Inventions invented accidentally – Human beings are the most gifted creature on the planet. They can adapt to any sort of environment and even create stuff that helps them in such adaptations.
But, we wrongly believe that every invention is preplanned. There are lots and lots of inventions that were actually an accident. Sounds interesting, right? Among the thousands of such “accidental inventions,” we have shortlisted the top 10 of them. These Inventions invented accidentally went ahead to change our lives dramatically.
Now, let’s take a closer look at the Inventions invented accidentally –
Inventions invented accidentally –
- Coca-Cola
Let’s begin this list with something that is known to almost every human. Yes, we are talking about Coca-Cola. Shocked? Yes, it was an accidental invention to. Civil war soldier John Pemberton who later became a pharmacist wanted to create a simple medicine, and he ended up creating the most famous soft drink on this planet. The original intention is the main reason why the actual recipe of Coca-Cola contains cocaine (as it was intended to be a medicine). Thank God he made that accident! We would never be known what an authentic soft drink tasted as if this accidental invention hadn’t taken place.
- Corn Flakes
Did you know that America’s one of the most loved cereals is actually an accident? Will Keith Kellogg had the responsibility of assisting his brother who as a doctor. Kellogg had a nature of forgetfulness. One day, he left boiled wheat sitting out for a long time. When he returned to check it, he found out that the wheat had developed a flaky texture. Out of curiosity, he baked it. The end product was crunchy and a lot tastier. The patients loved it. And, this is how a life-changing invention was done due to the forgetfulness nature of a guy.
- Microwave oven
Now a day, no one can think of a complete kitchen without a microwave. Did you know that it was the result of a huge accident? Percy Spencer was visiting a laboratory when he noticed something really strange while he was standing in front of a device. He noticed that the candies in his pocket had melted, but he didn’t melt (we can thank God for that!). He used other food items just to confirm his theory. He received success in those too. Soon after that, he created another device that uses that same technology. He named it Microwave oven. And now, it is an essential part of all of our kitchens.
- Dynamite
Now let’s get the things heated up a bit. Working with explosive substances isn’t meant for the lighthearted. Many scientists including Alfred Nobel realized it in a hard way. Nobel was looking for a way to stabilize nitroglycerine. During this entire process, there were many accidents. One of those accidents was so fatal that it claimed the lives of his brother and some other co-workers. He finally managed to store to this substance in a container without reducing its explosive strength (many people claim that this was through an accident as well). He patented this product and named it dynamite. Another interesting fact is that Nobel intended the dynamites to be used for construction, but the world used it for wars. He was so moved by it that he created the Nobel Peace Prize in his will, this was to be given to the people who worked for the maintenance of peace.
- The Pace Maker Machine
A heart block occurs when the surround nerves fail to signal the heart to pump blood. Many scientists were making devices to fix it, but all of them were too bulky. Wilson Greatbatch was giving a demo of the pendulum in a University, and he grabbed the wrong transistor by mistake. Even after realizing his mistake, he gave it a shot to see what happens. To his utter amazement, it worked and created a rhythm that was completely similar o heartbeat. He modified that model and created the pacemaker that helped save many lives.
- Penicillin
We cannot call this list complete if we don’t include one of the most famous accidental discoveries in medical science. Alexander Fleming returned to his lab after a vacation of 2 weeks. He found an unusual mold on a Petri dish that had bacteria in it. Most interesting part of this is that the bacteria didn’t grow in the area that had the mold. He studied this mold and concluded that it prevented the growth of an unwanted microorganism. This accidental concept was polished almost 13 years later and turned into Penicillin.
- Anesthesia
Ok now get into an accidental discovery that is a boon to the medical world. Without this, the treatments would be a lot more painful, and we aren’t joking at all. Crawford Long, William Morton, Charles Jackson and Horace Wells are the people who realized that ether and nitrous oxide inhibited pain in the people who were under its influence. While at a party, Horace noticed that a person had injured his leg and he felt no pain. That man was under the influence of laughing gas. This accidental discovery led to the invention of anesthesia which is a key part of the medical world now.
- X rays
In 1895, Wilhelm Roentgen was conducting some experiments using cathode ray tubes. He noticed that some of the fluorescent materials in the room had lit up. This phenomenon was quite unusual because there a thick block was present in between the cathode rays and the material. This led to the conclusion that certain part of the light rays was actually passing right through the block. On further filtering, x Rays were born.
- Radioactivity
In the year 1896, physicist Henri Becquerel was actually trying to create x rays with the help of x Rays, with the help of the sun. During the experiment, the samples faced an entire week of cloudy skies that changed the end result. When he returned after a week later, he was amazed to see that the rock of uranium had somehow managed to leave its imprint on a photographic plate that was lying nearby and there was no exposure of light. This led to the discovery of the radioactive nature of uranium which was later used for many bigger inventions and discoveries.
- Synthetic Dye
William Perkin was so busy in experimenting that an experiment went completely wrong. The end product seemed to be none but a complete mess. He inspected it and found that a beautiful color was vibrating from the Petri dish. This horrible accident was the main reason for the invention of the world’s very first synthetic dye.
Inventions invented accidentally – So, in this article, we discussed the top 10 inventions that we actually a complete accident. These accidental inventions changed our lives completely, and now we can’t think of a day without these. Lastly, we really hope that you enjoyed reading this article on 10 inventions invented accidentally.
