Accidental Inventions

Three motorcycle enthusiasts were debating the merits of electric motorcycles when the conversation veered off into the topic of inventions.

“Hey,” Joe asked, “Did you know that penicillin was discovered by accident? Seems Alexander Fleming was a messy guy. He leaves a dirty petri dish he was using to experiment on bacteria out on his lab table when he went on vacation for two weeks. He comes back and the dish was covered in bacteria—except where a mold had grown. That mold was the source of penicillin.”

“That’s cool,” responded Sam. But I’ve got a better one. This guy, Thomas Adams, was trying to find a substitute for rubber using chicle—that’s the sap of some tree from South America. It wasn’t working. He absent-mindedly stuck a piece in his mouth. It tasted good—cause it’s chewing gum.”

“So that’s where the brand Chiclets came from!” exclaimed Marty. “But I can top both of you. Scientists used the guys in a Welsh town to test a drug that was supposed to cure angina. It didn’t work. But at the end of the study the Welshmen didn’t want to give up the drug. It became Viagra.

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