Inventor's Luck
News: Science Scene
RED BANK, New Jersey (Achieve3000, September 15, 2021). On a summer day in 1943, a naval engineer was toying with springs and coils of wire while developing suspension systems for sensitive ship instruments. He turned and inadvertently knocked some loose parts off a shelf. To his amusement, a spare spring tumbled and seemed to walk across his desk, down some books, and onto the floor—and in that moment, a proverbial light bulb went on for a delighted if clumsy engineer named Richard James. It would take a year of experimentation and tinkering to find the best materials and design, and even longer to figure out how to convince people to buy his creation. However, the toy we now know as the Slinky took its first steps thanks to a random accident and James's creative thinking.
As a rule, the process of invention requires a dynamic churn of necessity, knowledge, curiosity, effort, and perseverance. Every so often, though, serendipity pokes its nose into the workshop or laboratory. When that happens, it can send the endeavor in new and surprising directions. Such happy accidents have resulted in the discovery or creation of revolutionary technologies, life-saving pharmaceuticals…and yes, even toys.
Small mishaps can lead to world-changing innovations, and in one case helped identify the family of drugs that has saved more lives than any other: antibiotics. Arthur Fleming was a Scottish physician and researcher who, in 1928, began a series of experiments on staphylococcal bacteria. One day he accidentally left an uncovered Petri dish near an open window where mold spores of the Penicillium genus contaminated the sample. Fleming noted that wherever the mold grew, the bacteria died. He isolated the "mold juice," which he named penicillin, and found it was effective in killing an array of bacteria responsible for such deadly scourges as scarlet fever, pneumonia, and meningitis. Other scientists and researchers gradually built on Fleming's accident-aided discovery, while the desperate need for antibiotics during World War II (1939-1945) fast-tracked its development. It is now considered a "wonder drug" that has allowed doctors to treat a number of bacterial infections quickly and effectively.
Sometimes a stashed candy bar can seemingly act as a magnet for fortuity. In 1945, American engineer Percy Spencer was testing radio wave-producing magnetrons used in radar. As he worked, he noticed that the snack in his pocket was melting for no obvious reason. On suspicion, he put popcorn in the equipment—it popped. Then he tried an egg which promptly exploded. Spencer and his company, Raytheon, patented the technology for cooking purposes, and the idea for the microwave oven was born. Still, 30 years passed before a model small and cheap enough was marketed for the average home.
Sometimes invention is a process of seeing something old in a new way, like Kutol Wallpaper Cleaner. By the 1950s, the company needed a miracle to save its business. It manufactured a clay-like product used to remove soot and dirt from wallpaper. Kay Zufall, the sister-in-law of the company's owner, came up with an ingenious repurposing. A nursery school teacher, Zufall found her young charges loved shaping the moldable, non-toxic substance into anything that they could imagine. She also proposed a new name for the former wall cleaner—Play-Doh—and in 1956 the now ubiquitous putty was introduced to toy store shelves. It's said that if you took all the Play-Doh created since it was first sold and forced it through its snake-forming press, it could wrap around Earth 300 times!
Necessity is the mother of invention, it's been said, and most inventions are about developing new ways to tackle old quandaries. In some cases, serendipity shows up to lend a hand—as long as the inventor is able to spot it and willing to follow where it leads.
Think about and discuss these questions:
What questions would you ask in an interview with one of the inventors?
How do you think curiosity is related to luck?
QUESTION 1
QUESTION 1 OF 8
1 / 8
Which best summarizes the first paragraph of the article?
A.While at work for the Navy, Richard James noticed the comical motion of a spring, which eventually resulted in the Slinky toy.
B.The Slinky took a long time to reach consumers because of the challenges of finding the right design and correct materials.
C.Richard James, naval engineer, worked diligently to develop better instrumentation for the fleet's ships.
D.It took a while for Richard James to figure out how to convince consumers to buy his creation.
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