Posted to News on 8th Dec 2011, 00:00
The accidental route is as valid as the planned...
Here's a question for you: what do formica, the microwave oven, Play-Doh, the Slinky, Viagra and hair restorer have in common? The answer is that they all came about as a result of trying to develop something entirely different.
>Formica, I recently learned, invented in 1912, was originally conceived as a substitute for mica which was commonly used at the time for electrical insulation. The microwave oven came about following work at the Raytheon Corporation in the testing of a new vacuum tube called a magnetron. While working on the magnetron, researcher
>Dr Percy Spencer noticed that a chocolate bar in his pocket had melted. Reportedly he tried another experiment putting popcorn near the tube to see what would happen (presumably standing a little further back this time). The rest is history.
>Play-Doh, that ubiquitous modelling clay of our youth, was originally used as a wallpaper cleaner, but was remarketed after a group of school children were seen using it to make Christmas decorations. The Slinky is another favourite children's toy, but that wasn't its intended purpose. In 1943, naval engineer Richard James was trying to develop a spring that would support and stabilise sensitive equipment on ships. When one of the springs accidentally fell off a shelf, it kept moving, giving James the idea for the toy we all know so well.
>Viagra is probably the one we all know about, with the intention having been to develop a pill that would treat cardiovascular ailments. Test subjects, though, highlighted some rather interesting side effects. And hair restorer? The drug Minoxidill was developed to combat high blood pressure, but was quickly repurposed when it was noted that it had the side-effect of thickening and darkening hair, as well as promoting regrowth.
>There's a saying that good inventions are often born out of need, but great ones are accidental. Check out, for example, the TuffCore conveyor pulley. Then we could point to the likes of Teflon, TNT, bubblegum, Velcro, the telephone, the phonograph, and possibly even cars, depending on which version of their history you choose to accept. In that context, planned inventions actually have a comparably poor track record.
>There has to be ongoing investment in R&D, and in this country we're steadily building an infrastructure and an ethos for ongoing research and development. I wonder how many of us, though are ready or even willing to acknowledge the role that serendipity has to play.
Becky Silverton, 8 December 2011
