14 examples of discoveries by serendipity

Serendipity refers to unintentionally discovering, finding something without looking for it. It is surprising to see how this type of discovery has occurred multiple times during history.

It is thanks to serendipity that humanity has come up with important discoveries that are still very useful today. These occur in different fields, both in the medical field, but also in the culinary, automotive or physical fields, among others.

In this article we present you some of the most important discoveries by serendipity.

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What is serendipity?

We understand by serendipity the process of discover, find something that we were not looking for or did not plan to find. Sometimes it happens that during the course of an investigation there is a discovery that was not intended, that was not the main objective.

Although it can appear in different fields, the most surprising is the field of science, since thanks to this process valuable discoveries have been made.

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The main examples of discoveries by serendipity

There have been various discoveries made unintentionally without the person having the intention of discovering such utility, product, element... Below we will see some of them that you will surely recognize and you will be surprised that they were discovered chance.

1. penicillin

The discovery of penicillin is one of the most relevant in medicine, since marked the appearance and use of the first antibiotic.

It was Alexander Fleming who in 1928 observed that a mold stain grew on some bacterial plates he was investigating. around him he saw that a lighter area appeared, coming to the conclusion that this mold was capable of killing and destroying bacteria harmful

• Related article: "Alexander Fleming: biography and contributions of this British doctor"

2. X-rays

Another important advance for medicine is the discovery of X-rays, which has allowed the creation of techniques such as computed tomography, better known as CAT.

The discoverer of it was the physicist Wilhelm Conrad Roentgen, who in 1895, while conducting experiments with electrons in vacuum tubes and an electrical generator, he observed a beam of light that was able to pass through the matter; this beam would later be known as X-rays.

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3. potato chips

It is thanks to George Crum that today we can enjoy potato chips. It was in 1853 when this cook, fed up with a diner always complaining about the thickness and oiliness of the potatoes he cooked, he expressly prepared extremely thin ones for him and fried them with the intention that he couldn't even pierce them with a fork. What was the surprise when these potatoes delighted said customer.

4. viagra

How the search for an angina pectoris treatment solved the erection problem in men. In 1998, the pharmaceutical company Pfizer was investigating sildenafil citrate to try to treat angina pectoris., but the results obtained were not good. What was observed was that one of the side effects that appeared was that an erection occurred in men and they reported that their sexual life improved. Thus, the pharmaceutical company did not miss an opportunity and began to treat erection problems with this new drug, sildenafil citrate, better known as Viagra.

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5. radioactivity

It was Antoine Henri Becquerel who in 1896 discovered, without his intention, radioactivity. The physicist was investigating the fluorescence of the elements uranium and potassium, when he saw that uranium sulfate It emitted an unidentified radiation, it was able to pass through black paper and other substances that normal light cannot could.

6. The coke

The discovery of Coca-Cola occurred in a pharmaceutical. In 1886 pharmacist John S. Pemberton, who worked at Jacobs Pharmaceuticals in Atlanta, was researching a syrup that would improve the problems of digestion when mixing it with carbonated water he realized that the flavor and freshness that this syrup gave you was exceptional.

Thus, it would not take long to be marketed and become one of the best-known soft drinks.

7. vulcanized rubber

Early in the year 1839 Charles Goodyear accidentally discovered vulcanized rubber by dropping a container of sulfur and rubber on top of a stove. It is possible that with the name vulcanized rubber it is difficult for you to know what use has been given to it, this material is used to make tires.

It should be noted that given the poor economic situation that Goodyear was experiencing, he had to sell his discovery to a company chaired by Frank Seiberling who saw the potential of such a discovery.

8. velcro

Velcro was another accidental discovery that in this case was inspired by nature. Engineer George de Mestral he watched as the seeds of a plant stuck to his clothes, his dog's fur and his hair; Intrigued by this fact, he investigated how this union was possible and saw that the seeds formed a kind of hook that joined with the loop that constituted other materials such as his clothes. Thus, in 1941, the hook and loop closure, better known as Velcro, was discovered.

9. LSD

Albert Hofmann, who was a pharmacist at Sandoz, first synthesized lysergic acid diethylamide, better known by the name LSD, although it was not until 5 years later in 1943 that he accidentally tasted some of this substance which discovered its hallucinogenic effects.

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10. The gravity

The important theory of gravity could be formed thanks to an apple. It is said that while Isaac Newton was resting in the shade of an apple tree, a fruit from this tree fell, it was at that moment when he wondered why such an event always happened in the same way, why did the apple always fall down. This is how he had the brilliant idea of ​​the existence of a force that made objects, including ourselves, always fall towards the earth, downwards.

11. Aspirin

He had not been working in the chemistry lab of the Bayer Company for long when, while investigating another substance, Felix Hoffman was able to synthesize acetylsalicylic acid in a stable and pure way. This is how aspirin was discovered in 1894, a substance with analgesic, anti-inflammatory effects and antipyretics (which produces a decrease in fever), which was soon made worldwide known.

12. Archimedes principle

We go back to the time before Christ, when Archimedes of Syracuse, who gives his name to this principle, was preparing to bathe. this researcher He observed that when he got into the bathtub, the same amount of water proportional to the weight of his body came out of it..

This event helped him to the constitution of his most important principle, where it is stated that "every body immersed in A fluid experiences an upward force equal to the weight of the fluid that has been displaced by the fluid. body". So that, if the dislodged liquid weighs more than the object it will float, if it weighs more the object will sink and if they weigh similarly it will remain in the middle.

In relation to this discovery, another story is also told whose protagonists are the already named Archimedes and King Hieron. The latter wanted to check if his crown was pure gold, and that was how Archimedes, who was already known at that time, had the idea that, in order to To check such an unknown, he could dip a block of silver and a block of pure gold to verify that the weight was different and then compare them with the weight of the Crown. In this way, he observed that the crown remained in the middle displacing more water than the gold block, but less than the silver one, thus reaching the conclusion that the crown was made of a mixture of irons.

13. color blindness

John Dalton postulated that the problem in color vision is due to abnormalities in the vitreous humor, which is a clear fluid located between the retina and the lens. Although Dalton was alive, his theory was rejected, he affirmed such an event, since he himself suffered from that alteration.

There are different anecdotes that happened to him caused by this visual problem, such as confusing reagents in the laboratory or going to meet the king wearing bright-colored clothes thinking he was colored Gray.

He asked that when he died his eyes be preserved so that they could be analyzed later, and so it was in 1995 Dalton was found to suffer from color blindness specifically deuteranopia, alteration in the perception of the green color. Thus, this pathology is commonly known as color blindness.

14. saccharin

It was in 1879 when Ira Remsen and Constantin Fahlberg, while researching the oxidation of some chemical elements at Hopkins University, they discovered what we now know as saccharin, an artificial sweetener three hundred and seventy-five times more powerful than sugar.

This discovery happened by chance, while Fahlberg ate he perceived a very sweet taste in his food that came from his hands, after analyzing such a substance he came up with the discovery of this powerful sweetener.