Flat Tire Leads to a Discovery That Totally Changes the Course of History

ever wonder how some of the greatest inventions or discoveries came to be spoiler it usually wasn't on purpose from the mold that revolutionized medicine to an ancient Cavern here are 20 accidental discoveries That Changed History number 20 mold that revolutionized medicine 500 million lives have been saved by a Blue Mold penicillin this revolutionized the world of Medicine yet this discovery was made entirely by chance in 1928 sir Alexander Fleming a Scottish bacteriologist was working at St Mary's Hospital in London one day he left a petri dish containing stepic cacus bacteria uncovered and Upon returning from a two-e vacation he noticed something peculiar a mold had grown on the dish and around it the bacteria were dead the mold turned out to be penicilium notatum and the substance It produced which FL named penicillin had powerful antibacterial properties despite publishing his findings in 1929 the medical community largely ignored them at first the Turning Point came in the late 1930s when Howard Flor and ern's chain at Oxford University Revisited Fleming's work they successfully extracted and mass-produced penicillin testing it first on mice and then on humans proving its Effectiveness in treating bacterial infections as World War II raged on in infections from wounds were a significant cause of death among Soldiers by 1941 penicillin was used to treat soldiers on the battlefield saving countless lives this spurred mass production efforts in the United Kingdom and the United States with companies like fiser developing new methods to produce penicillin on a large scale today penicillin remains a Cornerstone in the treatment of various infections unfortunately with a rise of antibiotic resistance we're facing new challenges you see bacteria are living organisms which means they can adapt there will come a time when the antibacterial medicine we have today will have little to no effect on infections now that's a scary future before we go on like this video smash the Subscribe button and click the notification Bell right now number 19 the most slippery substance in existence in 1938 Roy plunket failed to find a new refrigerant but he discovered something that changed the world instead plunket while playing around with Tetra flurothyl or EF for short stored the gas in cylinders at low temperatures overnight the next morning when he tried to release the gas nothing came out despite the cylinders being heavy curious plunket and his assistant Jack Reebok decided to cut one of the cylinders open inside they found a white waxy substance that had formed the substance was polytetrafluroethylene later known as Teflon Dupont quick Al recognized the potential of this new material and patented it in 1941 initially it was used in military projects including the Manhattan Project however by the early 1950s it became a staple in homes as its non-stick properties were utilized in cookware this happened when French engineer Mark gregori inspired by his wife Colette's idea coated his fishing gear with Teflon and then applied the same technique to Kitchen pans leading to the creation of the Teel brand eventually Lon was used in Aerospace electronics and even medical devices making it one of the most groundbreaking materials ever discovered number 18 The Invention inspired by beroch seeds in the early 1940s Swiss engineer George demol embarked on a simple walk in the woods with his dog I bet he didn't expect that this simple walk would lead to a discovery that would forever change the way we create modern items as Destro walked with his loyal companion he noticed that his clothes and his dog's fur were covered in Burrs from the berock plant curious about how these Burrs clung so tenaciously he examined them under a microscope and discovered their secret tiny hooks that latched onto the loops in Fabric and fur now I bet you already know what he invented from this inspiration inspired by this natural mechanism destral envisioned a practical application for this hook and loop system after years of experimenting he found that nylon when subjected to an infrared light formed the durable hooks he needed by 1955 he had perfected his design and obtained a patent for velcro a portamento of the French words for velvet and hook now almost everything today has velcro but in the beginning this patented advention actually struggled to find a market early prototypes were considered unattractive limiting their appeal however velcro found a niche in athletic gear in children's shoes the Turning Point came in the 1960s when NASA adapted velcro to secure equipment in Zerg environments this cemented the quality and use of the product its Market is expanded ever since and remains a staple in countless Industries I guess when you're lacking ideas perhaps a walk could also give you life-changing inspiration you never know if a walk could lead to one of the happy accidents that would change our everyday lives number 17 x-ray in 1895 German physicist vilhelm Conrad Ronin made a discovery that would revolutionize the field of medicine and Beyond with the X-ray this breakthrough was entirely accidental and happened when Rankin was experimenting with cathode ray