The Post Quiz: Accidental Genius - Answers

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Which inventions came about by accident?

Accidental Genius: Answers

Special mention in the accidental invention category should go to Howard Stapleton, whose exposure to unwanted industrial noise led to the invention that makes cranky seniors feel smug – namely, the Mosquito, aka the sonic teenager deterrent. We thank Icy North for adding that amazing story to the wonders in the Edited Guide.

Here are the answers to this week's quiz:

  1. Swiss chemist Albert Hoffmann accidentally swallowed his fungus experiment in 1929. He had to go home and lie down and watch the pretty pictures. What had he discovered? LSD, of course. (The music and Day-Glo posters came later.)
  2. At the Battle Creek Sanitarium, baker Will K. left his dough out, and it got all…flaky. What did he accidentally invent? Cornflakes. Will's last name was Kellogg, and his brother ran the sanitarium.
  3. Do you remember all those dreary westerns, where they had to carry nitroglycerin over the mountains in a shaky buckboard wagon? Yeah, us, too. But accidental spillage of nitro onto a gravelly substance called kieselguhr gave Alfred Nobel an idea. What did he invent that made those ghastly nail-biting westerns obsolete? Dynamite. Just as explosive, only more likely to be on cue.
  4. In 1879, Constantine Fahlberg accidentally discovered saccharin, an artificial sweetener. What poor lab practice led to this breakthrough? Not washing his hands. The unknown substance ended up sweetening his dinner bread. Eee-ewww. When we think what he could have been experimenting with…
  5. In 1945, Percy Spencer was standing in front of some radar equipment when he felt a strange sensation in his pocket. (Quiet in the back.) His candy bar had melted. What invention do we owe to Percy Spencer's habit of snacking on the job? The microwave oven. (Which apparently is why the first ones were called 'Radar Ranges'.)
  6. Harry Coover was working on plastic gun parts during World War II, but the cyanoacrylates were way too sticky. What did he invent instead? Superglue. (Much more useful.)
  7. In the 1980s, Simon Campbell and David Roberts at Pfizer labs were trying to make a blood pressure pill. But their male patients noticed a curious side effect…what's the pill called that popped up unexpectedly? Viagra. (Sorry for the bad jokes, I've been talking to Englishmen again.)
  8. The beautifully named Wilson Greatbatch invented something lifesavingly useful in 1958 – when he absentmindedly picked up the wrong transistor to put in his oscillator. What heartwarming invention resulted? The pacemaker.
  9. Electrical engineer George De Mestral was annoyed at the cockleburs on his dog's fur. (So was the dog, we bet.) But NASA is really happy about those cockleburs. What invention did they lead to? Velcro. (Could we even imagine life in space without it?)
  10. In 1844, scientist Horace Wells hung out at a 'laughing party'. (He was one of those scientists, like the guy who invented Infinite Improbability.) After Wells saw a partygoer fall down and cut himself – and keep laughing – he had an idea, which was pretty remarkable under the circumstances. What medical specialty had Wells just accidentally discovered? Anaesthesiology. (The partygoers were inhaling nitrous oxide.)

So the next time anyone tells you to stop woolgathering, simply reply, 'I'm thinking.' Maybe you'll accidentally discover something valuable.

A Victorian doctor and his patient
Post Quiz and Oddities Archive

Dmitri Gheorgheni

08.08.16 Front Page

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