What are some intriguing examples of discoveries made by accident, or resulting from a mistake?

I know about Archimedes in the bath, Bell and the telephone, Fleming and penicillin. I'm looking for more good examples (with references) for a presentation to elementary and middle school students.(Quantum physics is probably out.) Asked by a_scientist 56 months ago Similar questions: intriguing examples discoveries made accident resulting mistake Education & Reference.

Similar questions: intriguing examples discoveries made accident resulting mistake.

Super Glue! What we refer to as "Super Glue" was originally designed to be used in place of sutures for stitchless surgery. It didn’t work the way they thought it would but ta da.... Super Glue.

Speaking of which... ever notice how it bonds skin instantly? "Super Glue" Glue-like product indicated for nonsuture closure of simple skin lacerations. Sources: Reported by the New England Journal via NewsPage - 5/30/97.

JGordonSUX's Recommendations Super Glue Gel Two Pack - 2 Grams Each Elmer's Products, INC / Krazy Glue Original Formula, .07 oz, Clear / BORKG58548R Average Customer Rating: 5.0 out of 5 (based on 1 reviews) .

Post-It Notes The adhesive for Post It Notes was invented in 1968, but it wasn't until 1980 that 3M engineers figured out how to use it. Sources: 3m.com/us/office/postit/pastpresent/hist... .

Sucralose, brand name Splenda, is a now-ubiquitous artificial sweetener. Its discovery is noted at many sites: Sucralose may have the strangest "accidental discovery" story of all the sweeteners. Tate & Lyle, a British sugar company, was looking for ways to use sucrose as a chemical intermediate.

In collaboration with Prof. Leslie Hough's laboratory at King's College in London, halogenated sugars were being synthesized and tested. A foreign graduate student, Shashikant Phadnis, misunderstood a request for "testing" of a chlorinated sugar as a request for "tasting," leading to the discovery that many chlorinated sugars are sweet with potencies some hundreds or thousands of times as great as sucrose. Poor guy was lucky this time but hopefully has brushed up on his English listening skills since then.

Sources: http://www.rosalindfranklin.edu/cms/biochem/walters/sweet/sucralose.html TeeSeeJay's Recommendations Splenda Sugar Substitute, 100/BX (JOJ200025) Amazon List Price: $10.59 .

Tang Tang was discovered by NASA - they created it originally for the astronauts in space.

1 darrenjohnson, regarding your answer "Tang":Not quite what I was looking for: I believe NASA knew what they wanted and set out to make it. Perhaps they didn't think of wider commercial use, but the original development was targeted engineering, not serendipity.

Darrenjohnson, regarding your answer "Tang":Not quite what I was looking for: I believe NASA knew what they wanted and set out to make it. Perhaps they didn't think of wider commercial use, but the original development was targeted engineering, not serendipity.

I cant really gove you an answer,but what I can give you is a way to a solution, that is you have to find the anglde that you relate to or peaks your interest. A good paper is one that people get drawn into because it reaches them ln some way.As for me WW11 to me, I think of the holocaust and the effect it had on the survivors, their families and those who stood by and did nothing until it was too late.