Accidental Inventions & Discoveries

Most days we cruise through life not sparing a thought to where the many inventions in our life come from.

Many of these inventions are purposeful, but a select few are accidental.

So here are my top accidental discoveries and inventions that have helped shape the world as we know it.

The year is 1903 and French chemist Édouard Bénédictus is chilling out in his lab, mixing up some potions, when he accidentally knocks a flask off his desk, sending it to fall to the ground and shatter… or not.

Bemused by the way the flask had not smashed into a hundred pieces on impact, Édouard stooped down to take a closer look.

Upon inspection the chemist realized that it had recently contained plastic cellulose nitrate and that this had coated the inside of the glass flask, thus keeping it from shattering upon impact.

Inspired by this mere mishap, Édouard Bénédictus went on to invent Safety Glass, something used on a mass-global level even today.