tubes at the University of bburg he noticed that a fluorescent screen coed with barium platinos cyanide positioned nearby started to Glow even though the tube was covered in Black cardboard to block out visible light this meant that some invisible rays were penetrating the cardboard and causing the screen to fluores runin named these mysterious Rays x-rays with the X representing the unknown through further experiments he found that x-rays could pass through various materials including human tissue but not through denser substances like bone or metal one of his first and most famous x-ray images was of his wife anab Bertha's hand which clearly showed her bones and wedding ring the discovery spread rapidly and by 1896 X-rays were being used in medical diagnos es worldwide they enabled doctors to see inside the human body without surgery revolutionizing diagnostics for broken bones tumors and foreign objects and the rest is history number 16 microwave the microwave oven a staple in modern kitchens was invented entirely by accident in 1945 by Percy Spencer an engineer at rathon Spencer was working with magnetrons vacuum tubes that produce microwave radiation used in radar systems during one experiment he noticed a peanut cluster candy bar in his pocket had melted it was an unexpected outcome and so Spencer experimented with other Foods he found that microwaves could heat popcorn quickly and even caused an egg to explode from Rapid heating realizing the potential of his Discovery Spencer built a metal box into which he directed microwave energy successfully creating the first microwave oven Ron quickly saw the commercial potential of Spencer's invention in 1947 they introduced the first commercial microwave oven named the radar range this early model was massive standing nearly 6 ft tall and weighing over 750 lb it was primarily used in large-scale commercial kitchens due to its size and cost however over the next two decades the technology was refined by 1967 a more Compact and affordable countertop microwave oven was introduced by a Mana making microwave technology accessible to the general public now if it weren't for Percy Spencer and his mistake while experimenting we probably wouldn't have this efficient food reheater number 15 The Accidental discovery that saves laminated safety glass is one of the standard features of car windshields skyscraper windows and many other things made of glass this type of glass not only prevents dangerous shards from scattering upon impact but also provides a higher degree of security and UV protection did you know that this type of glass was invented purely by accident in 1903 French chemist Edward Benedictus was working in his laboratory when he dropped a glass blask coated with a plastic cellulose nitrate solution by complete accident now you can probably guess what happened the flask shattered but its pieces remain largely intact due to a thin plastic film this was how laminated safety glass was invented by sandwiching a layer of plastic between two sheets of glass he created a composite material that would hold together even when broken he named this product Triplex glass and patented it in 1909 after being patented the use of this product was quite limited however at the height of the first world war Triplex glass was used in gas mask ey pieces this was followed by automobile manufacturers adopting laminated safety glasses for windshields in the 1920s ever since this glass has become one of the most standard materials used in many Industries number 14 sacan in 1879 a serendipitous event led to the discovery of sacaran the first artificial sweetener The Story begins with Constantine falberg a Russian chemist working under the guidance of Dr Ira remson at John Hopkins University after a long day in the lab falberg neglected to wash his hands before eating dinner he noticed that his bread tasted unusually sweet as did everything else he touched realizing the sweetness came from his fingers he rushed back to the lab and tasted various compounds although of course you're not encouraged to do this with unknown compounds and chemicals however Ferg's experiment led to the discovery of benzoic sulfamide now known as sacarin unfortunately the rest of this story is more bitter than sweet falberg and remson published their findings together but falberg eventually patented sacran in Germany and the US causing a rift between the two scientists remson felt betrayed especially since Ferg's accounts often omitted remon's contributions despite the conflict between the two researchers sacran still quickly found its place as a sugar substitute particularly during sugar shortages in World War I and World War II it was hailed as a non-fattening alternative to Sugar appealing to diabetics and dieters today sacran remains a popular sweetener despite its metallic after taste and competition from newer Alternatives number 13 Post-it notes at some point in your life you've most likely already used a Post-It note it's handy easy to spot and yes you guessed it this seemingly ordinary yet life-changing product was discovered by complete accident in the late 1960s Dr Spencer Silver a scientist at 3M was tasked with developing a super strong adhesive for aircraft construction instead he