Accidental Inventions

[The Boofon]

Penicillin is the obvious one but what about some other things that have been invented by complete fluke?

 

Velcro.

 

What do Velcro, a dog's fur and cocklebur plants have in common? Though the list seems quite random, there's more to it if you look closer.

 

Such was the thinking of George De Mestral, an electrical engineer, after returning from a walk with his canine companion. Once inside, De Mestral noticed how perfectly cockleburs bound to his dog's fur. So, with microscope in hand, he examined the bur closely.

 

He discovered that the cocklebur was lined with numerous tiny hooks that could easily attach to the loops of his clothing and the fur of his dog. With this concept in mind, De Mestral toyed around with other materials, creating surfaces with hooks and loops to develop a stronger bond. In 1955, De Mestral settled on nylon as his material to perfect his accidental invention, calling it Velcro. Today we still use Velcro, or a similar product, in our daily lives.

[Karl Fletcher]

You

[The Boofon]

Teflon (PTFE)

 

Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) is a synthetic fluoropolymer of tetrafluoroethylene that finds numerous applications. The most well known brand name of PTFE is Teflon by DuPont Co.

 

PTFE is a fluorocarbon solid, as it is a high-molecular-weight compound consisting wholly of carbon and fluorine. PTFE is hydrophobic: neither water nor water-containing substances wet PTFE, as fluorocarbons demonstrate mitigated London dispersion forces due to the high electronegativity of fluorine. PTFE has one of the lowest coefficients of friction against any solid.

 

PTFE is used as a non-stick coating for pans and other cookware. It is very non-reactive, partly because of the strength of carbon

[Betty Swallicks]

Post It Notes.

 

QI.

[muttondressedaslamb]

play doh

slinky

 

Remember listening to a programme on Radio 4 about serendipitous inventions.

 

There are some cruel bitches of mothers who call their daughters Serendipity.

[tainboy]

Stainless steel.

[RedHammer]

The Microwave Oven.......or at least the use of microwaves to heat things up.