hobbes4star 0 #1 March 8, 2006 1. LSD Swiss chemist Albert Hofmann was trying to come up with a chemical to induce childbirth. Instead he developed lysergic acid diethylamide, or LSD. After he tried a bigger dose, he made another discovery: a bad acid trip. 2. X-ray Several 19th-century scientists played around with the penetrating rays emitted when electrons struck a metal target. But the x-ray wasn't discovered until 1895, when Wilhelm Röntgen tried sticking various objects in front of the radiation - and saw the bones of his hand projected on a wall. 3. Penicillin Scottish scientist Alexander Fleming was researching the flu in 1928 when he noticed that a blue-green mold had infected one of his petri dishes - and killed the staphylococcus bacteria growing in it. 4. Microwave ovens The microwave oven came along in the 1940s. Microwave emit- ters (or magnetrons) were being used to power Allied radar during WWII. It was after a magnetron melted a candy bar in Raytheon engineer Percy Spencer's pocket that the common use for a microwave emitter was realized. 5. Potato chips Chef George Crum concocted the perfect sandwich complement in 1853 when - to spite a customer who complained that his fries were cut too thick - he sliced a potato paper-thin and fried it to a crisp. 6. Artificial sweeteners Speaking of botched lab jobs, three leading pseudo-sugars reached human lips only because scientists forgot to wash their hands. Cyclamate (1937) and aspartame (1965) are byproducts of medical research, and saccharin (1879) appear- ed during a project on coal tar derivatives.if fun were easy it wouldn't be worth having, right? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
