Everyday Products That Were Invented By Accident

A failed attempt to create a super-strong adhesive led to the creation of a weak, reusable adhesive—perfect for sticky notes.

Discovered accidentally by Alexander Fleming when mold contaminated a petri dish and killed surrounding bacteria.

Percy Spencer noticed a chocolate bar melted in his pocket while working on radar technology, leading to the invention of the microwave.

Georges de Mestral noticed burrs sticking to his dog's fur and mimicked their hook-and-loop structure to create Velcro.

A chef trying to spite a picky customer sliced potatoes extra thin, fried them to a crisp, and inadvertently invented chips.

Originally intended as a medicinal tonic, Coca-Cola’s flavor and carbonation were accidental but became iconic.

A chemist dropped a glass flask coated with plastic and noticed it didn’t shatter, leading to shatter-resistant glass.

Developed during World War II as a potential synthetic rubber, it turned out to be useless for tires but perfect as a toy.

Discovered when Roy Plunkett accidentally polymerized tetrafluoroethylene gas, leading to the non-stick coating we use in cookware.

Ruth Wakefield, running low on baking chocolate, substituted broken pieces of chocolate into dough, expecting them to melt, but they stayed intact.