Invented by Mistake

Not every failure is a mistake. “It turns out that many of society’s most well-known inventions were simply mistakes made by scientists on alternative quests,” (Krueger, 2010). Society seems to be focused on achievements, and I have seen many friends and colleagues are really hard on themselves for not immediately succeeding at a task, or a goal on the first attempt. If everything worth accomplishing was easy, where would the feeling of accomplishment, the pride, the sweet aroma of success be if we accomplished everything on the first attempt, without any rework, edits, re-engineering, and input from others? It would be boring and we would never get better!

Take John Hopps for example, he was a Canadian Engineer who was researching the effects of radio frequency heating had on hypothermia patients when he accidently invented the pace maker! With his continued research, he found that the human heart stops beating when its temperature dropped (Animals in Research, 2021). He also, by chance found that the heart could be artificially restarted using either mechanical or electrical stimulation. This research led to the first cardiac defibrillation machine, which was first used in 1949 to start a dog’s heart. This original invention was too large to be used internally but let to smaller pace makers that could be used internally on human patient’s almost 10 years later (Animals in Research, 2021).

In 1958, an American Engineer, Wilson Greatbatch utilized John Hopps previous invention and created the first implantable cardiac pacemaker (Animals in Research, 2021). In order for his invention to work, he also has to invent a transistor (pacemaker batteries) that replaced the larger vacuum tubes the previous pace maker relied on. This was essential to the ability of shrinking the device small enough for it to be implantable, as we know the device today. In 1984, John Hopps, the original inventor of the pace maker had to be fitted for one himself, to help regulate his own heartbeat (Animals in Research, 2021). Since the 1980’s, the cardiac pacemaker has become a routine life saving device, implanted in thousands of patients, and saving countless lives.

This next invention is near and dear to my heart, as I am old enough to remember at time before microwave ovens, and the inventor worked for my current employer. After World War II, Percy Spencer, an Engineer with the Raytheon Corporation was one of their go-to problem solvers and helped them develop proximity fuses, or detonators that kept artillery shells from exploding prior to them hitting their target (Blitz, 2021). Spencer helped Raytheon on a number of occasions support the allied troops throughout the war, as he had a knack for finding simple solutions to manufacturing problems.

Spencer was working on more effective ways to mass produce radar magnetrons, waves that create vibrating electromagnetic waves when he accidently invented the microwave oven (Blitz, 2021). During one of these experiments, he reached into his pocket and realized a candy bar he had been saving for lunch had been melted by the microwaves. Peeking his curiosity, he conducted a separate experiment, this time with an egg. During the experiment, the egg cooked, and therefor exploded, leaving Spencer with egg in his face. Some believe this is where the expression, “well there’s egg in your face,” was started (Blitz, 2021). Obviously Spencer realized the importance of the new technology and worked with the Raytheon Corporation to patent and develop the new invention as what we know today as the microwave oven.

In both of these cases, the Engineers that were behind these new technologies that literally changed the world as we know it, started out with one idea and while working towards that goal, stumbled across something even more valuable. This should further instill in us that sometimes our first path isn’t necessarily the only path, and that something even more valuable can be obtained by remaining flexible, not accepting defeat, and remaining open minded. What would medicine look like today without the first automatic cardiac defibrillator, or what would the common kitchen look like today without the microwave oven? Failures should not be seen as defeat, but as a necessary step towards success, if we just remain determined enough to not quit but keep trying, defeat after defeat, until we find success.

References

Blitz, M. (2021, September 6). There's an incredible story behind how the microwave was invented... by accident. Popular Mechanics. Retrieved October 9, 2021, from https://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/gadgets/a19567/how-the-microwave-was-invented-by-accident/.

Development of the cardiac pacemaker. Animal Research Info. (2021, February 1). Retrieved October 9, 2021, from https://www.animalresearch.info/en/medical-advances/medical-discovery-timeline/cardiac-pacemakers/.

Krueger, A. (2010, November 16). 15 life-changing inventions that were created by mistake. Business Insider. Retrieved October 9, 2021, from https://www.businessinsider.com/these-10-inventions-were-made-by-mistake-2010-11#microwave-ovens-7.