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Sometimes, accidents can be a good thing. Everything
on this list was either invented for a different purpose or happened
because someone made a mistake. Once they were discovered, we can't
imagine life without them! So read and enjoye.
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Popsicles
In 1905, eleven-year-old Frank Epperson left his soda-making tools
outside overnight. The next day, the stick he'd used to stir the water
and flavored powder mixture had frozen, creating the first popsicle.
Almost twenty years later, the adult Epperson applied for a patent to
make popsicles.
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Chocolate Chip Cookies
Innkeeper Ruth Wakefield, owner of the Toll House Inn in
Wakefield, Massachusetts, was trying to bake a chocolate dessert for her
guests, but the chips didn't melt thoroughly. Her guests loved the
chocolate chip cookies... and who could blame them?
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Microwave Ovens
In 1945, an engineer working for Raytheon discovered that a candy bar in
his pocket melted while he was working with a magnetron device that was
used in military radar systems. Realizing that the radiation was cooking
his candy, inventor Percy Spencer developed the first microwave, which
at the time was more than five feet tall!
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Fireworks
According to How Stuff Works: "Fireworks originated in China some 2,000
years ago and legend has it that they were accidentally invented by a
cook who mixed together charcoal, sulfur, and saltpeter -- all items
commonly found in kitchens in those days."
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Ivory Soap
From About.com: "A soap maker at the Procter and Gamble company had no
idea a new innovation was about to surface when he went to lunch one day
in 1879. He forgot to turn off the soap mixer, and more than the usual
amount of air was shipped into the batch of pure white soap that the
company sold under the name The White Soap. Fearing he would get in
trouble, the soap maker kept the mistake a secret and packaged and
shipped the air-filled soap to customers around the country. Soon
customers were asking for more "soap that floats." When company
officials found out what happened, they turned it into one of the
company's most successful products, Ivory Soap."
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Play-Doh
This fun kid's product was originally meant to be a wallpaper cleaner!
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Potato Chips
In 1853, chef George Crum was annoyed by a customer who kept sending his
fried potatoes back to the kitchen, complaining that they were not
crunchy enough. Crum sliced the potatoes very thinly, fried them,
andadded salt. The crunchy chips quickly became a local hit in New
England and were called "Saratoga Chips," after the town in which they
wereinvented.
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