Accidental Discoveries Drive Billions in Market Value

Alexander Fleming's unwashed petri dishes led to penicillin in 1928, while Richard James's dropped spring in 1943 became the Slinky, a toy that sold hundreds of units at Gimbels Department Store by 1945. In 1922, a clumsy dietician at Washburn Crosby Company spilled gruel, creating Wheaties.

Spencer Silver's failed attempt at a super-strong adhesive for 3M laboratories in 1968 resulted in the Post-it Note's mild glue, which 3M distributed nationwide by 1980. William Perkin accidentally invented synthetic mauve dye in 1856 while seeking a malaria drug, inspiring Paul Ehrlich's work in immunology.

Charles Goodyear's stove accident created vulcanized rubber, and John Wesley Hyatt's spill led to celluloid plastic. Constantin Fahlberg discovered saccharine in 1879 by tasting his unwashed hands, and the Kellogg brothers created Corn Flakes in 1894 from stale wheat.

Finally, Wilson Greatbatch's mistake with a wrong resistor in 1956 led to the implantable pacemaker, now saving millions of lives annually.