In the first article of this series, you were informed that there are actually a lot of inventions that happened by mistake throughout history. More scientific discoveries by chance are mentioned below.

Coca Cola

This was invented by a pharmacist named John Pemberton. He was trying to create a cure for headaches, and he mixed up a combination of lime, cinnamon, coca leaves, and kola nuts. He didn’t like the taste, so he added sugar and carbonated water to it. After he served the drink to friends and family, they loved it and suggested he sell it as a soda fountain drink. Thus, Coca-Cola was born! It just goes to show that sometimes, mistakes can lead to amazing things!

Chocolate cookies

The story of the chocolate chip cookie is pretty interesting! It all started when a baker named Ruth Wakefield was baking chocolate cookies. She was out of baker’s chocolate, so she substituted chocolate chips instead. To her surprise, the cookies came out with soft, gooey pieces of chocolate in them. She called the new creation “Toll House Chocolate Crunch Cookies”, and the recipe was eventually published in a magazine. The recipe became so popular that Nestlé started selling chocolate chips specifically for use in baking. So, the chocolate chip cookie was born from a happy accident.

Vulcanized Rubber

Charles Goodyear was trying to develop a new kind of rubber that could withstand heat and cold, and he thought he’d found the perfect formula. But when he accidentally dropped some of the mixture on a hot stove, he noticed that it didn’t melt or burn – it just hardened and became flexible. This process, which he called vulcanization, allowed him to create rubber that was strong, waterproof, and resistant to wear and tear. This new form of rubber was used to make tires, boots, and other products that could withstand harsh conditions. Talk about an accidental success!

Silly Putty
The silly putty was actually created during World War II, when the US government asked scientists to create a synthetic rubber to replace the natural rubber that was in short supply. One of the scientists, James Wright, accidentally dropped boric acid into a mixture of silicone oil and found that it created a funny, gooey substance. He thought it was too silly to be of any use, so he gave it to his son, who started playing with it and loved it. Eventually, the silly putty was marketed as a toy, and it quickly became popular with kids and adults alike.

Corn Flakes
Could you believe that corn flakes were not created for what they are today. It was invented by a doctor named John Harvey Kellogg, who was trying to create a healthy food for the patients at his sanitarium. He thought that a bland, grain-based food would be good for their digestive health. He created a boiled wheat dough, which he dried out and broke into little flakes. When he served it to his patients, they hated it, but his brother, Will, thought it had potential as a commercial product. So, he started adding sugar and marketing it as a breakfast cereal. And that’s how corn flakes were born!

Planet Uranus
Uranus was discovered in 1781 by astronomer William Herschel. But it wasn’t an intentional discovery – he was actually just looking for double stars. He was scanning the night sky with a telescope, and he noticed a tiny, fuzzy object that moved slowly across the sky. He thought it might be a comet, but as he observed it over time, he realized that it was a planet that had never been seen before. So, Uranus was discovered completely by accident, and it became the first planet to be discovered since ancient times!

The Pacemaker
This was invented by a Swedish engineer named Rune Elmqvist, who was working on a device to record heartbeats. He accidentally discovered that the device could be used to stimulate the heart to beat at a regular rate. At first, he wasn’t sure if the device would be safe for humans, but after testing it on animals, he realized that it was effective and relatively safe. So, he began using it to treat patients with heart rhythm problems, and the pacemaker was born.