Inventions That Were Created by Total Accident
Sometimes, the greatest breakthroughs in history don’t come from a genius plan, but from a lucky mistake. Some of the most common items we use today were the result of a failed experiment or a messy workbench. Here are five things that were invented by total accident.
- The Microwave Oven: During World War II, an engineer named Percy Spencer was working on radar technology using vacuum tubes called magnetrons. He noticed that a chocolate bar in his pocket had completely melted while he was standing near the machine. He realized the waves were cooking the food, and the microwave was born.
- The Slinky: Naval engineer Richard James was trying to develop a spring that could support and stabilize sensitive instruments on ships. When he accidentally knocked one of his prototypes off a shelf, it didn’t just fall—it stepped down a pile of books and across the floor. He took the idea home, and it became a classic toy.
- Penicillin: In 1928, Alexander Fleming left a petri dish of bacteria out in his lab while he went on vacation. When he returned, he saw that a mold had grown on the plate and killed all the bacteria around it. That mold was the foundation for the first modern antibiotic, saving millions of lives.
- Post-it Notes: Dr. Spencer Silver was trying to create a super-strong adhesive for the aerospace industry, but he ended up with a weak glue that could be pulled off easily without leaving a residue. It sat unused for years until a colleague used it to stick bookmarks into his hymnbook without ruining the pages.
- Potato Chips: In 1853, a chef named George Crum was frustrated by a customer who kept sending back his fried potatoes for being too thick and soggy. To annoy the customer, Crum sliced the potatoes as thin as paper and fried them until they were brittle. Instead of being mad, the customer loved them, and the snack became a sensation.