Unintentional Inventions that Changed Society Forever

Imagine a hot summer day without the possibility of cooling off with a popsicle.

Or imagine not being able to warm up a plate of leftovers in the microwave.

Or imagine no potato chips to munch on while watching your favorite T.V. show.

Imagine not being able to do any of these things merely because the products mentioned don’t even exist.

These incidences could have very well not have been a possibility if someone had not made some mistake. Some of these were invented purely because someone had the intent on creating one thing but ended up creating something entirely different and ultimately life changing.

Here are a few inventions that have been created completely out of mistake. The exact origins of some inventions are debatable.

The Popsicle

I think this might be one of the more well known stories about an unintentional invention. I remember this was the first invention I learned of that was created by mistake.

The year was 1905, and an eleven year old boy named Frank Epperson from the San Francisco Bay area was ready to go inside for the night. However, he left the water and soda powder mixture he had out on the porch. He probably didn’t think a thing of it. That is until the following morning.

Imagine this kid’s surprise when he found the stirring stick frozen inside the cup of sugar mixture. It had gotten unusually chilly that night!

Epperson pulled the stick out of the cup of mixture and it stayed intact. Curious, he tasted this new found treat. He called the treat the “Ep-sicle” which was a combination of his last name “Ep” and “icicle” because to him, the frozen treat reminded him of an icicle.

It is what we now know as the popsicle. Epperson patented the popsicle in 1923.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

This invention was created by mistake simply because someone had to improvise.

The exact origin of the chocolate chip cookie is debatable. However, the most well-known version goes as follows:

It was the late 1930’s and Ruth Wakefield was running the Toll House restaurant (think Nestle Toll House) in Whitman, Massachusetts. She had planned on making chocolate butter drop-do cookies, which was an old Colonial recipe, to serve to the guests at the restaurant. She started to bake, and lo and behold there wasn’t any baker’s chocolate as the recipe required.

Improvising, Wakefield broke up some Nestle semi-sweet chocolate very much expecting the chocolate pieces to just melt into the cookie batter — the end result being an all-chocolate cookie.

The result was not at all what she expected. Instead of just melting as she had expected them to, the semi-sweet chocolate pieces remained intact.

Potato Chips

The true origin of the potato chip is debatable. However, a popular story goes that one day in 1853, George Crum, a chef, was in the kitchen when a rather disgruntled customer had a plate of fried potatoes returned to the kitchen because they were “too thick”.

Too thick, huh? Crum was probably thinking as he sliced a potato as thin as he possibly could and fried the slices up. His plan was to do so as a prank to the customer.

You want thin? I’ll give you thin.

However, his plan backfired. In a good way! The customer really liked these extra thin potato slices — what are now known as potato chips!

Corn Flakes

Dr. John H. Kellogg completely revolutionized breakfast. And it was all because he left an ingredient out overnight.

Dr. Kellogg was a superintendent of the Battle Creek Sanitarium. His sole focus and passion was on promoting a healthy lifestyle. This consisted of inventing different exercise equipment, creating new healthier foods like granola and soy milk, and obtaining a vegetarian diet. Dr. Kellogg himself was a vegetarian.

It was 1898 and Dr. Kellogg was thinking of yet another creation that would be a healthy alternative. His plan was to create a wheat meal. However, the wheat-based cereal dough he had planned on using was left out overnight, was now starting to mold, and fermented. Instead of throwing it out, he rolled the dough out anyway, and was left with large thin flakes. He proceeded to put them in the oven and the result was surprising. The end result was a batch of crispy flakes. He experimented with this recipe for a better taste and ultimately decided that corn was a better and more tastier option.

The Microwave

The invention of the microwave completely changed the way we cook food. About 90% of American households own a microwave (as stated by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics). With a microwave, one can cook food in a matter of minutes. It’s absolutely amazing that this culinary invention that is so hard to imagine not being in our kitchens, was invented by mistake.

In 1946, Percy Spencer, a Raytheon engineer, was in the process of testing out a device called a magnetron.

A magnetron is a vacuum tube that creates microwave radiation and is used in radar systems (and now microwaves)

After a bit, he figured he’d take a lunch break and reached into his pocket to pull out a peanut cluster bar.

It was melted.

Curious, he placed some popcorn kernels (as well as some other foods) close to the magnetron, and they popped. Realizing that he possibly had something, he developed a box made of metal and since microwaves can’t pass through metal, the microwave power stayed inside.

In 1945, Spencer submitted a patent application for his invention.

The Slinky

The slinky is a simple toy yet at the same time, has become one of the most popular children’s toys out there. I remember as a kid, as simple looking as it appeared, I wanted a slinky.

I think the invention of the slinky is a fun story of how a popular toy was accidently invented.

It was 1943, and mechanical engineer, Richard James was working on a device to be used by the Navy. This device would help secure the equipment and any shipments on a moving ship.

As he was working, he dropped the coiled wires he was working with and they did a tumble from one end to the other across the floor. Watching the coiled wires move across the floor, he got to thinking. It might actually make for a good toy.

Later, he talked to his wife, Betty James, about it and she liked the idea so much so that she carefully looked in the dictionary for a fitting name for this new invention. After much consideration, she settled on the word, “slinky”.

“Slinky — sleek and sinuous in movement or outline.”

When the slinky made its way to store shelves, it wasn’t much of a success. Many people just couldn’t understand a coiled wire being a toy. So, Richard and Betty James decided to do a demonstration of how this new toy worked during the holiday shopping season.

They priced their slinkies at $1 each. They sold all 400 slinkies in just under 2 hours!

It's amazing how much influence these accidental inventions have had on society.