15 Accidental Inventions You Can't Imagine Your Life Without

Some of the greatest inventions we use every day were created by accident. From the microwave to ice-cream cones, the accidental inventions on this list completely changed our way of life. Sometimes things don’t go according to plan. But every now and then, it’s for the better! American chemist Roy J. Plunkett was doing research for the company Dupont to make fridges safer and invented a strange substance that was non-reactive, non-stick, and resistant to extreme temperatures. We all know it as Teflon. John Pemberton was a pharmacist trying to find a way to get rid of headaches. He came up with a simple recipe consisting of two ingredients: coca leaves and cola nuts combined into a syrup. It was later mixed with soda by accident and became a huge hit. Dr. Spencer Silver, a chemist for 3M Company, was trying to create a super strong adhesive but what he got instead was a “low-tack” yet high-quality adhesive only strong enough to hold up a piece of paper but durable enough to be relocated multiple times without losing its stick. We all know and love it as Post-it notes today. The first antidepressant was discovered in 1957 and was supposed to be a cure for tuberculosis. Wilhelm Roentgen unintentionally put his hand in front of an electron-beam tube back in 1895 and noticed that the radiation passed through solid objects and body parts leaving a shadow. And now we have x-ray imaging!  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices