What invention was made by mistake?

The Slinky
He showed his wife Betty the accidental invention, and she had the idea to make it a toy.
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What was accidentally invented?

Corn Flakes

How it was created: In 1898, the brothers accidentally left a pot of boiled grain on the stove for several days. The mixture turned moldy but the product that emerged was dry and thick. After a few experiments, they got rid of the mold — and created Corn Flakes.
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What are 10 accidental inventions?

Here are 10 more.
  • Cornflakes, 1894. Will and John Kellogg, Seventh-day Adventists, experimented with producing vegetarian food in 1894. ...
  • Cellophane, 1900. ...
  • Penicillin, 1928. ...
  • Antabuse, or disulfiram, 1937. ...
  • Teflon, 1938. ...
  • Slinky, 1943. ...
  • Microwave oven, 1945. ...
  • WD-40, 1953.
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Are most inventions by accident?

We quite rightly hold inventors in high esteem: the brilliant people who make leaps of imagination and engineering that the rest of us can't even dream of.
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Was Coca Cola an accidental invention?

Coca – Cola

Accidentally, his lab assistant ended up mixing the two ingredients with carbonated water – resulting in the first Coca-Cola.
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15 Accidental Inventions You Can't Imagine Your Life Without



Who accidentally discovered plastic?

Plastic. Although earlier plastics had relied on organic material, the first fully synthetic plastic was invented in 1907 when Leo Hendrik Baekeland accidentally created Bakelite. His initial quest was to invent a ready replacement for shellac, an expensive product derived from lac beetles.
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How was the Slinky made by mistake?

Mechanical engineer Richard James invented the Slinky by accident. In 1943, he was working to devise springs that could keep sensitive ship equipment steady at sea. After accidentally knocking some samples off a shelf, he watched in amazement as they gracefully “walked” down instead of falling.
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What was invented in 1938 by accident?

Teflon, discovered by Roy J. Plunkett at the DuPont Company's Jackson Laboratory in 1938, was an accidental invention—unlike most of the other polymer products.
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How was Play Doh made by mistake?

Joseph McVicker was trying to turn around the struggling company when his sister-in-law read an article about how wallpaper cleaner could be used for modeling projects. Sister-in-law Kay Zufall, a nursery school teacher, tested the nontoxic material with children, who loved molding it into all kinds of shapes.
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What foods were made by mistake?

9 Beloved Foods and Drinks That Were Created Entirely By Accident
  • Chocolate Chip Cookies.
  • Corn Flakes.
  • Popsicles.
  • Potato Chips.
  • Coca Cola.
  • Chimichanga.
  • Champagne.
  • Toasted Ravioli.
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How was plastic a mistake?

Plastic had initially been made from natural materials till when Leo Hendrik Baekeland, in 1907, made the first synthetic plastic by mistake. His original goal to replace shellac with a cheaper material as shellac is very expensive. Instead of creating shellac-like material, he created plastic.
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What are some unexpected inventions?

11 Of The Most Famous Accidental Inventions Ever
  1. Play doh. The sticky toy was originally marketed as a wall cleaner that didn't work so well. ...
  2. Potato chips. ...
  3. Microwave oven. ...
  4. Post-its. ...
  5. Cornflakes. ...
  6. Penicillin. ...
  7. Slinkies. ...
  8. Non Stick Pans - Teflon.
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What was silly putty invented for?

The invention of Silly Putty started out scientifically. During World War II, the United States government was in dire need of a substitute for rubber to use on such things as boots and airplane tires. They asked their engineers to experiment with silicone to find this synthetic rubber.
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Can you eat Play-Doh?

It should be made clear to a child using play dough that this is not food and should not be eaten. It could be a choking hazard if put in the mouth, but symptoms are unlikely if it is swallowed. If a large amount is ingested, a minor upset stomach or loose stool may occur.
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Was Teflon an accidentally discovered?

An Accidental Discovery

Dr. Roy J. Plunkett was working with gases related to refrigerants. After checking a frozen, compressed sample of tetrafluoroethylene, he and his associates made an unexpected discovery: The sample had polymerized spontaneously into a white, waxy solid to form polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE).
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Was the microwave an accident?

The microwave was invented accidentally in 1945 by a self-taught engineer named Percy Spencer, who was leading a radar project for the defence giant, Raytheon. While testing a new vacuum tube called a magnetron, he discovered that a chocolate bar in his pocket had melted from the heat.
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How was the ice cream cone invented by mistake?

Hamwi, a Syrian immigrant, was selling a crisp waffle like pastry. He was selling his pastry next to a man selling ice cream. One thing led to the other and he started rolling up his pastry into a cone shape to accommodate the ice cream.
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How was play doh invented?

Play-Doh modeling compound started out as wallpaper cleaner. Joe McVicker learned from a teacher that kids usually found modeling clay too hard to manipulate. Discovering that the squishy cleaning product he manufactured could substitute, McVicker shipped some to the school.
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Do they still make Slinkys?

Although the Slinky company is now owned by Alex Brands Inc. of Fairfield, N.J., Slinkys are still made at the Hollidaysburg factory, near Altoona, on the same machine Richard James invented.
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Was Slinky Dog a real toy?

Slinky Dog or “Slink” is also based on a real toy. He evolved from the original Slinky toy, a springy, metal marvel which was introduced in 1946. Slinky Dog Dash, however, was entirely Andy's invention, as you'll see from the blueprints throughout the queue area! And of course, Barbie and Ken are quite real, too!
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How was Vaseline accidentally discovered?

Vaseline was discover in 1859 when Robert Chesebrough visited an oil field and saw that workers were complaining about 'rod wax', an annoying waxy substance that had to continuously be removed from pumps because it was clogging them up.
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How was insulin accidentally discovered?

In 1889, two German researchers, Oskar Minkowski and Joseph von Mering, found that when the pancreas gland was removed from dogs, the animals developed symptoms of diabetes and died soon afterward. This led to the idea that the pancreas was the site where “pancreatic substances” (insulin) were produced.
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How were matches accidentally invented?

In 1826, John Walker, a chemist in Stockton on Tees, discovered through lucky accident that a stick coated with chemicals burst into flame when scraped across his hearth at home. He went on to invent the first friction match.
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Who invented fart putty?

Silly Putty was invented by accident. During World War II, engineer James Wright was working for the U.S. War Production Board, trying to create an inexpensive substitute for synthetic rubber at a General Electric lab in Connecticut.
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