Serendipity refers to discovering without wanting to, 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 made important discoveries that continue to be very useful today. These occur in different areas, both in the medical field, but also in the culinary, automotive or physics fields, among others.
In this article we present to you some of the most important serendipity discoveries
We understand by serendipity the process of discover, find something that we were not looking for or had not planned to find It sometimes happens that during the course of an investigation a discovery is made that was not intended, that was not the main objective.
Although it can appear in different areas, the one that is most surprising is the field of science, since valuable discoveries have been made thanks to this process.
The main examples of discoveries through serendipity
There have been various discoveries made unintentionally without the person having the intention of discovering such a utility, product, element… Below we will see some of them that you will surely recognize and you will be surprised that they were discovered by chance.
1. Penicillin
The discovery of penicillin is one of the most relevant in medicine, since led to the appearance and use of the first antibiotic
It was Alexander Fleming who in 1928 observed that a spot of mold grew on some plates of bacteria that he was investigating, around which he saw a lighter area appear, reaching the conclusion that this mold was capable of killing and eliminating harmful bacteria.
2. X-rays
Another important advance for medicine is the discovery of X-rays, which has allowed the creation of techniques such as computerized tomography, better known as CT
Its discoverer was the physicist Wilhelm Conrad Roentgen, who in 1895, while carrying out experiments with electrons in vacuum tubes and an electrical generator, observed a beam of light that was capable of passing through matter; This beam would later be known as X-rays.
It is thanks to George Crum that we can currently 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 specifically prepared some extremely thin ones and fried them with the intention that he couldn’t even pierce them with a fork What was the surprise when said customer loved these potatoes.
4. Viagra
How the search for a treatment for angina solved the erection problem in men. In 1998, the pharmaceutical company Pfizer was researching 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 in men an erection occurred and they reported that their sexual life improved. Thus, the pharmacist did not miss the opportunity and began to treat erection problems with this new medication, sildenafil citrate, better known as Viagra.
5. Radioactivity
It was Antoine Henri Becquerel who in 1896 discovered, without this being his intention, radioactivity The physicist was investigating the fluorescence of the elements uranium and potassium, when he saw that uranium sulfate emitted an unidentified radiation, which was capable of passing through black paper and other substances that normal light could not.
6. Coca-cola
The discovery of Coca-Cola occurred in a pharmaceutical company In 1886, pharmacist John S. Pemberton, who worked at Jacobs Pharmaceuticals in Atlanta, was researching a syrup that would improve digestion problems when, upon mixing it with carbonated water, he realized that the flavor and freshness it gave this syrup was exceptional.
Thus, it would not take long for it to be marketed and become one of the best-known soft drinks.
7. Vulcanized rubber
Early in the year 1839 Charles Goodyear He accidentally discovered vulcanized rubber when he dropped 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 it has been given, this material is the one used to make tires.
It should be noted that given the bad economic situation that Goodyear was experiencing, it had to sell its discovery to a company chaired by Frank Seiberling who saw the potential that such a discovery had.
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 got 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 they constituted to other materials such as his clothing. 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 when He accidentally tried a little of this substance and discovered its hallucinogenic effects
You may be interested: “LSD and other drugs could have therapeutic applications”
10. 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 fell from this tree. It was at that moment that he wondered why such an event always happened in the same way. Why did the apple always fall downwards? 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 Bayer Company’s chemistry laboratory for long when, While researching another substance, Felix Hoffman was able to synthesize acetylsalicylic acid in a stable and pure manner This is how aspirin was discovered in 1894, a substance with analgesic, anti-inflammatory and antipyretic effects (which reduces fever), which soon became known worldwide.
12. Archimedes’ principle
We go back to the time before Christ, when Archimedes of Syracuse, who gives this principle its name, was preparing to bathe. This researcher He observed that when he got into the bathtub, the same amount of water came out of it proportional to the weight of his body
This event helped him to establish his most important principle, where it is stated that “every body immersed in a fluid experiences an upward force, which is equivalent to the weight of the fluid that has been displaced by the body.” So that, If the displaced liquid weighs more than the object it will float, if it weighs more the object will sink and if they weigh the same 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 it occurred to Archimedes, who was already known at that time, that, to verify such an unknown, he could submerge a block of silver and one 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 block, 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 transparent liquid 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 this 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 with bright-colored clothes, thinking he was gray.
He asked that when he died his eyes be preserved so that they could later be analyzed, and so it was in 1995. It was proven that Dalton suffered from color blindness, specifically deuteranopia, alteration in the perception of the color green. Thus, this pathology is commonly known as color blindness.
14. Saccharin
It was in 1879 when Ira Remsen and Constantin Fahlberg, While investigating the oxidation of some chemical elements at Hopkins University, they discovered what we know today as saccharin an artificial sweetener three hundred and seventy-five times more powerful than sugar.
This discovery occurred by chance, while Fahlberg was eating he noticed a very sweet taste in his food that came from his hands. After analyzing this substance, he discovered this powerful sweetener.
