September 14, 2022
Pavlov's investigations into dog digestion lead to phone addiction. A failed quest to find a safer refrigerant creates Teflon. A damaged delivery crate is instrumental in the invention of dynamite. And a chance encounter with a composer leads Hollywood star Hedy Lamarr to invent the basis for wifi.
The failed experiment and the world's greatest crime-fighting tool. A clumsily dressed cut leads to the invention of plastics. How chance conversation and sausage poison changed the face of Hollywood. And a broken thermometer sets in motion a chain of events that frees a country from colonialism.
A clumsy movement throws a sample onto a stove invents vulcanized rubber. The wrong resistor leads to the pacemaker. A failed experiment results in a safe way to create fire. A search for new galaxies leads to hope of extraterrestrials.
Broken thermometer fumes cause the invention of photography. Radar parts and a melting snack bar lead to the microwave. Spilled chemicals result in Scotchgard. A trial heart drug works better on another organ and becomes Viagra.
A dirty laboratory and a vacation lead to the discovery of our first real weapon against bacteria: penicillin. A scientist's determination to test the ‘wrong' solution gives us Kevlar. Unwashed hands and some unexpectedly sweet bread is to thank for Saccharin. A failed laser becomes the LED light.
A swiss chemist's attempts to make a lung drug results in LSD. The son of enslaved parents tires to reverse the fortunes of sharecroppers and inadvertently gives rise to PB&J. A failed dye becomes TNT. And a prison camp doctor and a fridge full of urine lead to improve mental healthcare.
A failed blood pressure medicine and an unexpectedly hairy woman lead to a cure for baldness. How messing around with a scientific toy gave us the x-ray. An attempt to stop the paper curling in a newspaper printer becomes air conditioning. And why war is responsible for the slinky.
A clumsy lab worker leads to the invention of superglue. And the accidents behind neuroscience, beer, and chemical hair relaxant.
A misguided attempt to make plastic wallpaper results in bubble wrap. The precursor to a blood clotting drug becomes rave favorite, MDMA. A mopped-up kitchen spill brings us smokeless explosive guncotton. A defective satellite lens leads to a new way to identify breast cancer.
The accidents behind the inventions of post-it notes, Ex-lax, Graphene and the way a walk in the snow almost leads to nuclear Armageddon.
A failed metal gun barrel recipe becomes kitchen favourite: surgical steel. Messing around in a spectacle maker's shop leads to the telescope. A bag of dirt from a remote island contains a bacteria that helps stop aging.
The search for artificial quinine creates the first artificial dye, Mauvine. A failed dry-cleaning fluid results in Saran Wrap. An attempt to grow bacteria leads to a cancer killing drug, and Western Front nurses invented sanitary towels.
A 19th Century party drug and a banged knee lead to the invention of anaesthetics. The story behind the invention of telephone. A shattered experiment results in smart dust, and an ancient attempt to make cheese gave us tofu.
The unexpected stories behind the inventions of the teabag the gin and tonic Disulfiram and American female politicians.
A failed poison gas detector results in the smoke detector. An experiment to measure gas density produces the Theremin musical instrument. A broken beaker leads to bulletproof glass, and a search for a new gunpowder gives us iodine.