ACCIDENTAL DISCOVERIES

1. Today, many countries compete with each other to find new technologies and devices. Multi-
national corporations have Research and Development departments under their rooves and they
spend great amounts of time and money to develop new technologies. However, sometimes
everything happens just by mistake. Many handy devices and even some medicines that are so much
a part of our lives are the result of pure coincidence.

2. The best example for this is the microwave oven. A scientist named Percy Spencer invented the
microwave oven in 1945, after World War II. At that time, Spencer was employed as an engineer in
Raytheon, still one of the world’s leading radar design companies today. Raytheon was working in
cooperation with the American government to produce combat radar equipment for the U.S army.
Spencer was visiting a military lab where scientists were working on new radar equipment. Spencer
was standing in front of an active radar when he realized the candy bar in his pocket had melted. This
was the starting point for Spencer’s invention.

3. In fact, he was not the first one to notice this with radars; however, he was the first one to start
studying it. He and his colleagues went on heating different kinds of food to observe the process.
First, they intentionally heated popcorn using radar sets and then they tried eggs. The first attempts
were basically trial and error. Spencer noted down what to change and what to add in those attempts
and came up with a solution. They needed a metal box so that electromagnetic waves couldn’t
escape. This way they could have a safer and more controlled environment for experimentation. In
time, this metal box evolved into the microwave ovens we use today.

4. Since its invention in 1945, the microwave oven has been one of the most useful kitchen
appliances. However, many scientists say that it has some negative effects on human health. Today,
for this reason, many electronics companies are working to develop better and safer microwave
ovens. Hopefully, in the near future the microwave ovens will be less harmful for our health.

5. Another accidental invention we use very frequently in our daily life today is Post-It notes. In 1968,
Dr. Spencer Silver was trying to develop super-strong glue for the company 3M. Unfortunately, he
ended up having just the opposite, a very weak one. At first this was a great disappointment for Dr.
Silver, however he noticed that this new glue had two distinctive features. First of all, the new
substance didn’t leave any traces when taken off and didn’t damage the surface to which it was stuck.
People could use this glue on gentle surfaces like paper or glass. Secondly, it was reusable. Despite
these two interesting traits, nobody could think of a way to use this new substance in a marketable
way. Although Dr. Silver tried hard to persuade his manager to keep his new product, he couldn’t
succeed. Dr. Silver’s new discovery was put away for more than 3 years.

6. The rebirth of his new product came when Dr. Silver’s manager changed. Dr. Silver didn’t give up
and provided the new lab manager with some samples of his new glue. Up to that time, he had
created a bulletin-board idea. He suggested spraying this new glue on to a bulletin-board and having
a sticky notice board for office use. While this was a good idea, it wasn’t profitable enough as the
annual bulletin-board sales were quite low. At that point a colleague of Dr. Silver’s suggested that
they should put some new glue on to little pieces of note paper so that they could stick on anything.
This idea was much more practical than the bulletin-board idea and therefore it gained acceptance.
However, some unexpected problems occurred. The glue was coming off of the paper and staying on
the object the paper was stuck to, leaving some traces behind on the object. The solution was to put
another layer on the paper so that the glue stuck better on to the note paper and was not left behind
when it was removed.
7. Unfortunately, despite all the upgrades that Post-It papers got, the product was still ignored.
Though Post-It notes were very popular among 3M labs, the test sales that were held in four different
cities around the U.S in 1977 were not very bright. Therefore, the 3M managers thought that it was
not worth investing in this product and shelved the product for another three years. However, the
developer team of Post-It was very ambitious and they believed that a good marketing strategy could
change the direction of the process. 3M provided a huge amount of free Post-It samples for some
companies in the U.S. As a result, ninety -percent of the businesses which were given free samples
made another order. Two years later, Post-It notes were released throughout the U.S. and today Post-
It Notes are in the top five best-selling office supply products in the world.

8. Some lucky accidents led to these discoveries that we use almost every day. It would be too
extreme to accept that these discoveries were only achieved by accident. The determination and
effort of the creators of these items were the most important factors that turned those lucky
accidents into something useful.

Questions

1. Which of the following is closest in meaning to “handy” in par 1, line 4?

A. manual B. important

C. practical D. hopeful

2. According to paragraph 2, what cannot be said about Raytheon?

A. Raytheon supported American military during World War II.

B. Radar development projects take place in its labs.

C. It has lost its success after World War II.

D. Percy Spencer was a part of Raytheon’s engineering team.

3. In paragraph 3 “this way” refers to...

A. By using a metal box B. By keeping electromagnetic waves

C. By finding a solution D. By using radar sets

4. According to paragraph 4, microwaves...

A. are being worked on by companies.

B. are very beneficial for human health.

C. have recently been quite popular.

D. will not be different than they are today.

5. What was the reason for Dr. Silver’s disappointment?

A. The new glue left traces on the surfaces.

B. People couldn’t use the new glue for a second time.

C. His manager didn’t like his new discovery.

D. He couldn’t develop a strong glue.

6. In paragraph 5, “distinctive” is closest in meaning to…

A. special B. extreme

C. common D. similar

7. Dr. Silver’s new product was put away because...

A. he couldn’t sell it to his manager.

B. the new substance had two distinctive features.

C. he couldn’t make a very strong glue.

D. a good marketing strategy couldn’t be found

8. Which one is NOT a factor that contributed to the rebirth of Dr. Silver’s new product?

A. The manager Dr. Silver had before changed.

B. Dr. Silver created a new idea for the new glue.

C. Dr. Silver was fed up and gave up working.

D. Dr. Silver gave his manager samples to try.

9. In paragraph 6, “profitable” is closest in meaning to...

A. risky B. money-making

C. economical D. logical

10. We understand from paragraph 6 ALL of the following EXCEPT that…

A. Bulletin-boards were not bringing much profit as their yearly sales are not very high.

B. Everything about the note-paper project went according to Dr. Silver’s plan.

C. People accepted putting glue on note paper because it looked more useful.

D. A co-worker recommended Dr. Silver's putting the new glue on papers instead of bulletin-
boards.
11. In paragraph 7, “shelved” is closest in meaning to…

A. organized B. postpone

C. sold D. remembered

12. What is the main idea of this text?

A. Some inventions are more interesting than the others.

B. If there weren’t accidents, new discoveries couldn’t be made.

C. Many discoveries we use today are the results of lucky accidents.

D. Microwave oven and Post-It make our lives easier.

Summary

Complete the summary using the words below. There are two extra words.

result invention free sample coincidence

problem beginning equipment determination

Many things we use daily are the results of 13. ___________________. When a man working on radar

14.
_____________________noticed the candy bar in his pocket had melted, he started the work that

resulted in the micro wave over. Post-It notes are the 15. __________________ of failed attempts to

create a strong glue. It took a long time and many 16. ___________________ before the post-it note

became a best-selling office supply. Lucky accidents give us the 17. ________________ of an idea or

product. However, it is the 18. ______________________ of the people involved that turn accidents

into successful products.