Scientific discoveries don’t always result from methodically conducted experiments. In fact, several have resulted purely by accident. This process is sometimes called serendipity. True story – one of my professors described serendipity as “reaching into a bucket of manure and finding a gold nugget.”
Some accidental discoveries came from experiments that gave botched or unexpected results. In each case, it took the insight of a clever scientist to recognize the potential in these results. This video describes several accidental discoveries that were very important to our society.