly put in the wrong resistor. Upon turing the device on, he realized his invention acted as a artificial heart beat machine, thus creating the pacemaker.

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superglue

3. Superglue

Superglue was accidentally invented by a man named Harry Coover who was attempting to develop plastic sights for guns during World War II. Unknowingly he came up with superglue, however he hated how sticky it was and wrote it off as just another failed mixture. Years later he realized that he could actually use this mixture for a super strong glue, and then reapplied the experiment to develop superglue.

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Velcro

2. Velcro

Velcro was developed by a Swiss electrical engineer by the name of George De Mestral, who had no intention of creating this unique material that is often applied in fashion. He became fascinated with various seed pods that would stick to his dog when he took him out for a walk. He examined the seeds under a microscope and came up with the idea to create a material comprised of tiny hooks and loops. He eventually would develop Velcro, however it was not popularised until NASA began to use it in the 1960’s.

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 Penicillin

1. Penicillin

Arguably the most beneficial invention that was the result of an accident would be Penicillin. Scottish scientist Alexander Fleming was conduction various experiments on bacteria in petri dishes. He wanted one particular batch to grow during his leave when he went on vacation. When he came back he realized that mold was growing in the dishes that were causing the bacteria to stop growing or die out. After more tests he found out that this bacteria could be harnessed to make medication, and thus Penicillin and the birth of antibiotics were discovered.

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Written by Sebastian Hensiek

From Philadelphia, Sebastian is a fan of music, writing, art, and entertainment.