The appearance of an invention is not always accompanied by long months of research and experimentation. Sometimes they occur completely by accident. For example, a Kiev cake, a microwave oven and a few more things that we will talk about in this article. Perhaps they appeared due to the fact that the next scientist “did not work out” or “did not work out the way it should have been,” but without these things it is already difficult to imagine the modern world.
1. Slinky - walking spring
This children's toy, which not so long ago surpassed even Barbie in its popularity, is called differently in Europe and Russia. Our compatriots call her "Rainbow", while foreigners insist on the name "Slinky". Be that as it may, this thing appeared due to an absurd accident. Engineer Richard Jones, who worked in the naval field, was just working on the invention of the power level recorder. During one of his experiments, he needed to check the tension of the springs, but one of them fell during operation. What a surprise Richard was when, once on the floor, the spring “jumped”! This is how the world famous toy "Slinky" or "Rainbow" appeared.
2. Kiev cake
The visiting card of the capital of Ukraine was also not the fruit of sleepless nights and lengthy experiments with taste. In fact, everything turned out much more prosaic. One not very beautiful day, the pastry chefs forgot to put in the refrigerator the egg white that was intended for making the biscuit. Having discovered the mistake of colleagues, the head of the biscuit shop Konstantin Petrenko, together with the assistant of the pastry chef Nadezhda Chernogor, decided to go for an experiment: they prepared butter cream, smeared the formed protein cakes with it, sprinkled it with powder and decorated with flowers. This is how the first version of the Kiev cake appeared, which after many years became the main highlight of the capital.
Interesting fact: In 1976, a three-tiered Kiev cake was prepared at the Karl Marx factory, which weighed about 5 kg and consisted of 70 pieces. This masterpiece of confectionery art was created specifically for the anniversary of Leonid Brezhnev - he turned 70.
3. Microwave
Without this invention, many people now cannot imagine their lives. But only a few know what to say to say "Thank you" for her appearance should be … a chocolate bar! Dessert just ended up in the pocket of Raytheon engineer Percy Spencer. Intrigued? Then we'll tell you in more detail. While testing the radar equipment, Percy noticed that the microwave radiation caused the chocolate bar in his pocket to melt. To see if he drew the right conclusions, Spencer turned on the magnetron and placed popcorn on top of it. In less than a minute, he began to burst. From that moment, the period of the invention of microwaves began.
4. Penicillin
Penicillin, which has saved so many human lives, is a kind of classic "accidental invention". For its discovery, one should thank the English bacteriologist Alexander Fleming. The scientist was so passionate about his research that he literally lived at work. He also dined right at his table, but there was neither time, nor energy, nor desire for cleaning. This neglect of cleanliness led to a lot of mold in the laboratory. Perhaps the scientist would never have paid attention to it if one of the samples of staphylococcus bacteria that Fleming studied had not been destroyed by mold spores. Alexander decided to understand the reason for this phenomenon, and began to investigate the mold. After a series of experiments, the scientist discovered that it contained penicillin, which later became a real breakthrough in medicine.
5. Chocolate chip cookies
Kiev cake is far from the only world famous dessert that appeared by a fluke. It can compete with chocolate chip cookies, first made by Toll House Inn owner Ruth Wakefield. One day, when a woman was making a traditional chocolate chip cookie, she realized that one of the main ingredients, cocoa, had run out. To avoid going to the store, Ruth instead added pieces of chocolate to the dough that she found in her refrigerator. They stuck together, but did not melt. This is how the famous delicacy appeared - cookies with pieces of chocolate.
6. Potato chips
But the potato chips came from New York cafe chef George Krum, who was trying to please an especially picky customer. Here is how it was. Once a man came to the establishment and ordered fried potatoes from the waiter. Unfortunately, the guest didn’t like the finished dish, as it “didn’t crunch at all”. He asked the chef to prepare a new batch of potatoes. George was so enraged by the client's whims that, in a fit of emotion, he cut the potatoes into thin slices that literally glowed, and fried them in a pan until they became very, very crispy. Having tasted the "ancestor" of potato chips, the guest was delighted and asked for more.
7. Ice cream
We are talking about ice cream called "Fruit Ice", which is one of the most favorite among children and adults. Many will be surprised to learn that the creator of this delicacy was an 11-year-old boy who simply poured the powder for making drinks into the water and forgot the mug on the street. If this had happened in the summer, then no discovery would have happened. But the boy decided to drink a delicious drink in winter, and even left a stirring stick in the cup. The boy remembered his mug only after the liquid in it froze. Having tried the resulting product, the child was satisfied. He showed his discovery to friends, but after the rave reviews died down, he forgot about it.
The boy remembered about the frozen drink only when he was 29 years old. This is how the Epsicles ice cream appeared, which later began to be copied by other manufacturers. Now there are many varieties of "Fruit Ice", from which each person can choose the option to their liking.
8. Sticky note paper
In the 21st century, pupils, students and office workers can no longer imagine their lives without these multi-colored stationery. Spencer Silver, an employee of the laboratory, became the creator of the note paper. At that moment, he was just engaged in the invention of a strong sticky substance. Unfortunately for him, and fortunately for us, the man invented a substance with the opposite effect - it was strong enough to adhere to surfaces, but at the same time too weak to be easily peeled off. Some of Spencer's colleagues decided to put the invention on a piece of paper, which was the prerequisite for the appearance of sticky note paper, which is now used by people from all over the world.
9. Chocolate paste
The founder of the famous Ferrero company, Pietro Ferrero, began his career by making chocolates and selling them at fairs. One day, a man took too long to get ready for work, and when he was finally ready to leave the house, he found that his goodies had melted. Pietro was very upset, but nevertheless decided not to throw out the resulting shapeless mass, but to spread it on bread. This is how the world famous chocolate spread called Nutella came into being. And its creator soon became the founder of one of the most profitable confectionery brands in the world. You can read more about this in the article. The 10 richest confectionery manufacturers in the world