Viagra Men being treated for erectile dysfunction should salute the working stiffs of Merthyr Tydfil, the Welsh hamlet where, in 1992 trials, the gravity-defying side effects of a new angina drug first popped up. Previously, the blue-collar town was known for producing a different kind of iron.
LSD Swiss chemist Albert Hofmann took the world's first acid hit in 1943, when he touched a smidge of lysergic acid diethylamide, a chemical he had researched for inducing childbirth. He later tried a bigger dose and made another discovery: the bad trip.
X-rays Several 19th-century scientists toyed with the penetrating rays emitted when electrons strike a metal target. But the x-ray wasn't discovered until 1895, when German egghead Wilhelm Röntgen tried sticking various objects in front of the radiation - and saw the bones of his hand projected on a wall. Penicillin Scottish scientist Alexander Fleming was researching the flu in 1928 when he noticed that a blue-green mold had infected one of his petri dishes - and killed the staphylococcus bacteria growing in it. All hail sloppy lab work!
Artificial sweeteners Speaking of botched lab jobs, three leading pseudo-sugars reached human lips only because scientists forgot to wash their hands. Cyclamate (1937) and aspartame (1965) are byproducts of medical research, and saccharin (1879) appeared during a project on coal tar derivatives. Yummy.
Microwave ovens Microwave emitters (or magnetrons) powered Allied radar in WWII. The leap from detecting Nazis to nuking nachos came in 1946, after a magnetron melted a candy bar in Raytheon engineer Percy Spencer's pocket.
Brandy Medieval wine merchants used to boil the H20 out of wine so their delicate cargo would keep better and take up less space at sea. Before long, some intrepid soul - our money's on a sailor - decided to bypass the reconstitution stage, and brandy was born. Pass the Courvoisier!
Vulcanized rubber Rubber rots badly and smells worse, unless it's vulcanized. Ancient Mesoamericans had their own version of the process, but Charles Goodyear rediscovered it in 1839 when he unintentionally (well, at least according to most accounts) dropped a rubber-sulfur compound onto a hot stove.
Silly Putty In the early 1940s, General Electric scientist James Wright was working on artificial rubber for the war effort when he mixed boric acid and silicon oil. V-J Day didn't come any sooner, but comic strip image-stretching practically became a national pastime.
Potato chips Chef George Crum concocted the perfect sandwich complement in 1853 when - to spite a customer who complained that his fries were cut too thick - he sliced a potato paper-thin and fried it to a crisp. Needless to say, the diner couldn't eat just one.
Take care,
Gordon
Ten top discoveries by accident.
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gordonartist
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Richard Bell
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Ten top discoveries by accident.
LSD Swiss chemist Albert Hofmann took the world's first acid hit in 1943, when he touched a smidge of lysergic acid diethylamide, a chemical he had researched for inducing childbirth. He later tried a bigger dose and made another discovery: the bad trip.
The story says that Hofmann had finished work for the day, and he was riding home on his bicycle when the LSD kicked in.
The Dukes Of Stratosphere (XTC, in ultra-psychedelic mode), wrote a a great song about it, Bicycle Ride To The Moon.
Microwave ovens Microwave emitters (or magnetrons) powered Allied radar in WWII. The leap from detecting Nazis to nuking nachos came in 1946, after a magnetron melted a candy bar in Raytheon engineer Percy Spencer's pocket.
I knew a guy who had a father that served in the Korean War. His dad said the local peasants would warm themselves in the morning by standing in the line of the army's radar dishes.
R.B.
The story says that Hofmann had finished work for the day, and he was riding home on his bicycle when the LSD kicked in.
The Dukes Of Stratosphere (XTC, in ultra-psychedelic mode), wrote a a great song about it, Bicycle Ride To The Moon.
Microwave ovens Microwave emitters (or magnetrons) powered Allied radar in WWII. The leap from detecting Nazis to nuking nachos came in 1946, after a magnetron melted a candy bar in Raytheon engineer Percy Spencer's pocket.
I knew a guy who had a father that served in the Korean War. His dad said the local peasants would warm themselves in the morning by standing in the line of the army's radar dishes.
R.B.
Ten top discoveries by accident.
Richard Bell wrote: The story says that Hofmann had finished work for the day, and he was riding home on his bicycle when the LSD kicked in.I have the strangest recollection of watching a BBC documentary on the early history and subsequent banning of LSD - possibly "The Beyond Within" - and seeing myself in one of the clips. I didn't get to watch it again. But yes, there was quite a sequence in it around that bicycle ride.
Nullius in verba ... ☎||||||||||| ... To Fate I sue, of other means bereft, the only refuge for the wretched left. ... Hold no regard for unsupported opinion.
When flower power came along I stood for Human Rights, marched around for peace and freedom, had some nooky every night - we took it serious. [Fred Wedlock, "The Folker"]
Who has a spare two minutes to play in this month's FG Trivia game! ... My other OS is Slackware.
When flower power came along I stood for Human Rights, marched around for peace and freedom, had some nooky every night - we took it serious. [Fred Wedlock, "The Folker"]
Who has a spare two minutes to play in this month's FG Trivia game! ... My other OS is Slackware.
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Richard Bell
- Posts: 1228
- Joined: Sun Oct 16, 2005 8:56 am
Ten top discoveries by accident.
spot wrote: I have the strangest recollection of watching a BBC documentary on the early history and subsequent banning of LSD - possibly "The Beyond Within" - and seeing myself in one of the clips. I didn't get to watch it again. But yes, there was quite a sequence in it around that bicycle ride.
CBC-TV ran a fascinating documentary about the groundbreaking research done on LSD in Saskatchewan in the late '50s until the mid '60s.
They were achieving good results using LSD in clinical conditions for mood disorders and alcoholism. The whole thing collapsed after an act of parliament made it illegal.
Amazing B&W footage of subjects under the influence, being counselled by doctors and researchers.
R.b.
CBC-TV ran a fascinating documentary about the groundbreaking research done on LSD in Saskatchewan in the late '50s until the mid '60s.
They were achieving good results using LSD in clinical conditions for mood disorders and alcoholism. The whole thing collapsed after an act of parliament made it illegal.
Amazing B&W footage of subjects under the influence, being counselled by doctors and researchers.
R.b.