6 A German alchemist, Hennig Brand, discovered “phosphorus” in 1669 while experimenting with urine. Though Brand could not accomplish his original objective of turning urine into gold, he ended up discovering a white, waxy substance that glowed in the dark, namely, phosphorus.

Alchemists experimented with various elements in the hope of turning them into gold. In 1669, a German alchemist, Hennig Brand, ended up discovering phosphorus in one such quest for gold. Brand stored around 1,100 liters of urine for many days until it gave out a repulsive smell. He then boiled it, turned it into a paste, heated the paste at a high temperature, all in the hope of making gold out of it. Instead, this process gave him a white, wax-like substance that glowed in dark – phosphorus. (1,2)

7 A Swiss chemist, Albert Hofmann, first synthesized the psychedelic drug, Lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), in 1938 while trying to obtain a respiratory and circulatory stimulant. The synthesized LSD was set aside for almost five years until he decided to re-synthesize it. During that time, he unknowingly ingested a little quantity of LSD through his fingertips and discovered the powerful effects of the drug.

The hallucinogenic drug LSD is yet another discovery that happened by chance. Albert Hofmann, a Swiss chemist working for Sandoz Laboratories, was studying medicinal plant squill and fungus ergot in search of a respiratory and circulatory stimulant. During this study, he first synthesized LSD on November 16, 1938. The drug, however, did not result in the kind of stimulant which he was expecting, and he set it aside for almost five years. On April 16, 1943, Hofmann decided to re-visit the experiment and the LSD. While re-synthesizing it, he unknowingly touched his mouth, eyes, and nose and ingested a little bit of LSD. Hofmann then experienced a very magical and dreamlike state for around two hours. A few repeated doses of LSD by Hofmann and other employees of Sandoz  confirmed the power of this drug. (1,2)

8 “Fireworks” was discovered sometime between 600 and 900 A.D. in China. Some Chinese alchemists mixed together some basic kitchen ingredients and stuffed the mixture in bamboo shoots. When thrown into a fire, these bamboo shoots exploded resulting in the discovery of fireworks.

Fireworks have become an inseparable part of celebrations and festivals. The Chinese were already aware of a natural firecracker, bamboo, which on being roasted would blast because of being hollow. Later on, between 600 and 900 A.D., Chinese alchemists mixed together some basic kitchen ingredients like saltpeter (potassium nitrate), charcoal, sulfur, and some others, stuffed them into bamboo and threw them into a fire. They exploded, and that’s how fireworks were discovered. (source)

9 Constantin Fahlberg discovered the most popular artificial sweetener, “saccharin,” while working at the Johns Hopkins University. One evening, while rushing for dinner after a long day at the lab, Constantin forgot to wash his hands that had traces of benzoic sulfimide. This compound made his dinner taste sweet, and that’s how he discovered the artificial sweetener Saccharin.

In 1879, Constantin Fahlberg, while working in a laboratory at Johns Hopkins University, first discovered saccharin unintentionally.  He was working on compound radicals and substitutes of coal tar. One evening, as he was buried in his work, he forgot about eating dinner. Later, he rushed for dinner without washing his hands. When he ate the bread, it tasted remarkably sweet to him. He experienced this peculiar sweet taste again when he wiped his face with his lab napkin. His thumb had become the sweetest thing that he had ever tasted. He rushed back to his lab and tasted all the apparatus, and one of them had a compound, benzoic sulfimide, which he later named “saccharin.”. He then did a comprehensive study of saccharin and its composition. (1,2)

10 John Harvey Kellogg and Will Keith Kellogg, who were strict followers of a vegetarian diet, often experimented with oats, wheat, corn, barley, etc., discovered “corn flakes.” Once, the two brothers unintentionally left some cooked wheat unattended and it went stale. Instead of throwing it away, they tried to process it and ended up with delicious corn flakes.

One of the favorite and healthiest breakfast items, corn flakes, were discovered in the 19^th century. The two Kellogg brothers were members of the Seventh Day Adventists who followed a strict vegetarian diet. They kept experimenting with a lot of items to produce new food. Once, Will Kellogg kept some cooked wheat aside to attend to urgent matters at the sanitarium. On returning, they found out that the wheat had gone stale. But, due to a pressing budget, they decided against throwing it and tried to process it into a dough by putting it under rollers. Though they did not get the dough, they got tasty flakes, which they toasted and served to the patients. (source)