accidentally created a weak adhesive this adhesive stuck lightly to surfaces but could be easily removed without leaving residue a characteristic that initially seemed useless for its intended purpose after all what's the use of an adhesive if it won't let products stick for years silver promoted his adhesive within 3M hoping someone would find a use for it art fry another scientist at 3M heard about the adhesive now aside from being a full-time scientist fry also sang in his church choir it was there that he faced a dilemma he couldn't easily Mark hymns with paper bookmarks this is where the weak adhesive silver created came in recalling Silver's adhesive fry realized it could be perfect for a reusable bookmark fry and silver began developing the idea using yellow scrap paper from a nearby lab this led to the creation of the iconic canary yellow Post-it notes in 1977 3M launched the product which they called press and peel fortunately it didn't quite stick get it moving on 3M rebranded the product as Post-it notes and in 1979 launched an extensive sampling campaign the campaign was a huge success with over 90% of recipients expressing their intention to buy the product by 1980 Post-it notes were available Nationwide and their popularity sored today Post-it notes come in various colors shapes and sizes and have become an indispensable tool in offices and homes worldwide number 12 one of the best dyes ever invented in 1856 William Henry Perkin an 18-year-old chemistry student was tasked with synthesizing quinine a treatment for malaria he experimented with analine a Col tar derivative in his makeshift home laboratory during one of these experiments instead of producing quinine he ended up with a black substance when he attempted to clean his equipment using alcohol he noticed a brilliant purple solution this was mine Perkin realized that his purple solution had strong dying properties at that time dyes were derived from natural sources such as plants and animals which were not only expensive but also lacked color fastness Perkin's discovery changed all that his synthetic dye could be produced cheaply and in large quantities and it didn't fade easily Perkin quickly saw the commercial potential of mine with financial support from his father he set up a factory in greenford green near London becoming one of the first to industrialize chemical processes for dies by 1857 he had patented the die and began large-scale production it also just so happened that the Dy caught the eye of Queen Victoria and Empress yugen of France which skyrocketed it to fame number 11 insulin in 2018 the Rand Corporation a public policy Think Tank estimated that a vial of insulin had an average price of about $98.50 now imagine having diabetes and being dependent on these expensive vials despite its price insulin is one of the greatest inventions in medical history now this discovery was a complete accident the groundbreaking achievement was spearheaded by Dr Frederick Banting who was initially inspired by an idea that struck him while preparing a lecture on the pancreas Banting believed that the pancreas produced a hormone that regulates blood sugar levels and he was determined to isolate it to treat diabetes the first successful human trial of insulin took place in January 1922 with a 14-year-old boy named Leonard Thompson who was near death due to diabetes the initial injection failed but a more purified version of the extract administered Days Later resulted in a dramatic Improvement in Thompson's condition this discovery has saved millions of lives number 10 plastic eating enzyme in 2016 a team of scientists from the University of Portsmouth and a national renewable energy laboratory in the US aimed to understand how pedace worked now what exactly is pedace this enzyme can somehow break down pet plastic it's not fast but breaking down this material at all is an achievement during their study they made an accidental but groundbreaking modification to the enzyme this tweak resulted in a mutant enzyme that was even more efficient at break down plastic the improved enzyme could begin degrading plastic within a few days compared to the centuries it would take in a landfill the enzyme works by breaking down pet plastic into its original components which can then be recycled into new Plastic Products now this accidental Discovery is definitely one of the most groundbreaking in the past Century if used this discovery can help us finally lessen human activity's harmful impact on our environment number nine an odd energy leads to the discovery of dinosaur footprints while taking a casual stroll along Cable Beach in broom Western Australia Bindy Lee por was collecting seashells when she felt an unusual energy underfoot clearing away the sand she uncovered a series of massive ancient Footprints a discovery that would turn out to be 130 milliony old dinosaur tracks the footprints were identified as belonging to Megalosaurus brenus a therap dinosaur that once roamed the area these tracks about 30 to 50 cm in length indicate that the dinosaur stood approximately 5 ft tall at the hips and measured between 8 and 13 ft long I guess that's why people tell you to trust your gut so the next time you feel something unusual you might want