Buzz
Sometimes, brilliance strikes without warning, often by chance rather than design. This explains why many of history’s most influential inventions were accidents. In some instances, the creator was seeking one thing but ended up with something entirely unexpected.
In one remarkable case, a leisurely stroll through nature led to a groundbreaking discovery. Explore how luck and coincidence played pivotal roles in some of the world’s most significant innovations.
10. Velcro
Velcro is now a common feature in everything from backpacks to blood pressure monitors, but can you picture a world without it? Just eighty years ago, there was no Velcro, and no one even dreamed of inventing it.
In 1941, Swiss inventor Georges de Mestral went for a casual walk through the woods with his dog. Upon returning home, he noticed that both he and his dog were covered in small burrs. Curious, he examined the burrs to understand how they managed to stick to clothing and fur with such ease. He discovered that the burrs' tiny hooks allowed them to latch onto the tiny loops in fabric.
Inspired by this discovery, de Mestral came up with the innovative idea to create a dual-sided fastener with stiff hooks and loops. He called his creation 'Velcro,' a name that actually refers to his company, not the generic term for hook-and-loop fasteners.
De Mestral patented his invention in 1955, and soon it was being manufactured and sold worldwide. Velcro fasteners became a staple in many products, but their popularity soared when they were used in space exploration. In zero gravity, the fasteners were used to keep equipment from floating away. During de Mestral’s lifetime, his company sold an average of 55 million meters (60 million yards) of Velcro annually.
9. Play-Doh
Children adore Play-Doh because it comes in a variety of colors and can be molded into countless shapes. This beloved toy was the result of an accidental invention by Noah McVicker.
Noah McVicker worked for a soap company and initially developed the putty-like substance as a wallpaper cleaner. The cleaner was highly effective because it was chemical-free, reusable, and gentle on wallpaper, leaving no stains behind.
Joseph McVicker, Noah’s nephew, also worked for the same company and noticed that teachers had started using the putty for arts and crafts in their classrooms. Joseph is credited with renaming it Play-Doh and marketing it as a fun product for children.
The McVicker family founded Rainbow Crafts Company to produce and sell Play-Doh, which was initially available only in a simple off-white color. Since its release, over 315 million kilograms (700 million pounds) of Play-Doh have been sold. If you took all of that putty and ran it through the Play-Doh Fun Factory, it would create a snake long enough to circle the globe more than 300 times.
8. Post-it Notes
Sticky notes are those small pieces of paper we all use to remind ourselves of things like upcoming doctor’s appointments or overdue homework. While we all rely on them, it’s a happy accident that we even have them.
In 1968, Dr. Spencer Silver, a chemist at 3M, was working on developing a superstrong adhesive. Instead, he accidentally ended up with a weak, pressure-sensitive adhesive. He spent five years promoting his ‘solution without a problem’ within the company, but no one could find a practical use for it.
In 1974, Art Fry, a colleague of Silver’s, found a way to apply the adhesive for his own needs. Fry was a member of his church choir and had been struggling with bookmarks constantly falling out of his hymnal. He used the adhesive on his bookmarks to keep them in place. Later, Fry had the idea of using Silver’s adhesive for small notes.
3M introduced the product under the name Press ‘n Peel in 1977, but it didn’t immediately catch on. The company began testing the product in select areas before officially launching Post-it Notes in 1980.
Eventually, the small sticky notes began to gain popularity, and they became a worldwide sensation. Today, they come in various colors and shapes and are sold across the globe.
7. Saccharin
Beyond toxic lead(II) acetate, the first artificial sweetener was saccharin. It provided an affordable substitute for cane sugar and was stumbled upon completely by accident.
The sweetener was found in a small laboratory at Johns Hopkins University, which was used by researcher Ira Remsen. He had allowed Russian chemist Constantin Fahlberg to use his lab space.
After a long night of work in the lab, Fahlberg went home to dinner with his wife. As he ate the homemade bread, he noticed it tasted unusually sweet. His wife confirmed she hadn’t altered the recipe. Fahlberg soon realized that he must have accidentally transferred a chemical from the lab to the bread, likely because he hadn’t washed his hands.
Returning to his lab, Fahlberg tasted every chemical on his desk. Eventually, he traced the sweetness to a beaker containing sulfobenzoic acid, phosphorus chloride, and ammonia (a compound known as benzoic sulfinide). This unintentional discovery eventually led to the colorful packets of sweetener found at every restaurant table.
