A bulk of people in the world wake up every day and depend upon inventions such as machines, medicine, and many other different materials. A majority of common items we have today, unbelievably, were created by accident. If it were not for mistakes, you wouldn’t have nearly all the advantages you do nowadays with a variety of creations. Here are some inventions you may often use that were produced unintentionally.

              An unintended device, eventually created in 1945, that is widely used today is the microwave. A man by the name Percy Spencer made this convenient mini-oven. The idea occurred when Spencer was working with radar sets while in the military. He eventually noticed the candy bar in his pocket had melted, so he decided to investigate along with other associates. They heated various foods starting with popcorn kernels, of course making the first microwaved popcorn. Spencer finally designed the true microwave in the form of a metallic box using a high-density electromagnetic field generator attached to it.

              As mentioned before, mistakes are the source of many useful items in the health field. Some inventions made unintentionally are the reason many people are still alive today. Wilhelm Roentgen was experiencing with cathode-ray tubes when he invented the X-ray. Penicillin is now one of the most useful antibiotics in health today and was made by Alexander Fleming, a bacteriologist that discovered a certain strain of mold was killing harmful bacteria. Wilson Greatbatch invented the pacemaker when recording sounds of the heart to build a device to produce electric voltages.

              Accidental inventions have also created many toys that children still play with for amusement. A popular toy made by Richard James is the slinky. He created it when working with springs to keep ship cargo safe when traveling at sea. A spring was knocked over and slid amusingly down a shelf, which inspired James idea. Silly Putty was invented during WWII by James Wright when he was trying to make a  cheaper replacement for man-made rubber.

              There are many other items made unexpectedly that are most likely located in your home. Post-it notes were made by Arthur Fry when he used the weak glue on a piece of paper to clutch bookmarks in his hymnal during church. The feeble glue was made when a company was trying to produce strong glue, but instead the weaker glue became a useful invention used by many today. Plastic was made by Leo Baekeland when he meant to make a substitute for shellac, which is a substance obtained from lac beetles.

            Apparently, many helpful and popular inventions were created simply by accident. They can range from microwaves to antibiotics to children toys. If it weren’t for mistakes, people would not have the same advantages and items they often obtain and use today.