Accidental discoveries can be defined as inventions and innovations discovered with no intention of discovery. Most of the discoveries occurred as a result of chemicals being spilled, left to boil for long, or a huge amount of chemical added to another solution. These discoveries have had a major impact on the lives of others. Some of the accidental discoveries are things we use today, they include the food people eat on a daily basis. Some of the accidental discoveries include food sweeteners, potato chip, coca cola, penicillin, and X rays.
Food is an important aspect of living, it is surprising that some of the food people take today were discovered through accidental scientific experiences. One example is the artificial sweetener known as Saccharin. It was discovered in the year 1879 as Constantin Fahlberg tried to find an alternative for using coal tar. He forgot to wash his hands after work and discovered the sweetener after it accidentally spilled into his food. The potato chip was is also a food that was discovered through accidental discoveries. It was invented by Chef George Crum. He was annoyed by a customer and decided to teach him a lesson. He decided to slice potatoes into thin chips, fried them and added salt. To his surprise, the customer like and enjoyed the meal.
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Coca-cola is a world-renowned drink which was discovered by John Pemberton. The invention did not come about as a result of a businessman that wanted to become rich in the beverage industry. Instead, John Pemberton was looking for a cure for headaches. Pemberton used two main ingredients which he hoped would cure his headache; coca leaves and cola nuts. The lab assistant mixed the two ingredients with carbonated water. This led to the formation of the world’s first coke. Throughout the years, coke kept the recipe hidden. Unfortunately, Pemberton died two years after the discovery and never saw the sample become a soft drink empire (Krols, 2012).
Penicillin is a group of antibiotics used to combat several bacterial infections. It was discovered by Alexander Fleming after he went on an August vacation from his work in the lab. He had been studying staphylococci also known as staph. He returned from his vacation and found odd fungus on the culture which he had left in his laboratory. He found that the fungus had killed off all the surrounding bacteria in the environment. He predicted that the compounds which were left had an anti-bacterial action. This led to the discovery of Penicillin. The discovery of penicillin revolutionized the medical industry and the way common infections are usually treated. Penicillin was the first antibiotic to treat antibacterial infection successfully. The discovery has since saved many lives (Ban, 2006).
The discovery of X-ray took place in 1895 when Wilhelm Roentgen, a German physicist conducted experiments on cathode rays. He projected a beam of electrons which passed from the negative to the positive end of a tube in high voltages. He covered the tube with black paper and noticed that the glow could be seen through the paper. He placed his hand and discovered a sharp contrast between his flesh and opaque bones (Finger, 2000). The discovery meant that it could be possible to view the internal structure of the body without the use of surgery. The impact of the X-ray was significant during the World War I as it was used to treat soldiers and save lives. X-rays serves a cancer treatment procedure where exposure to the rays is powerful enough to fight cancer cells and skin diseases. X rays are used today in hospitals on a daily basis and for security measures in various industries.
Accidental discoveries have had a great advantage to the history of science. The discoveries were made without any intention and led to a significant scientific revolution. Food discoveries like the Saccharin, potato chip and coca cola have made our lives better. Medical discoveries like that of penicillin and X-rays have been used to save lives. All these discoveries have had a huge impact on people and society.
References
Ban, T. A. (2006). The role of serendipity in drug discovery. Dialogues in clinical neuroscience , 8 (3), 335.
Finger, S. (2000). Minds behind the brain: A history of the pioneers and their discoveries . Oxford University Press.
Krols, B. (2012). Accidental Inventions: the chance discoveries that changed our lives . Insight Editions.
