“An accident is an unfortunate incident that happens unexpectedly and unintentionally, typically resulting in damage or injury.” This is one of the ways in which The Oxford Dictionary defines “accident.” But not all accidents have adverse results. Some are so rewarding that we must be immensely grateful to the people who caused them. We bring to you a list of 10 things that were discovered accidentally and have changed the world forever.

1 In 1945, Percy Spencer, an American Engineer, accidentally discovered “microwaves” when an active radar set which he was working on emitted microwaves and melted a candy bar that he had in his pocket.

A kitchen without microwave looks incomplete in today’s world. But did you know that microwaves were discovered by chance? Percy Spencer, an American Engineer working for Raytheon, is the man behind discovering and investigating “microwaves.” He was a radar technology expert and played a key role in developing combat radar equipment for the U.S. Defense Department during World War II. Once, while making a magnetron – a high-powered vacuum tube – Spencer happened to stand in front of an active radar set. He had a candy bar in his pocket which melted while he was standing there. On experimenting further with popcorn kernels and eggs, he successfully designed the first microwave oven. (1,2,3)

2 In 1895, a German physicist Wilhelm Rontgen, noticed “x-rays” while experimenting with cathode ray tubes. He was trying to find out if cathode rays could escape from a glass tube covered with thick, black cardboard when rays of light passed through the thick paper and appeared on a screen kept at a distance.  

X-rays, an indispensable tool in the medical world, were discovered by Wilhelm Rontgen while studying cathode rays being emitted from Lenard and Crookes tubes (electrical discharge tubes). While experimenting in a dark room, Rontgen removed all the air from the tube, filled it with a special gas and passed high electric voltage through it which produced fluorescent light. He then covered the tube with thick black cardboard and placed a screen covered with barium platinocyanide at a distance. On doing this, he noticed some rays that could pass through the thick cardboard and illuminate the screen. Rontgen named these rays as “x,” owing to their unknown nature. X-rays proved to be immensely useful in the medical world when Wilhelm managed to capture the image of his wife’s hand on a photographic plate using x-rays. Though many scientists had encountered these rays prior to Rontgen, he was the first one to study them systematically and received the Nobel Prize in Physics for it. (1,2)

3 In 1928, Dr. Alexander Fleming discovered penicillin while researching the summer flu in the basement of his laboratory. A Petri dish containing Staphylococcus (bacteria) was mistakenly left open, and as a result got contaminated by a blue-green mold which turned out to be lethal for the bacteria’s growth.

In 1928, Dr. Alexander Fleming discovered the world’s first antibiotic substance, penicillin G. Fleming was a brilliant scientist but had a very untidy laboratory. This untidiness actually helped in the discovery of penicillin while he was studying the properties of staphylococci in his lab at St. Mary’s Hospital in London. On the 3^rd of September 1928, when Fleming returned to his lab after vacationing with his family, he noticed that he had left some Petri dishes containing the cultures of staphylococci open, and one of them had developed a blue-green mold which had destroyed the surrounding bacteria. On studying it thoroughly, Fleming discovered that the mold came from Penicillium genus and it released penicillin, a substance that could destroy many harmful bacteria. (1,2)

4 Viagra was discovered by chance when the renowned American drug company, Pfizer, was on a mission to develop a cardiovascular drug for lowering blood pressure. Though the newly developed drug failed in this mission, there was a side-effect that it caused. It caused increased and longer erections in men.

Viagra is one of the best illustrations of drug-repositioning. Pfizer was in the process of developing a drug for heart disorders of hypertension and angina pectoris. The clinical trials of the newly synthesized Sildenafil drug were not successful and the company was on the verge of terminating the trials when some of the participants of the trials reported a side effect of the drug – an increase in penile erections. Subsequently, after detailed study, Pfizer decided to market it as a drug for erectile dysfunction. Viagra, as Pfizer named it, thus became the first approved oral treatment for erectile dysfunction in the United States of America. (1,2)

5 In 1936, Gerhard Schrader and his team discovered “nerve agents” in Germany while developing new types of insecticides. While experimenting with a lot of compounds, Schrader happened to develop a nerve agent “tabun.” When a drop of tabun fell on the lab bench, Schrader and his team mates began experiencing dizziness, constriction of pupils, and breathlessness.

The deadly nature of nerve agents would make one think that a lot of research has gone behind making them. But in fact, a German chemist, Gerhard Schrader, and his team stumbled upon nerve agents while working on a mission to end world hunger. Working for IG Farben, Schrader had been working in a laboratory in Leverkusen to create new types of insecticides. While trying this, he worked with many compounds and made “tabun” which proved to be ultra-effective against insects. However, a small drop of tabun was spilled on his lab bench and demonstrated its ill-effects on humans too. Schrader and his teammates began feeling dizzy, breathless, and their pupils constricted. During World War II, the Nazi government summoned Schrader to carry out more research on nerve agents stealthily. (source)