Game-Changing Inventions That Happened By Accident

 Discovery of the X-ray

The technology underlying the X-ray machine was a game-changing invention that came about by chance. Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen accidentally discovered what would become the cornerstone of modern medicine on November 8, 1895. In his laboratory in Wurzburg, Germany, Wilhelm Conrad Rontgen, a German scientist, was working on a cardboard-covered vacuum tube when he saw a curious light emerging from a chemically coated screen nearby. Because of their unknown origin, he termed the new rays creating this luminosity X-rays. He noticed that holding his hand in front of the light enabled him to see through his skin to his bones after experimenting with the new rays some more. He quickly photographed his wife's wedding ring and bones using an X-ray machine. The snapshot thrilled the general audience and piqued the scientific community's curiosity in the new kind of radiation (Harrah, 2014). 

When Röntgen made his discovery, it was hailed as a medical miracle. X-rays quickly rose to prominence as a vital diagnostic tool in medicine, enabling physicians to view the human body for the first time without requiring surgical intervention. During the Balkan Wars in 1897, X-rays were utilized for the first time on a war battlefield to detect gunshots and fractured bones inside patients (Assmus, 1995). The most significant force that has supported X-rays is its diagnostic application in medicine. The X-ray can detect bone fractures, certain tumors, other abnormal masses, pneumonia, some types of injuries, calcifications, foreign objects, dental problems, just to mention a few.

Discovery of the Velcro

When George de Mestral, a Swiss engineer and mountain climber, went climbing in the wilderness in 1948, something ordinary happened to him and his dog. The burrs that stuck to his dog's fur and his clothing caught his attention when he returned home, and he began to wonder whether such a concept might be used in a business setting. When he examined a burr under a microscope, he discovered that it was coated in tiny hooks, which enabled it to latch onto garments and fur that had rubbed against it in transit while being researched. The result of more than eight years of research and development was the invention of Velcro, which is a combination of the terms "velvet" and "crochet" in the English language. The material was composed of two strips of fabric, one of which was covered in thousands of tiny hooks and the other covered in thousands of small loops. The materials held together firmly while yet allowing for simple release. However, even though de Mestral's innovation was the subject of considerable mockery during its early stages, his tenacity enabled him to improve the hook and loop technique for industrial use. When de Mestral received the Velcro copyright protection in 1955, it contributed to giving his firm a competitive advantage over other imitators, as proven by the fact that his company reached the point of selling more than 60 million yards of Velcro per year throughout his lifetime (Goodrich, 2013).

The force that supported the invention of Velcro is NASA using it in space. Although NASA was not responsible for creating Velcro, the space agency's usage of the product contributed to the material's widespread acceptance in many walks of life. Apollo astronauts used Velcro to attach a variety of gadgets in space during the 1960s to facilitate recovery (Goodrich, 2013).

References

Assmus, A. (1995). Early History of X Rays. https://www.umhs-sk.org/blog/medical-milestones-invention-x-ray

Goodrich, R. (2013, May 21). Who Invented Velcro? | Live Science. https://www.livescience.com/34572-velcro.html

Harrah, S. (2014, November 5). Medical Milestones: Invention of the X-Ray. https://www.umhs-sk.org/blog/medical-milestones-invention-x-ray