INADVERTENT INVENTIONS

PACEMAKER

One of the most beneficial accidental inventions on our list, the

pacemaker was the result of John Hopps’s work. An electrical

engineer, Hopps was researching hypothermia in the mid-20th

century and attempting to use radio frequency heating to boost

body temperatures after a major drop. His research led him to

discover the heart’s suitability to restarting by using electrical

impulses and the artificial pacemaker was born.

ICE CREAM CONES

Ice cream cones quickly became a kid-favourite. In the early 1900’s,

ice cream was sold in paper, glass, or metal, none-too-useful for

dispensing the creamy treat, especially as a take-away item. The

1904 World’s Fair in St. Louis was a massively hot event

(popularity and temperature wise). With ice cream and waffle

vendors next to each other, ice cream was a popular buy but the

waffle vendors were left without buyers for their hot treats. When an

ice cream vendor ran out of paper cups, the waffle vendor next to him,

Ernest Hamwi, rolled up one of his waffle pastries, “zalabia”, and

gave it to the ice cream vendor to put ice cream in. It was an

immediate hit and all the other vendors at the World’s Fair

began doing the same and claiming credit.

POTATO CHIPS

Potato chips (or crisps, as they’re called in Ireland and the

United Kingdom) are actually an accidental American invention.

Any chef or waiter who has worked in the restaurant industry

has encountered difficult diners. One such chef, George Crum

of the Carey Moon Lake House in New York, met a tough

customer who kept sending his French fries back, complaining

they weren’t thin or crisp enough. After multiple times,

Crum got angry and sliced the potatoes paper thin, deep-fried

them until overly crisp, and served them. The diner loved the

slivers and the potato chip was thus born in 1853.

MATCHES

Though the earliest match-like products were developed by the

Chinese over 1,000 years ago, they weren’t as practical since they

weren’t strike able. English chemist John Walker was stirring

chemicals when he found a dried lump forming on the end of his

wooden mixing stick. He scraped off the goo which immediately

ignited. Realizing the potential, Walker began selling his

“friction lights” in a tin box with a piece of sandpaper. Many years

later and we have the modern variety: a small wooden

stick tipped with red phosphorus.

SUPERGLUE

A handy item in most people’s cupboards, superglue is a unique

adhesive in that it does not require heat or pressure to bond.

Developed by Eastman Kodak researcher Harry Coover, the

adhesive was initially a nuisance, sticking to everything it

touched and complicating his experiments. Years later,

Coover realized his accidental invention could be used for a

host of applications, including his famous lifting of TV show

host Garry Moore off the ground with a single drop of superglue.

VELCRO

It’s rumoured NASA invented Velcro in space, but it’s just guilty by

association as it’s often used during space missions. Electrical

engineer George De Mestral came in from walking man’s best friend

to find cocklebur fruits littering his dog’s coat. Pulling out a

microscope, he found the fruits dotted with hooks which allowed

them to connect to other objects. A short time later, he decided

nylon was the best material to recreate the natural

phenomenon and he named his accidental invention Velcro.

THE COLOUR MAUVE

The old way of dying clothes was achieved by crushing small bugs

or plants to extract their dyes but one man, chemist William Perkin,

brought one colour out of relative obscurity into mainstream popularity.

While attempting to make an artificial version of a malarial drug,

Perkin created a dark, oily sludge that seemed fit to throw away.

Testing his curiosity, the 18-year-old discovered the sludge

turned silk a brilliant light purple colour which was brighter than

existing dyes and didn’t wash out. Revolutionizing the dye

industry (and the fashion industries of London and Paris), Perkin

had created the colour mauve which became one of the most

popular of the time. Queen Victoria even wore the colour

to her daughter’s wedding two years later in 1858.

PLASTICS

One of the most revolutionary accidental inventions on our list

is plastics. Used for anything from car bodies to soda bottles,

plastics were initially discovered by Charles Goodyear (yes,

of the tire company). Combining rubber and Sulphur, Goodyear

accidentally placed the material on a hot stove. Upon

discovering his mistake, he found a strong, durable material

achieved via the process of vulcanization (strengthening

rubber by adding sulphur or similar substances). Plastics

were further developed by various individuals and have

become the immensely valuable product we use today. What

other inventions do you know about that came about

by accident?