What invention came about by mistake?

Answer 1

Several inventions have been found by mistake. The microwave is one of them. Percy LeBaron Spencer was working as an engineer with the Raytheon company when he was experimenting with and testing a magnetron. The magnetron was invented during WWII and allowed the Allies to pinpoint the exact locations of Nazi war machines and arsenals, as the magnetron produced microwaves which radar then bounced off the arsenals, and back to the Allies. Whilst testing the magnetron after the war, Dr Spencer reached into his pocket for his chocolate bar, and discovered it had completely melted. He made the connection between the melted chocolate and the heat-producing magnetron, and tested his theory on a bag of unpopped corn kernels, which then popped. Next, he placed an egg in front of the magnetron. The egg exploded. Dr Spencer is therefore credited with discovering one of the critical components of the microwave oven. Charles Goodyear, a businessman who experimented with the properties of gum elastic, accidentally discovered the process of vulcanisation of rubber when he dropped some rubber mixed with sulfur on a hot stove. Penicillin as an infection-fighting element is another. Alexander Fleming was keen to find an effective means of fighting infection after seeing the effects of infections in dying soldiers. It was his untidiness as a worker which led to his greatest discovery. In the summer of 1828 he went away for a holiday, but left a clutter of plates growing various bacteria lying about his desk. After his return, whilst working on an influenza virus he noticed that mould had developed accidentally on a staphylococcus culture plate, and that the mould had created a bacteria-free circle around itself. Further experimentation proved that even a weaker-strength mould culture prevented growth of staphylococci. Thus, Fleming initiated the development and practice of antibiotic therapy for Infectious Diseases. Even the humble cornflake was invented by accident. The development of the corn flake came about because John Harvey Kellogg sought to improve the vegetarian diet of his hospital patients. Whilst boiling wheat to try to produce an easily digestible substitute for bread, Kellogg accidentally left a pot of boiled wheat to stand and become tempered. When it was put through a rolling process, the grains of wheat emerged as large, thin flakes. When the flakes were baked, they became crisp and light, creating the corn flake, which he patented on 31 May 1884.