Many inventions over time have been created by those who are able to see accidents or mishaps as opportunities. Many inventions, from playdoh to brandy, have been inadvertent discoveries that have turned into wildly successful products. Two important accidental discoveries are listed below.
Velcro
Velcro is a hook and loop fabric invented by engineer George de Mestral. The name Velcro is derived from the French words for velvet (velour) and hook (crochet) (“Invention of Velcro® brand”, 2021). The fabric constructed with nylon and polyester and consists of one strip with tiny hooks and a second strip with smaller loops that attach to each other.
Velcro [photo]. Body Loop. https://thebodyloop.com/about-velcro/
George de Mistral came up with the idea for Velcro when walking through the Jura mountains in Switzerland. Cockle-burs stuck to his pants and his dog’s fur, and he became curious about how they attached themselves so easily and securely to fabric and fur. Using a microscope, he was able to determine that the tiny hooks of the cockle-bur were attaching to the loops in his pants, and later sought to recreate this hook and loop system in fabric form.
After trial and error, and help from others in the weaving business, George de Mistral patented Velcro in 1955. Velcro’s popularity skyrocketed when it was used by NASA to secure objects in space, and has since been utilized in a wide variety of companies. Velcro can be found scin any industry that needs hook and loop closures, including car seats, athletic equipment, shoes, and clothing.
Scotchgard
In the 1950’s, 3M tasked Patsy Sherman and Samuel Smith with developing a type of rubber that would aid in the creation of jet fuel lines. While working in their lab, an assistant accidentally dropped a bottle of synthetic latex onto her shoe. Sherman and Smith noticed that after the latex spilled onto her shoe the canvas on her shoe could repel oil, water, and other liquids while not changing the color or texture of the canvas fabric (The happy accident behind the invention of Scotchgard, 2021).
Scotchgard adverstisement circa 1961 [photo]. Wickersham’s Conscience. https://wickershamsconscience.wordpress.com/2018/04/26/putting-the-genie-back-in-the-bottle-scotchgard/
Both Sherman and Smith realized that there was a viable commercial application for their product. They fine tuned the product for three years and patented the final product as Scotchgard Protector in 1955. Scotchgard works by surrounding fibers with a fluorochemical shield that is impervious to water, oils, and dirt. It keeps fabrics clean and increases their durability (Patsy Sherman, n.d.).
References
Invention of Velcro® brand. (2021). Retrieved October 15, 2021, from https://www.hookandloop.com/invention-velcro-brand/.
Patsy Sherman. Lemelson-MIT. (n.d.). Retrieved October 16, 2021, from https://lemelson.mit.edu/resources/patsy-sherman.
The happy accident behind the invention of Scotchgard. National Inventors Hall of Fame®. (2021). Retrieved October 16, 2021, from https://www.invent.org/blog/inventors/patsy-sherman-samuel-smith.
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