Whoops! The 10 Greatest (Accidental) Inventions of All Time

OK, mistakes happen and the results can be astounding. I know there are others that can be added to this list so please do.

Original Source

Number 1.

The Microwave - Percy L. Spencer Percy Spencer, an engineer at Raytheon after his WWI stint in the Navy, was known as an electronics genius. In 1945, Spencer was fiddling with a microwave-emitting magnetron—used in the guts of radar arrays—when he felt a strange sensation in his pants. A sizzling, even. Spencer paused and found that a chocolate bar in his pocket had started to melt. Figuring that the microwave radiation of the magnetron was to blame (or to credit, as it would turn out), Spencer immediately set out to realize the culinary potential at work. The end result was the microwave oven—savior of eager snackers and single dudes worldwide.

Number 2.

Saccharin - Ira Remsen, Constantin Fahlberg via Gizmodo In 1879, Ira Remsen and Constantin Fahlberg, at work in a laboratory at Johns Hopkins University, paused to eat. Fahlberg had neglected to wash his hands before the meal—which usually leads to a quick death for most chemists, but led to him noticing an oddly sweet flavor during his meal. Artificial sweetener! The duo published their findings together, but it was only Fahlberg's name that made it onto the (incredibly lucrative) patent, now found in pink packets at tables everywhere. That is to say, Remsen got screwed—he later remarked, "Fahlberg is a scoundrel. It nauseates me to hear my name mentioned in the same breath with him."

And the rest.

reply to post by barkingdogamato


how play-doh, the slinky and hook & loop (brand name: Velcro) rated higher on the list than Roentgen Rays ( x ray ) is beyond my understanding. i was wondering how serious the list was until #10 saved the day.

years ago i worked at the USA headquarters of a Japanese medical x-ray film company. a wonderful man who grew up in Germany worked there and his neighbor was the man who invented hook & loop. i was told 'Velcro' didn't make the inventor a millionaire but it certainly did make his life more pleasant: better cars, nice vacations. i'm glad to see this man get some credit to his name, as his invention is a wonderful product that helps many.

this list completely overlooked many important discoveries of medicines that were 'happy accidents'. there are so many of those they could probably do another '10' list just for meds.

TOTAL CRAP --- DOESNT EVEN INCLUDE THE POST-IT-NOTE, the invention that created 3M

i only see two things mentioned here where's the rest the is a misleading title

Originally posted by xmetalgear
i only see two things mentioned here where's the rest the is a misleading title

Maybe if you clicked on the link in the first post you might find out what the other 8 are.

Schronbein and Nitrocellulose anyone?

Linky

Originally posted by thegoods724
TOTAL CRAP --- DOESNT EVEN INCLUDE THE POST-IT-NOTE, the invention that created 3M

So sorry, you are wrong. 3M (Minnesota Mining & Manufacturing) had a long & wonderful business history long before they began selling the famous Post-It Notes. Look it up online.