ACCIDENTAL INVENTIONS THAT CHANGED THE WORLD

The Microwave
Inventor: Percy Spencer
Year: 1946
What Happened: With the end of World War II, the Raytheon
engineer was looking for other uses for the magnetron, which
generated the microwaves for radar systems. While Spencer was
standing next to the device one day, a chocolate bar in his pocket
melted.
Big Discovery: The magnetron worked even better on popcorn.
As a Result: Orville Redenbacher became very rich.

Chewing Gum
Inventor: Thomas Adams
Year: 1870
What Happened: He was experimenting with chicle, the sap from
a South American tree, as a substitute for rubber. After mounting
failures, the dejected inventor popped a piece into his mouth.
Big Discovery: He liked it!
As a Result: Adams New York No. 1 became the first mass-
produced chewing gum in the world.
Chocolate-chip cookies
Inventor: Ruth Wakefield, owner of the Toll House Inn.

What she was trying to make: Wakefield just wanted to make some
chocolate cookies.

How it was created: While mixing a batch of cookies in 1930, Wakefield

discovered she was out of baker's chocolate. As a substitute she broke
sweetened chocolate into small pieces and added them to the cookie
dough. She expected the chocolate to melt, making chocolate cookies,
but the little bits stuck.
Post-it notes
Inventor: Spencer Silver and Art Fry, researchers in 3M Laboratories.

What he was trying to make: In 1968, Silver made a "low-tack" adhesive

at 3M, but he couldn't find a use for it.

How it was created: Silver's adhesive was remarkable for the fact that
you could stick something light to it — like a piece of paper — and pull it
off without damaging either surface. What's more, the adhesive could be
used again and again. He tried to find a marketable use for the product
for 3M for years, to seemingly no avail.

Years later, his colleague Fry found himself frustrated when he couldn't
find a way to stick papers into his book of hymns at the church choir. And
like that, the idea for the Post-it was born — though it wasn't until 1980
that it was launched nationwide.
Corn Flakes

Inventor: John and Will Kellogg, brothers and breakfast entrepreneurs.

What they were trying to make: The brothers were trying to boil grain to
make granola.

How it was created: In 1898, the brothers accidentally left a pot of boiled
grain on the stove for several days. The mixture turned moldy but the
product that emerged was dry and thick. After a few experiments, they
got rid of the mold — and created Corn Flakes.
POPSICLE
Fittingly, an 11-year-old boy invented this cherished children's treat. In 1905, Frank Epperson was going
to make his own soda, filling a cup with powdered soda and water and putting a stirring stick in it.

Leaving the concoction outside overnight, the soda froze to become the first Popsicle. Nearly twenty
years later, after successfully serving the frozen treats at a ball and an amusement park, Epperson
received a patent for the Popsicle.

First called the "Eppsicle," Epperson's children began calling it "pop's sickle," leading to the famous
"Popsicle" name. He sold the patent to the Joe Lowe Company of New York, which expanded the flavors.