May 8, 1886: Looking for Pain Relief, and Finding Coca-Cola Instead

If I feel a headache coming on I will drink a Coke - but I think it's the caffeine or the sugar that's helping.

"...Coca Cola is invented, by accident..."

How many times have we heard those 3 words: "invented by accident"...?

Several others pop-into mind immediately~

Teflon, Microwave Oven, and Silly Putty (< link mentions popsicles & Slinky, too).

I know there are MORE such cases ... (just can't recall any more at this moment).

How 'bout y'all ... ?

I seem to remember Pyrex being an unintentional discovery, but I can't find anything to substantiate that. May be an urban legend that I never bothered to check on.

A cousin of Pyrex, CorningWare, was an accidental invention/discovery.

I love Pyrex! Via Wikipedia:

In 1908, Eugene Sullivan, Director of Research at Corning Glass Works, developed Nonex, a borosilicate low-expansion glass, to reduce breakage in shock-resistant lantern globes and battery jars. Sullivan had learned about Schott's borosilicate glass as a doctoral student in Leipzig, Germany. Jesse Littleton of Corning discovered the cooking potential of borosilicate glass by giving his wife a casserole dish made from a cut-down Nonex battery jar. Corning removed the lead from Nonex, and developed it as a consumer product.[1] Pyrex made its public debut in 1915 during World War I, positioned as an American-produced alternative to Duran.

I recall , back while living in Erie, PA, visiting the Corning Glass Works across the border ("way-across"!) in New York. The museum has become quite the attraction!

Do not recall hearing about Stookey's "accident" ... "in 1953...he took a piece of FotoForm glass and mistakenly heated it to 900°C when he meant to heat it to 600°C" ~Thanks for that link~

Another Note --- while visiting a lighthouse once (forget which one, in Florida I believe), it was stated that the glass used to make the lenses to project the beams of light was THE most optically "pure/clear" glass ever manufactured. And, that manufacturers of telescopes only WISH that the secrets to its production had not vanished with the craftsmen who made it.

Does anyone else know / remember any truth to that (story above)...?

a durable rubber for tires, going from memory.....***WARNING****.

I think sulfur was accidently adding (dropped) in a specimen to make it more durable.

"Rubber-accidents" would not surprise me......

My father, having worked with Goodrich both in its tire heyday (Akron) and their early foray into aerospace (Rialto, CA), taught me early-on that "rubber compounders are a special breed of chemist".

Just as the elves' comment in in (Tim Allen's) "The Santa Clause" ... "Tinsel; it's not just for decorating..." ~ rubber ain't just for tires! Everywhere you look, it's in seals, 'bands', motor mounts and other vibration-isolation products, solid rocket propellants, rocket motor linings (to prevent shaking-apart), and even layered between layers of fiberglass for "steerable nozzle" assemblies.

SOME accidents must have happened along the way...!

the interesting part, is that they were looking for a more durable rubber 'recipe', but how they found it, was by accident. thank god.

I've been the Coca Cola museum in Atlanta a few times and do not remember them ever saying that Coca Cola was 'invented by accident'. Pemberton was a pharmacist and had a pretty good idea of what he was doing (trying to copy a European coca-based beverage). The Wiki link below says nothing about it being 'invented by accident'.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coca_cola

"There was a time when Coca Cola contained the drug cocaine as one of the two main ingredients. Invented in the late 19th century by John Pemberton it was sold as a medicine before it was a soft drink. When launched, Coca-Cola's two key ingredients were cocaine (benzoylmethyl ecgonine) and caffeine. The cocaine was derived from the coca leaf and the caffeine from kola nut, leading to the name Coca-Cola (the "K" in Kola was replaced with a "C" for marketing purposes). Pemberton made the claim that his creation cured many diseases, including morphine addiction, dyspepsia, neurasthenia, headache, and impotence; the original recipe called for five ounces of coca leaf per gallon of syrup. In 1903 coca leaves containing cocaine were removed from the ingredients, but, interestingly enough in order to retain the flavor cocaine-free coca leaves are used.The days of soft drinks with cocaine in them are not gone yet, in Bolivia plans to release a coca leaf soft drink called "Coca Colla" is under way and will have a can that resembles the classic Coca Cola logo. With the first indigenous president in office, Evo Morales (known for chewing coca leaves at UN meetings), coca growers from the Morales stronghold of Chapare in central Bolivia submitted a plan to the government last week to boost coca production with the soft drink. La Paz wants to expand Cocaine production, a market which rose 6% in 2008 and no doubt climbed even higher last year; achieving this goal will not be hard considering the strong support of high officials. The Independent reports that Bolivia, "the world's third largest producer after Colombia and Peru, yielded a coca crop of some 30,500 hectares (75,370 acres) in 2008, an increase of six percent over the previous year, according to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime". "

This article from Jan 2010 continues....

http://blog.whitesidemanor.com/2010/01/bolivia-coca-leaf-soft-drink.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coca_Colla

I think the whole 'by accident' is missleading in most cases.
It's a bit like the old Gary Player (?) quote
'The more I practice the luckier I get'
Most scientist have a healthy 'what if?' or let's try...coefficient.
Personally I quite like trying the exacty opposite of what you'd expect, generally it just confirms the conventional wisdom but sometimes it opens up a whole new avenue.

So for an 'accident' to happen you've gotta be there and trying in the first place.
Del