Inventions Aren't Necessarily Invented

By Robert O. Cassell 

If necessity is the mother of invention, pure dumb luck must be the father. I think the normal process of inventing is the careful thought out reasoning of the situation and what is needed to accomplish a particular objective; however, some inventions occur naturally and it just takes dumb luck for anyone to recognize them.

Many historians agree that yogurt was discovered in Iran or Turkey thousands of years ago. "Yogurt" is from the Turkish language; a loose translation is "soured milk." Through conjecture, historians believe yogurt was invented by accident or dumb luck. Probably, a herdsman noticed his milk had soured and curdled. On inspection he found the thickened milk tasted very good. Bacteria in the air and heat from the sun or his camel activated the milk to form what we now know as "yogurt."

Brandy was invented by a French wine shipper. Brandy is named for the region in France that it came from. The cost of wine shipped from France to Sweden was enormous. Conscious thinking led to taking out the water in the wine to reduce weight and lower shipping costs. Dumb luck appears; when arriving in Sweden the instructions for replacing the water wee lost. A Swedish wine importer drank the undiluted wine, and "EUREKA!," Brandy is discovered.

Ivory soap, more dumb luck. The soap mixer at Proctor-Gamble took an overly long lunch and left the soap mixing. The extra mixing incorporated more air than normal in the soap, making it float. The soap mixer, not wanting to be fired or reprimanded, said nothing about the over mixing. When letters and phone calls poured in wanting more of the fabulous soap that floats, management tracked down the reason.

A scientist at Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing (3M) working on adhesives came up with a new glue. This new glue wasn't very sticky or strong, and a use couldn't be thought of. Several years later, a 3M worker, tired of using tape to affix his memos, used the forgotten glue. Dumb luck again: Post It Notes.

Super glue was a carefully worked out invention. The super glue factory workers noticed white fingerprints on everything. This dumb luck led to a new way of detecting fingerprints. Fingerprints were on materials that weren't normally thought to retain fingerprints. The fumes from the glue reacted to the fingerprint oils, changing the fingerprint to a very visible white.

Most inventions are developed from a carefully thought reasoning process while other inventions occur naturally or from a coincidental chain of events. You can think and think to invent something, or you can keep your eyes, ears, and nose open for that chance to recognize DUMB LUCK!

(English 101, Fall, 1992 )

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