to examine your environment who knows a historical Discovery just might be hiding Beneath Your Feet number eight thinnest ever sheet of glass this is the most groundbreaking accidental discoveries in the 21st century the thinnest sheet of glass ever recorded it's not a cenm thick not even half a cenm thick but rather a molecule thick this groundbreaking discovery was a serendipitous result of experiments conducted by researchers at Cornell University and Germany's University of ol initially the team was working on producing pure graphine a single layer of carbon atoms arranged in a hexagonal lattice however due to an accidental air leak in their setup a chemical reaction occurred forming an incredibly thin layer of glass composed of silicon and oxygen atoms this two-dimensional glass sheet is only 2 atoms thick making it the thinnest known pane of glass who knows we might soon see this ultra thin glass being used in our future technology number seven Deeper Shade of blue discovered by scientists in 2009 a graduate student in Oregon was experimenting with manganese oxides when he discovered that one of the samples he was working on turned a brilliant blue color the discovery occurred at a scorching 1, 1200° C where the manganese oxide transformed into a vivid blue with a unique crystal structure that absorbs red and green wavelengths while reflecting an intense blue this new pigment became known as yinan blue unlike traditional blue pigments that fade over time yman blue is incredibly stable resistant to heat and acid and environmentally benign its stability and non-toxic nature make it a GameChanger in various applications from Art and Design to Industrial uses essentially not only is this pigment beautiful but it's also durable and theoretically will never fade the pigments commercial Journey began after it was patented in 2012 and later approved by the EPA for widespread use it has since inspired new products including a Crayola crayon and is being explored for use in energy efficient building materials due to its heat reflecting properties number six a new Beetle species mistaken for bird poop in March this year James Tweed a PhD candidate from the University of Queensland made an unexpected Discovery in the gold Coast's lamington National Park walking through the campsite one morning something on a lamandre leaf caught his eye at first he thought it was bird droppings luckily something prompted him to take a closer look that's when he realized that what was perched on the leaf was Fluffy White and hairy it wasn't bird poop it was an insect more specifically a beetle this Beetle now named ex castra alop pelosa measures just 9.7 mm and features striking red and black coloration covered in long white hairs after extensive research and consultation with experts from the Australian National insect collection Tweed confirmed that this Beetle was not only a new species but also represent presented an entirely new genus number five Pompei in the late 16th century the bustling city of Pompei buried under volcanic ash for nearly 1,600 years was accidentally rediscovered now Pompei has a long history of being discovered before being buried once again the city's first rediscovery dates as far back as 1592 when Italian architect Domino Fontana stumbled upon the ancient ruins while digging a canal however he kept the finding secret almost an entire Century later in 1689 Franchesco pachetti saw a wall inscription that read Town counselor of Pompei but he merely Associated it with a villain named Pompei it was forgotten once again finally in 1748 an engineer named Rakin DW kere while digging for a well Unearthed the ancient city Once More by the mid 18th century under the reign of King Charles III of Spain system atic excavations began revealing a city Frozen in Time the excavators were astonished by the remarkably preserved structures frescos and everyday objects it was almost as if the volcanic ash had completely Frozen the ancient city jeppi fiorelli a key figure in the 19th century revolutionized the excavation process he introduced a technique that involved pouring plaster into voids left by decomposed bodies creating detailed casts of the victims of the eruptions many of these these casts are available for the public to see depicting people in their final moments with most of them stuck in heart-wrenching positions the rediscovery of Pompei captivated the world leading to extensive archaeological studies and inspiring countless works of art in literature excavations and research at this ancient site continue to this day number four lubrin shipwreck the ubran Shipwreck is one of the oldest and most significant Maritime discoveries it's a astounding that this wreck was found by complete accident in 1982 a local sponge diver named memd exploring off the coast of aluin near Cass in Turkey accidentally stumbled upon the wreck due to how valuable the cargo was this shipwreck was even known as the Titanic of the Mediterranean however the Rex location wasn't easy to reach due to the Rex's tricky location researchers even estimated that over 22,400 Dives are required to fully explore the wreck even so what followed next was over 11 seasons of excavation by The Institute of nautical archaeology it turned out