FAILURES AND ACCIDENTAL DISCOVERIES IN SCIENCE

Nidhi Parikh, Dr. Krystal Nunes, Toronto Metropolitan University

INVENTION OF THE SCOTCHGARD

• In 1952, chemist Patsy Sherman and her team at 3M, were attempting to create rubber that could be used in jet fuel lines without losing its structure
• While testing out some mixtures, the contents accidentally fell on Sherman’s assistant shoes
• The assistant was unable to wash it off of her shoes despite using solvents such as water or alcohol
• Patsy Sherman and her team accidentally discovered a mixture that protected fabric from fluids such as water and oil
• This polymer was patented and manufactured as Scotchgard

Co – inventor Patsy Sherman with Scotchgard. 1988. Source Star Tribune.

PENICILLIN

• In 1928, biologist Alexander Fleming, came back from a long holiday to find his Staphylococcus aureus petri dishes contaminated with mold
• Upon closer observation , Fleming noted the mold, later identified as Penicilium notatum, had prevented the S. aureus growth around it
• Fleming concluded from these findings that the Penicillium mold had antibacterial properties and could be applied medicinally against bacterial infections

Alexander Fleming in his laboratory. 1943. Author Official Photographer. Source Imperial War Museums.

X – RAYS

• German physicist Wilhelm Conrad Rintgen was studying if cathode rays could penetrate a glass tube through thick dark cardboard
• During this experiment, Rintgen noticed his dark laboratory was emanating and realized the rays were coming directly out of cardboard and projected on to the fluorescent screen in his lab
• These new rays were able to pass through solid objects and also projected an image of human bones on the screen
• Rintgen called them ‘X’ – rays, as he did not know the what the unknown ray was
• Rintgen would win a Nobel Prize in 1901 for his accidental discovery of the X-ray that could pass through solid material and record images

X – Ray of a Hand. 2011. Author Nevit Dilmen.

Apparatus of X – Ray Discovery. 1973. Author Oregan, State University, Corvallis. X – Ray Science and Engineering Laboratory

VENOMOUS FROGS

• Biologist Carlos Jared was conducting fieldwork in the Goytacazes National Forest of Southwest Brazil when he picked up frog thought to be harmless
• The frog head– butted his hand, sending pain shooting up Jared’s hand
• The frog was identified as Corythomantis greening, the first venomous frog
• Greening’s frog spreads its toxins directly into the bloodstream by retracting its upper lip to reveal spines
• These spines secrete a venom twice as strong as a deadly pit viper

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Greening’s Frog. 2015. Author Carlos Jared et al. Source Science Journal

INSULIN

• Frederick G. Banting and John J.R. Macleod are widely accredited for the medicinal application of insulin against diabetes
• But their work was based on the accidental discovery made by German doctors, Joseph von Merin and Oskar Minkowski
• The two doctors removed a pancreas from a dog to determine the role of pancreas in the digestive system
• Days later they noticed flies swarming around the dog’s urine
• The urine tested positive for sugar residues, realizing they accidentally gave the dog diabetes

Researchers, Joseph von Merin and Oskar Minkowski. National Library of Medicine. Source FDA

INSULIN

• von Merin and Minkowski concluded that the body needs the pancreas to regulate the sugar levels in body
• The pancreas does so by secreting a substance they could not figure out
• Banting and Macleod were able to utilize their findings to identify and extrapolate insulin to then treat diabetes

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Researchers, Joseph von Merin and Oskar Minkowski. National Library of Medicine. Source FDA

ANESTHESIA

• Horace Wells, a dentist, was attending an exhibition displaying the effects of Nitrous Oxide in 1844
• Nitrous oxide was used only for entertainment purposes, such as for laughing gas
• Wells saw a performer cut his leg on a bench while on nitrous oxide and did not feel any pain
• He inferred that nitrous oxide is a stable pain reliver and can be used as anesthesia in medical procedures for painless medical surgeries

Uses of nitrous oxide as laughing gas exhibition poster. 1840. Source Wellcome Collection Gallery.

PACEMAKER

• Wilson Greatbatch was working on building a recording device for human heart, when he reached into his toolbox and pulled out the wrong resistor, altering the machine
• The machine created a ‘lub-dub’ pulse similar to a heartbeat
• Wilson Greatbatch realized this machine can be implanted and regulate heart from the electrical impulses delivered, saving patients with a failing heart
• Accidentally created the pacemaker, saving millions of lives, even today!

Implantable pacemaker. 2007. Author Steven Fruitsmaak.

