10 accidental discoveries that changed the world

From penicillin and anaesthesia to saccharin and silly putty, chance played a major role in some of the world’s great inventions.

Inventor: Alexander Fleming

Year: 1928

What Happened: Halfway through an experiment with bacteria, Alexander Fleming up and went on holidays. Slob that he was, he left a dirty petri dish in the lab sink.

Big Discovery: When he got back, he found bacteria had grown all over the plate, except in an area where mold had formed.

As a Result: That discovery led to two things: 1) penicillin and 2) Mrs. Fleming hiring a maid.

Did you know antibiotic-resistant bacteria are on the rise? Here’s what we need to know – and do.

Inventor: Horace Wells

Year: 1844

What Happened: In its salad days, nitrous oxide was strictly a party toy, since it made people howl like hyenas. But a friend of the dentist took too much of the stuff at a laughing-gas stage show and gashed his leg.

Big Discovery: The friend hadn’t realised he’d hurt himself.

As a Result: Nitrous oxide became an early form of anaesthesia.

Surgeons have our lives in their hands, but most of us know more about the people who cut our hair than the doctors who cut our bodies. Here, insider tips to become a smarter, healthier patient.

Inventors: Constantin Fahlberg and Ira Remsen

Year: 1879

What Happened: After spending the day studying coal tar derivatives, Fahlberg left his Johns Hopkins laboratory and went to dinner.

Big Discovery: Something he ate tasted particularly sweet, which he traced to a chemical compound he’d spilled on his hand. Best of all, it turned out to be calorie-free.

As a Result: He cut Remsen and the university out of millions of dollars when he secretly patented the breakthrough discovery, saccharin.

Today, some doctors do not think there is sufficient evidence to prove that most artificial sweeteners are safe for consumers. Want to know what the experts avoid? Here’s the list of foods, processed goods, ingredients, and chemicals that nutritionists won’t put on their plates.

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.

We already know better than to nuke plastic – or heaven forbid, aluminium foil – but certain foods can become downright toxic when blasted in the microwave. Here’s what you need to know.

Inventors: Scientists at Pfizer

Year: 1992

What Happened: A Welsh hamlet was ground zero for a test on a pill to fight angina. Unfortunately for the afflicted, it had little success against the disease.

Big Discovery: Though it didn’t work, the men taking part in the study refused to give up their medicine.

As a Result: The scientists switched gears and marketed the drug, Viagra, for a very different purpose.

Erectile dysfunction (ED) can be an early sign of clogged arteries. Men with ED are 1.6 times more likely to suffer from a serious cardiovascular problem.

Take a look at this mix of traditional wisdom and new scientific discoveries that can help you stay fit and healthy for life.

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.

The truth is that your body can’t digest gum, not even in seven years. That doesn’t mean it sticks inside your system, though. Take a look at the mysteries surrounding the human body that are more fiction than fact.

Inventor: James Wright

Year: 1943

What Happened: During the war years, the General Electric engineer combined silicone oil and boric acid in an attempt to find a cheap alternative to rubber for tank treads, boots, etc.

Big Discovery: It didn’t work. But the scientists had a blast bouncing and stretching his mistake, when they weren’t using it to transfer comics onto paper.

As a Result: Kids had a blast playing with the Silly Putty too.

Inventors: Alastair and Jean Carruthers

Year: 1987

What Happened: The couple were using small doses of a deadly toxin to treat ‘crossed eyes’ eyelid spasms and other eye-muscle disorders when they noticed an interesting side effect.

Big Discovery: Wrinkles magically disappeared.

As a Result: The expressionless face became the ‘it’ look, thanks to Botox.

Inventor: A Dutch shipmaster

Year: 16th century

What Happened: He used heat to concentrate wine in order to make it easier to transport, with the idea of adding water to reconstitute it when he arrived.

Big Discovery: Concentrated wine is better than watered-down wine.

As a Result: ‘Burnt wine,’ or ‘brandewijn’ in Dutch, became a big hit. Call it brandy, since after a few drinks of the stuff, there’s no way you can pronounce brandewijn so a bartender can understand what you’re ordering.