6. Vulcanized Rubber
Charles Goodyear had a deep obsession with rubber, to the point where he put his family into debt to fund experiments aimed at making rubber more viable for industrial applications. Early on, he faced numerous setbacks in the rubber industry, but he remained undeterred by his failures.
In 1839, Goodyear made a groundbreaking discovery when he accidentally dropped rubber onto a hot stove containing sulfur. Rather than melting, the rubber surprisingly hardened.
By 1844, Goodyear had patented his process for creating vulcanized rubber, and his company quickly became a major player in the rubber industry. However, his success was short-lived, as he lost much of his wealth in protracted legal battles over patent rights. He passed away in 1860. In 1898, the Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company was established in his honor.
5. Chocolate Chip Cookies
One of the most beloved treats, the chocolate chip cookie, was actually created by chance. This accidental invention took place in 1930 at the Toll House Inn, managed by Kenneth and Ruth Graves Wakefield. Mrs. Wakefield was known for preparing all the desserts at the inn and had built a reputation for her delicious treats.
One evening, Mrs. Wakefield began making a batch of Chocolate Butter Drop Do cookies, a popular colonial recipe. However, she realized she had run out of baker’s chocolate, so she decided to chop up a block of Nestle semisweet chocolate and use it instead.
She expected the chocolate to melt and mix into the dough, but instead, the chunks of chocolate retained their shape and softened slightly. The result was a hit, and she named the creation the “Chocolate Crunch Cookie.” This serendipitous moment led to the now-famous treat, with the original recipe still printed on Nestle’s Toll House Chocolate Morsels bags.
4. Friction Matches
Matches have a long history, but the first friction match was discovered by accident by John Walker during an experiment in his laboratory. While working, he stirred a mixture of sulfur and other substances using a wooden stick. Later, he scraped the stick’s end on the stone floor with the dried mixture, and to his surprise, it ignited.
The end of the wooden stick suddenly ignited. Realizing he had stumbled upon something intriguing, he decided to create several more of these sticks to show off to his friends.
Samuel Jones witnessed one of Walker’s demonstrations and was inspired to start a match business in London. His product, named “Lucifers,” quickly became popular, contributing to the rise of smoking in the area. This, in turn, paved the way for the invention of the safety match, now a household staple.
3. Pacemaker
Dr. Wilson Greatbatch made a mistake that led to one of the most transformative inventions in medical history. In 1956, he was attempting to build a heart rhythm recorder, but an incorrect electronic component caused his failure.
Rather than recording a heartbeat, the device emitted electronic pulses. That’s when Greatbatch realized his unintentional error could be used to help an ailing heart maintain its rhythm by sending electrical shocks to aid in pumping and blood circulation.
Following his unexpected breakthrough, Greatbatch dedicated two years to perfecting the first implantable cardiac pacemaker. He ultimately received a patent for his refined device.
The first pacemaker was successfully implanted into a patient, who lived for 18 months with it. Greatbatch’s invention has saved millions of lives across the globe, proving that failure is a powerful learning tool.
2. Glasses That Treat Color Blindness
In 2005, Don McPherson was playing ultimate Frisbee when a friend borrowed his sunglasses. The friend was amazed to discover that the glasses allowed him to see the color orange for the first time ever.
McPherson had just discovered that his friend was color-blind. Originally created by McPherson as eyewear for doctors during laser surgeries, the glasses quickly became popular with surgeons, who loved them so much that they began disappearing from the operating rooms. McPherson also started wearing them casually, which is how he ended up wearing them that day.
Together with two colleagues, McPherson later founded EnChroma Labs, a company focused on creating sunglasses for individuals with color vision deficiencies. The company continues to explore ways to better understand color blindness and deliver glasses to consumers with varying color deficiencies.
They are currently developing indoor glasses, a pediatric model, and an online test to help individuals identify their specific color blindness. You can take the test here.
1. Kevlar
Stephanie Kwolek had always dreamed of becoming a doctor, but instead, she accidentally invented Kevlar, a remarkable fabric five times stronger than steel. While studying molecule chains at low temperatures, she came across a chain that was both unusually strong and rigid. Realizing that fibers made from this solution were the strongest ever observed, her discovery paved the way for the creation of Kevlar.
Today, there are over 200 different uses for Kevlar. The fabric has been employed in making body armor for both police and military personnel, as well as being utilized in a wide range of products, including airplanes, shoes, boats, and car brakes. Kevlar vests have saved countless lives from bullets, knives, and other weapons, with many more lives set to be protected thanks to this groundbreaking invention.