MICROWAVE

• Engineer, Percy Spencer, was working in a lab that was testing magnetrons
• Spencer was working near microwaves produced by magnetrons, when he realized the candy bar in his pocket melted
• He confirmed his suspicions that microwaves can be used for cooking and heating purposes when he held up a bag of kernels next to the magnetron and they turned into popcorn!
• The first microwave was made in 1947, costing about $3000 and 6 feet tall!

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Microwaves in 1956. 2014. Author Daderot.

SWEETNER SACCHARINE

• In 1879, chemist Constantin Fahlberg was investigating new uses for coal tar at John Hopkins University, however he was unsuccessful
• His hands were still covered in substances from the lab when he rushed off to eat dinner
• Everything he ate or drank tasted extremely sweet
• He went back to the laboratory and started tasting all the contents in every beaker, until he found the sweet substance
• He identified it as saccharin, a sweetener that was 300 times sweeter than sugar, but had no calories!

Saccharine sweetener. 2018. Author Jphill19

MAUVE

• William Perkins was working to create an affordable synthetic form of the malaria drug, quinine, from coal tar
• While experimenting with the organic compound aniline in the tar, the mixture yielded an oily product
• Perkins added alcohol to the mixture, and it produced a vibrant purple solution that could not be washed away with soap and water
• Named this dye as ‘Mauve’
• This discovery produced many other dyes such as: magenta, aniline blue, and black.

Mauve Dye. 1906. Source Journal of the Society of Dyers and Colorists. Courtesy of Science History Institute.

TRACE METALS AS RECEPTOR ACTIVATORS

• Source: https://www.altasciences.com/blog/science-finding-success-through-failure
• “One example given in the interview was the discovery of the G protein receptor. It had been very difficult to find initially because the experiments in the lab continued to fail. It turns out that they had been failing because the glassware in the lab was being washed with a solution that contained aluminum fluoride, which is an activator of the receptor. This lead to the discovery that trace metals are important activators of receptors, something that had never been thought of before.”

SYNTHESIZING CHEMICALS

• Source: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27147027/
• Most negative results/data from failed experiments go unreported
• Raccuglia et al. used data from ~4000 failed experiments and machine-learning algorithm to detect patterns
• Successfully predicted chemical reactions for synthesis of new materials!
• Results more accurate than human intuition

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SMALLPOX VACCINATION

Smallpox vaccination. 2002. Source Wikimedia Commons

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• In 1796, Jenner heard that dairymaids were naturally protected from smallpox after suffering from cowpox (Riedel, 2005).
• Cowpox disease was picked up from those who had contact with cows.
• Jenner took samples from cowpox lesions on a dairymaid and inoculated an 8 year old boy.
• No disease developed and Jenner concluded that cowpox protected against smallpox (Riedel, 2005).
• Could be transmitted from one person to another
• The idea behind the modern vaccine was born. Vaccine is derived from calf lymph.

INVENTION OF COCA-COLA

• John Pemberton was an american pharmacist who was best known for inventing coca-cola on May 8th 1886 (Historical Inventors, 2020).
• He initially wanted to cure headaches and ailments, however he failed to do so.
• He produced and sold Pemberton’s French Wine Coca before altering to create to coca syrup (Historical Inventors, 2020).
• He accidentally mixed the syrup with carbonated water and it would be sold as a brain tonic.
• This resulted in the world’s first coke.
• Unfortunately, Pemberton passed two years after his invention

Coca-Cola glass bottle. 2015. Source Wikimedia Commons

VULCANIZED RUBBER

• Charles Goodyear was the American inventor of the vulcanization process of rubber (Britannica, 2023)
• Is a chemical process where the physical properties of rubber (natural or synthetic) can be improved (Britannica, 2020).
• Increasing tensile strength, resistance to swelling, abrasion, and increasing elasticity within a range of temperatures (Britannica, 2020)
• In 1839, he accidentally dropped some rubber mixed with sulfur on a hot stove.
• Accelerators cause the vulcanization process to proceed more rapidly or at lower temperatures.
• Other examples of accelerators include carbon black or zinc oxide

Vulcanization mold. 1941. Source Wikimedia Commons

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LAMINATED GLASS

• Accidentally invented in 1903 by Edouard Benedictus
• Experimenting with cellulose nitrate when he accidentally dropped the flask, coating it with cellulose.
• He noticed that it shattered but it did not break into pieces.
• Concluded that the plastic coating of cellulose nitrate somehow played a role in maintaining the shape of the glass.
• Invention of safety glass/ laminated glass

Shattered laminated glass in broken window in railway tram train carriage. 2019. Author Wolfmann.