“”Everything comes to him who hustles while he waits,” Thomas Edison once said. But is hustling all it takes? Is progress always deliberate? Sometimes genius arrives not by choice—but by chance.” Head to the PopSci to view their ten favorite serendipitous innovations.
“In 1943, Navy engineer Richard James was trying to figure out how to use springs to keep the sensitive instruments aboard ships from rocking themselves to death, when he knocked one of his prototypes over. Instead of crashing to the floor, it gracefully sprang downward, and then righted itself. So pointless—so nimble—so slinky. The spring became a goofy toy of many childhoods—that is before every kid inevitably gets theirs all twisted up and ruins it. 300 million sold worldwide!”
See more at PopSci (Thanks @XxLadyClaireXx)
So the author recognises the X-rays are a natural phenomena, but thinks microwaves were invented! Or worse still, thinks they pertain exclusively to ovens!
What a totally dumbed-down, American-centric,
and in many cases inaccurate article.
Do you know how hard it is to actually get a slinky to slinky down the stairs? Imagine being the inventor of something that doesn’t even work properly! Screw you, Navy engineer Richard James! (
)
they seem to have forgotten vulcanized rubber!
I actually learnt something
Good blog post 
Obligatory slinky joke: Some people are like Slinkies not really good for much, but you can’t help but smile when you see them tumble down the stairs.
Serendipidity as it’s name is .. discovering something while looking for something else.
Lots of cool examples in history and it will continue to pop up .. Our minds .. they have a way of working theirselves .. Answers to questions come when you’re not busy with that question but with another question .. Hm, yes, inefficient it could be named at times as well.
However, we ourselves discover lots of stuff aside as well .. despite the fact that we were not looking for those things at all .. multifocusal beings we are ..