Serendipity: Unconscious Experiments

Author's Note: This is a research paper on inventions created by accident. Originally it was just all pure research, but as I was studying this topic I began to see a trend in the inventions I was looking at, and I even began to question if inventions can even be accidental.  Throughout this paper I am trying to convey the message that often so called discoveries from mistakes are nothing more than an unexpected  product of hard work. I use three different examples to support my thesis. I am also working on properly citing my sources in this research paper while having a professional voice.

Throughout history when can see a trend of inventions that were discovered through our mistakes. We even have a word to describe these unfortunate events leading up to million dollar discoveries: serendipity ("INVENTORS BY ACCIDENT | Modern Mechanix "). In order for our world to advance we have to find new things, and often when we do this we call it serendipity because we were not expecting what we found. Though most people believe that many life changing inventions were complete mistakes, perhaps they are nothing more than experiments with unexpected results. In the area of science, we are all taught at a young age how to experiment, and throughout life we do it without even knowing. Though certain inventions are classified as accidental, they are just the results of unconscious experiments.

A common kitchen appliance that we might take for granted was actually the product of what history has defined as an accident. In 1945, Percy Spencer, the inventor of the microwave, became one of the first employees of the Raytheon Company in Lexington, Massachusetts. His intense work ethic and exposure to brilliant M. I. T. students lead him to working and doing research for this company 7 days a week ("Accidental Invention of the Microwave Oven"). One day while he was experimenting with a new vacuum tube called a magnetron, he noticed that a candy bar in his pocket began to melt, so he  tried putting popcorn kernels near the vacuum and they popped. Using this technology Spencer built the first microwave in 1947 that weighted 750 pounds, was 5 1/2 feet tall, and cost $5,000. When it was introduced to homes in 1950, it wasn't very popular at first until a countertop version was produced in 1967 which was much more practical and was sold at a lower price ("9 Things Invented or Discovered by Accident").  Though Spencer never imaged that he would find this new technology, it was through his continual perseverance that the microwave was developed.

Almost thirty years after the microwave, another simplistic yet memorable invention was discovered. In 1974, Arthur Fry created the first sticky note as a bookmark for a hymnal while he was singing in the church choir. Previously, Spencer Silver, an employee of the 3M Company had come across a new type of adhesive that Fry later used in his invention ("9 Things Invented or Discovered by Accident"). The adhesive was weaker than all the other glues; it stuck to objects, but could be easily pulled off without leaving a mark. It was about three years later when Fry found a use for the adhesive and decided to sell it ("Post-it Note History - Invention of Post-it Notes"). When the product was originally introduced to the market as the Post-it Note -- thin sheets of paper with a slight amount of adhesive on it -- most companies did not believe it would succeed. Much like the Microwave though, Post-it Notes surpassed all predictions, and since 1980 the name has traveled across the world ("9 Things Invented or Discovered by Accident"). Again, these two friends, playing off of each others inventions, developed a completely new product.

Long before Microwaves or Post-it Notes, a favorite American snack was invented. In 1853, Chef George Crum in Saratoga Springs, New York was serving fried potatoes to his customers. The people were constantly complaining about how the potatoes were not crunchy, and the chef became fed up and decided to experiment on new recipes. He thinly sliced the potatoes and fried them in boiling grease to  make them crunchier. It turned out to be something that the customers loved and everyone called them Saratoga Chips ("9 Things Invented or Discovered by Accident"). Crum hadn't planned for the thin potato slices to turn into what we know now as potato chips, he was just curiously experimenting with new recipes .

Though all of these inventions were considered to be accidental, they didn't come from nothing. Something cannot possibly come from nothing, nor can an invention be discovered without thought or work. In all of the examples of so called accidental inventions, none of the ideas simply came out of the blue. The inventors all had a problem they wanted to solve and they were all hard workers. It was just certain situations that were perhaps not planned to produce the results they got. Though serendipity may exist, it is nothing more than what we call research. All modern science has been developed from experiments, which is just the act of testing new things and conducting research. Sometimes we do not realized that we are experimenting and that is when we pronounce our findings to be from serendipity, but truly accidental discoveries are really just everyday discoveries.

Works Cited

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"9 Things Invented or Discovered by Accident." How Stuff Works. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Jan. 2012. <science.howstuffworks.com/innovation/scientific-experiments/9-things-invented-or-discovered-by-accident.htm >.

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"Coke: Top 10 Accidental Inventions: JUNKies: Science Channel." Science Channel : Science Channel. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Jan. 2013. <http://science.discovery.com/brink/top-ten/accidental-inventions/inventions-08.html>.

"INVENTORS BY ACCIDENT | Modern Mechanix ." Modern Mechanix | Yesterday's tomorrow, today.. N.p., n.d. Web. 8 Jan. 2013. <http://blog.modernmechanix.com/inventors-by-accident/>.

"Post-it Note History - Invention of Post-it Notes." The Great Idea Finder - Celebrating the Spirit of Innovation . N.p., n.d. Web. 7 Jan. 2013. <http://www.ideafinder.com/history/inventions/postit.htm>.