21 Accidental Inventions That Changed Our World

Published December 4, 2017
Updated April 3, 2018

Forget genius. A happy combination of dumb luck and coincidence was all it took for these accidental inventions to exist.

Accidental Inventions Coke bottle
Accidental Inventions Potato Chips
Accidental Inventions Chef putting food in microwave
Accidental Inventions Popsicles
21 Accidental Inventions That Changed Our World
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Often times, scientists will try to uncover or create one thing, only to end up creating something entirely different. And while these accidental inventions and discoveries usually turn out to be useless, sometimes they turn out to be something that becomes incredibly useful for mankind.

Almost every delicious snack that Americans chow down on, for example, was created by accident. Potato chips, popsicles, and chocolate chip cookies were byproducts of kitchen mistakes or mishaps.

Even some of the products and procedures used in medicine were discovered by accident. The scientists who discovered X-ray imaging, for instance, weren't even looking to advance medical technology, but their discovery ended up changing the world.

In addition, Alexander Fleming, the discoverer of penicillin, almost threw away the petri dish upon which it first grew, thinking that it was simply covered in mold. Had he simply discarded it instead of taking a closer look, there's no telling where medicine would be today.

In the end, countless accidental inventions like these account for some of the most important (and delicious) creations of all time.


After this look at accidental inventions, read about these accidental discoveries that changed the course of history. Then, read about five inventors who were killed by their own inventions.

author
Katie Serena
author
A former staff writer at All That's Interesting, Katie Serena has also published work in Salon.
editor
John Kuroski
editor
Based in Brooklyn, New York, John Kuroski is the editorial director of All That's Interesting. He graduated from New York University with a degree in history, earning a place in the Phi Alpha Theta honor society for history students. An editor at All That's Interesting since 2015, his areas of expertise include modern American history and the ancient Near East. In an editing career spanning 17 years, he previously served as managing editor of Elmore Magazine in New York City for seven years.
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Serena, Katie. "21 Accidental Inventions That Changed Our World." AllThatsInteresting.com, December 4, 2017, https://allthatsinteresting.com/accidental-inventions. Accessed August 12, 2025.