Famous Accidental Discoveries Part-1

10. The Microwave Oven

During World War II, two scientists invented the magnetron, a tube that produces microwaves. It was during a radar-related research project around 1946 that Dr. Percy Spencer, a self-taught engineer with the Raytheon Corporation, was testing a new type of magnetron when he discovered that the candy bar in his pocket had melted. This intrigued Dr. Spencer, so he tried another experiment. This time he placed some popcorn kernels near the tube and the popcorn popped all over his lab. Spencer decided to put the magnetron tube near an egg, which also cooked. The scientist thought if popcorn and a egg can be cooked that quickly, why not other foods? In 1947, Raytheon built the Radarange, the first microwave oven in the world. It was almost 6 feet (1.8 m) tall, weighed 750 pounds (340 kg) and cost close to $5,000. It was water-cooled, so also required built-in plumbing.

9. Ice Cream Cones

Before 1904, ice cream was served on dishes. It wasn’t until the World’s Fair of that year, held in St Louis, Missouri, that two seemingly unrelated food items were paired. It happened that the weather during the event was very hot, and given the combination of temperature and crowds, a stall selling ice cream quickly ran out of dishes. The neighboring stall was selling a type of wafer waffle – and since his business was lagging he offered to help out the overly busy ice cream vendor. The spontaneous innovation was to roll his Zalabia into cone shapes and place the ice cream on top, which was an instant hit. This may be legend to a certain, as it was known that edible cones were being served in England prior to the 1904 World’s Fair.

8. Champagne

Although Dom Perignon did not invent Champagne, he did develop many advances in production of the drink, including holding the cork in place with a wire collar to withstand the fermentation pressure. In France, the first sparkling Champagne was created accidentally; its pressure led it to be called “the devil’s wine” as bottles exploded or the cork jolted away.

7. Potato chips/crisps