The popular maxim that necessity is the mother of invention is only half true. Plenty of key innovations that impact the way we live, work and play in the 21st century were the result of quite unexpected and improbable outcomes. Many inventions are the result of bright minds taking an experimental mindset with the aim of solving some fundamental engineering problem, and finding surprise uses for their experiments along the way.
Below are some of the greatest accidental inventions in history.
Perpetual Motion
The quest for an infinite energy source is somewhat of a holy grail in the world of scientific invention. All the great minds of the past, from Archimedes, to Leonardo Da Vinci have tried (and failed) to unlock its secrets. Much of this quest has centered around the idea of developing a device with perpetual motion — a wheel or mechanism that would not dissipate energy and momentum when the physical counterforces of friction and air-resistance.
In the 17th century, Parisian mathematician and philosopher Blaise Pascal set out to solve this riddle once and for all by designing an incredibly smooth spinning wheel. This small spinning wheel, a “roulette”, did not achieve its goal of perpetual motion, though found a second life as the basis for a new table game that would soon grow in prominence and popularity, eventually becoming one of the most recognizable games on earth. Nowadays Roulette is as popular as ever, with its iconic wheel and table setup taking pride of place in casinos across the world from Vegas to Monaco. The game has also been experiencing a renaissance on digital platforms that cater to online casino gaming, introducing a new generation of tech-savvy players to its captivating gameplay. While Pascal may have failed to create an infinite energy source, his ingenuity has inadvertently entertained people for 350 years and counting.
The French Method
Champagne is an iconic beverage strongly associated with glamour. It is the preferred drink of toasts and celebrations of success, as evidenced by its long running association with the victor’s podium. Yet this extra special tipple has humble origins in the region of north-east France that gives it its name. Champagne was conceived to be just like every other wine, and a good one at that. The high altitude of the region makes for highly prized flavors and aroma.
Yet the monks of the champagne region ran into an issue. The high altitude led to a short growing season and accompanying long, cold winters that would arrest the ordinary process of fermentation necessary to turn the grapes into wine. When the fermentation process would start up again in the spring, the wine exhibited an excess of carbon dioxide leading the wine to become fizzy. In 1668, the church brought in Monk and wine specialist Dom Pierre Perignon to find a solution to the tainted, bubbly wine. Fortunately for him, as time passed the locals began to develop a taste of the unique fizzy beverage and before long, Perignon was leading the way in exploring methods of actively encouraging, and increasing, the amount of carbonation in the wine that would come to be known the world over as champagne. This process became known as “the French method” and is emulated everywhere sparkling wine is now produced.
Slinky fun!
The Slinky has to be one of the most instantly recognizable toys produced in the last century. Since the toy found its way to toy stores across the world in 1945 more than 360 million have been sold, earning over $1 billion in revenue. The Slinky even has its own holiday, National Slinky Day on August 30th.
The spring toy has been used by NASA to test zero G and as a field radio antenna in the Vietnam war. Though of course, for most of us it’s a mildly entertaining metal or plastic spring that can “walk” down stairs. Slinky’s invention is perhaps the most capricious of any on our list. When its inventor, WW2 Navy engineer Richard James, was working on devising a method for keeping sensitive machinery stable at sea by using springs, one fell from his hand and proceeded to perform the characteristic walking trick that would define the Slinky. James presumably quickly saw the marketable value in this accident and developed a spring with the optimum weight and size to reliably walk down stairs.