Throughout history, there have been plenty of discoveries that have shaped the world. But what about accidental discoveries that have changed the world? While some of these things weren’t what they were supposed to be, they’ve turned into great inventions. Read more to learn about these accidental discoveries.
6. Dynamite
While many of these accidental discoveries have been exciting advancements, some have turned into shocking and extremely dangerous inventions. Dynamite is one of the best examples. Nitroglycerin was invented by Italian Chemist Ascanio Sobrero in 1847, who combined glycerol and nitric and sulfuric acids to produce an explosive compound.
Far more powerful than gunpowder, Sobrero was opposed to using it, but his labmate Alfred Nobel saw potential, thus creating dynamite in 1867, with the addition of silica powder to stabilize it.
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5. Coca-Cola
One of the many accidental discoveries that has changed the world for the better is the classic drink, Coca-Cola, or Coke. In 1866, American pharmacist John Pemberton tried to create a painkiller. His product combined alcohol with leaves from the coca plant containing cocaine, and kola nuts, which contained caffeine.
In 1886, he developed an alcohol-free alternative, using sugary syrup for wine, and while tinkering, accidentally added carbonated water, turning it into the popular fountain drink.
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4. Matches
Whether you need to quickly light a cigarette, a candle, or a fire, matches are an easy and convenient means. Before matches were invented, fires were commonly made with flint and steel, or a fire drill, but both were laborious to use.
British pharmacist John Walker was experimenting with chemicals when he accidentally scraped a coated stick across his hearth. When the stick burst into flames, Walker had an idea. In 1827, he began selling “Congreves” as his pharmacy, which were cardboard sticks coated in a mixture of potassium chlorate and antimony sulfide, which would ignite when struck against a piece of sandpaper.
While popular, he chose not to patent it, which resulted in other copies, obscuring his invention. It wasn’t until 1859 that he was acknowledged as the first friction match creator.
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3. X-rays
Wilhelm Roentgen, a German physicist, was working with a cathode ray tube in 1895 when he saw that a fluorescent screen would glow when the tube was on and the room was dark. The rays were somehow illuminating the screen, and when he tried to block the rays with his hand, he noticed his bones were projected on the screen.
He then replaced the tube with a photographic plate to capture the images, creating the first ever X-ray, an invention that has helped medical institutions and research departments for years.
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2. Smoke Detectors
One of the best accidental discoveries that has saved countless lives is the smoke detector. While they are so common in homes and businesses that they’re easily overlooked, they’re actually an accidental discovery by the Swiss physicist Walter Jaeger.
In the 1930s, Jaeger was trying to invent a sensor that could detect poison gas, but instead his device registered the smoke from his cigarette, a discovery that led to the modern smoke detector.
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1. Penicillin
Speaking of saving countless people, penicillin is one of the best accidental discoveries around. The world’s first antibiotic, which prevented millions of deaths from disease and infection, was created by Alexander Fleming, a bacteriologist in London, after returning from a vacation in 1928.
When he discovered one of the petri dishes in his lab had mold growing on it, he saw that the area around the mold was free of bacteria. He then named this bacteria-killing mold penicillin after the species of fungus, Penicillium notatum, and published a paper about his discovery in 1929.
A decade later, a chemist at Oxford University read his paper and took up a project to turn penicillin into medicine, and it was first tested on a patient in 1940, thus becoming widespread in 1942.
