10 Remarkable Inventions That Emerged By Chance

Many groundbreaking inventions weren't the product of careful planning but rather fortunate mishaps. For instance, in November 2020, AstraZeneca revealed that their COVID-19 vaccine, developed with Oxford University, achieved 90 percent efficacy due to a dosing regimen uncovered through “serendipity.” This is just one example of accidental breakthroughs. From life-saving penicillin to artificial sweeteners, the following 10 everyday items were all born out of unexpected discoveries.

1. Penicillin

On September 28, 1928, Scottish researcher Alexander Fleming noticed that a Petri dish of Staphylococcus bacteria, accidentally left on his London lab windowsill, had been invaded by a greenish mold. Surrounding the mold was a clear zone where bacterial growth had stopped. After cultivating the mold, Fleming identified it as part of the Penicillium genus, marking a pivotal moment in medical history.

2. Corn Flakes

The Kellogg brothers—Dr. John Harvey Kellogg and Will Keith Kellogg, a former broom salesman—were employed at Michigan's Battle Creek Sanitarium, where John served as the chief physician. As devout Seventh-Day Adventists, they promoted their religion's strict dietary and moral principles, including vegetarianism and abstaining from alcohol and excessive sexual activity. Their nutritional research at the sanitarium led to an accidental discovery in 1894. While preparing boiled wheat dough, one brother left the mixture to dry too long, causing it to break into flakes when rolled. Baking these flakes resulted in Granose, the precursor to corn flakes, which emerged after replacing wheat with corn.

3. Teflon

In 1938, Ohio-born chemist Roy Plunkett accidentally discovered polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), commonly known as Teflon, in a DuPont lab in New Jersey. While attempting to create a new CFC refrigerant, Plunkett noticed a canister of tetrafluoroethylene appeared empty but retained its weight. Upon cutting it open, he found the gas had polymerized into a slippery, water-resistant coating inside the canister. DuPont recognized its potential and began mass-producing PTFE. However, it wasn't until 1954, when French engineer Marc Grégoire's wife suggested using it on cookware, that Teflon's non-stick properties were fully appreciated.

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4. The Slinky

In 1943, Richard T. James, a naval engineer, was working on a stabilizer for maritime equipment in a Philadelphia shipyard when he accidentally dislodged a spring from a high shelf. To his amazement, the spring gracefully uncoiled and descended step-by-step from the shelf to a stack of books, then to a table, and finally to the floor. After two years of refinement, the first 400 Slinky toys sold out in just 90 minutes during a demonstration at a local Gimbels store in 1945.

5. Silly Putty

During World War II, the U.S. faced rubber shortages after Japan disrupted production in Southeast Asia. This spurred efforts to develop a synthetic rubber alternative domestically, leading to the unexpected creation of Silly Putty.

The invention of Silly Putty is claimed by at least two individuals: chemist Earl L. Warrick and Scottish engineer James Wright. Both discovered that combining boric acid with silicone oil created a pliable, elastic, rubber-like material with the unique ability to lift newspaper print—a feature rendered obsolete by modern printing technology.

6. Post-It Notes

In 1968, Dr. Spencer Silver, a chemist at 3M, aimed to develop a powerful adhesive but instead created a weak one that allowed temporary bonding. Initially deemed impractical, the adhesive remained unused for five years until Art Fry, a colleague, attended Silver’s seminar and realized its potential for bookmarking his hymnbook. Despite initial resistance, Fry and Silver refined the concept, applying a thin layer of the adhesive to one edge of paper. After a failed 1977 test launch as Press ’N Peel, the product succeeded nationally as Post-It notes in 1980.

7. Saccharin

In 1878 or 1879 (sources vary), Constantin Fahlberg, a chemistry student working under Professor Ira Remsen at Johns Hopkins University, noticed his food tasted unusually sweet one evening. Tracing the sweetness back to ortho-sulfobenzoic acid imide, a chemical he had been handling earlier, Fahlberg realized its potential. He soon established a business to mass-produce the sweetener, naming it saccharin. While it gained popularity, it wasn’t until the sugar shortages of the World Wars that saccharin became widely used.

8. Popsicles

The first popsicle was reportedly created in 1905 by 11-year-old Frank Epperson, who accidentally left a mixture of powdered soda and water with a stirring stick on his porch overnight. After a particularly cold night, the popsicle—initially marketed by Epperson two decades later as the Epsicle—was born.

9. Safety Glass

Laminated glass, commonly known as safety glass, was accidentally invented by French chemist Édouard Bénédictus when he dropped a glass beaker in his lab. To his surprise, the beaker shattered but held together. His assistant revealed the beaker had contained cellulose nitrate, a clear plastic that left a film inside the glass. Bénédictus patented the discovery in 1909, and it has been produced in various forms ever since.

10. Smoke Detectors

The next time your smoke detector alarms at night, credit Walter Jaeger. In the 1930s, the Swiss physicist aimed to invent a poison gas detector. Instead, his device responded to cigarette smoke, leading to the creation of the modern smoke detector.