Accidents that saved millions of lives
Happy mishaps in the kitchen and home
Sticky situations that created modern materials
Failed experiments that became childhood classics
YOUR GOAL
Master of Accidental inventions that changed history
misslily Invention of Modern Materials
It won't wash off! It won't wash off! Now the stains just slide right away.
misslily A French chemist dropped a glass flask, leading to the invention of safety glass.
misslily A desperate inventor's clumsy spill created weatherproof, vulcanized rubber.
misslily Match messy mishaps to discover how sticky accidents created modern materials.
Velcro in space: NASA popularized Velcro in the 1960s by using it to keep gear, food, and astronauts from floating away in zero gravity.
A chemical process of treating rubber with sulfur and heat to improve its strength and elasticity. In 1839, Charles Goodyear discovered this process by accidentally spilling rubber and sulfur onto a hot stove.
What was Harry Coover trying to invent during World War II when he first encountered cyanoacrylate?
What major industry adopted Édouard Bénédictus's safety glass to protect passengers?
Which government agency heavily popularized Velcro by using it on spacesuits and space shuttles?
What chemical did Charles Goodyear mix with rubber before accidentally dropping it on a stove?