that the Uber and shipwreck was carrying over 20 tons of cargo including copper and Tin ingots when it sank researchers discovered cargo items from at least seven different cultures the Meenan or the Greek cypriate Egyptian cite Assyrian and Nubian among the most exotic items discovered in the Shipwreck were elephant tusks hippopotamus teeth baltic amber beads from northern Europe ostrich egg shells and tortoise shells even more unique was a gold Scarab bearing the Royal cou of Nefertiti wife of the Egyptian pharaoh akatan while the sinking of the ship was unfortunate or I dare say a catastrophic incident for its ancient crew it's a blessing for archaeologists and historians in today's time number three the tomb of Philip II of Macedon in November 1977 Greek archaeologist manolos andronicos made an extraordinary Discovery in Virginia a small town in northern Greece andronicos Unearthed a pair of Royal tombs from the 4th Century bcee one of which he identified as the tomb of Philip II of Macedon father of Alexander the Great the tomb known as tomb 2 contained a wealth of artifacts including gold and silver ornaments weapons and wall frescos among the most notable finds was a gold LX a type of small coffin that held cremated remains believed to be those of Philip II himself this identification was supposed to be the age and condition of the bones as well as the highquality artifacts and the tomb's opulant construction which match the status of the Macedonian King to this day Philip II of macedon's Tomb remains one of the most historically significant findings in the world number two oldest wine discovered in liquid form in June 2024 scientists UNC covered the world's oldest known liquid wine in a Roman funerary earn dating back around 2,000 years this discovery was made during a home renovation in the town of Carmona sevil Spain the ear was discovered in a sunken tomb and Not only was the vessel itself well preserved but its contents remained intact as well now inside the vessel was approximately 4.5 L of a reddish liquid which was later identified as ancient wine you see this discovery was groundbreaking because liquid liquid wine rarely survives the passage of time due to its volatile nature the earns contents were preserved by a hermetic seal that prevented evaporation to ensure that the reddish liquid was indeed wine and not something else researchers from the University of Cordova conducted a series of chemical analyses including high performance liquid chromatography and Mass spectrometry to confirm the presence of polyphenols compounds characteristic of wine despite being over two Millennia old the wine was found to be non-toxic although the researchers refrain from tasting it well if you had the chance do you think you'd try a small sample of this ancient liquid I'm curious but not enough to risk tasting 2,000-year-old wine that had been submerged inside a tomb and now it's time for today's topic a flat tire leads to a discovery that totally changes the course of history while changing a tire on a remote Road a traveler stumbled upon what appeared to be the body of an unknown creature took a photo of the creature and after repairing his tire he found the nearest settlement in the area and told people about the body he found many of the locals immediately thought that the body resembled that of a gray a famous depiction of alien life however What followed next was something unexpected upon learning about the body from The Traveler the locals tried to bring it back to their town to be examined before they could do so they claimed that Unknown People in uniforms took the creature put it on a stretcher and drove away but not before warning everyone present at the time to keep what they had seen a complete secret and so speculation about alien life and government coverups followed suit do you think that aliens have visited us before and if so do you think the government or another organization actively tried to keep it under wraps why or why not let me know in the comments down below number one Cave of swimmer Sahara in 1933 Hungarian Explorer lazalo almasy made a groundbreaking discovery while traversing the Gil keber plateau in Egypt Sahara Desert the cave of swimmers this cave contains Neolithic rock art estimated to be around 10,000 years old depicting human figures in what appears to be swimming postures this discovery showed us that the great Sahara was once Lush and filled with lakes and rivers where people swam the paintings showed not just swimmers but also various animals such as giraffes and hippos now initially Alma's theory was met with skepticism after all it was hard to believe that the barren and dry Sahara Desert was once fertile land however this idea has gained Support over the years particularly with the discovery of ancient Mega Lakes beneath the Desert Sands in 2007 reinforcing the notion of the green Sahara unfortunately due to the increased tourism in the area the cave of swimmers has been damaged since its Discovery do you know about other discoveries that changed human life or re wrote history feel free to share them in the comments down below also check out our other cool stuff showing up on the screen right now and I'll see you in the next video take care everybody