From advances in medicine, science, and archaeology, join me as I reveal to you 15 amazing accidental
discoveries That Helped Change The World!
9.
Terra Cotta Army In China, 1974, the tomb of the first Chinese
emperor of the Qin Dynasty was discovered buried in the ground.
Eager to see what the emperor had buried with him, the seven-person archaeology team began
to excavate the area.
When they did, they found something rather unexpected.
For as they were digging, one of the diggers hit a statue with his shovel.
But instead of bronze or another metal, it was made of Terra Cotta.
But that in and of itself wasn't the amazing discovery, but rather, when they kept digging
they found more and more of these statues.
All told, they found 8,000 Terra Cotta statues positioned around the tomb of the emperor.
Very amazing, but also very odd.
Why would anyone go to such lengths in a burial site?
Well, the followers of Emperor Qin Shi Huang wanted him to be protected in the afterlife,
so, they buried him with an army (via the Terra Cotta Statues) so that he would have
loyal followers at his side should he need it.
That revelation is very shocking, on many levels in fact.
But don't let the numbers of the Terra Cotta army distract you from some of the things
that proved the dedication of this construction.
First, each and every member of the Terra Cotta army had its own unique face.
Which means that each statue is special in its own make, and there's 8000 of them, that's
a lot of dedication and style to put into them.
Second, soldiers weren't the only thing they made, as they also made Terra Cotta horses
and chariots.
This was widely regarded as one of the greatest archaeological finds in all of China, and
the Terra Cotta army was an inspiration for the film The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor.
8.
Microwave Oven It's easy to look at the modern world that
we have today, with all the wondrous technology that we posses and think that many of the
inventions that we have were tested for years as a notion of an idea that happened rather
logically.
And some of them did have that, but not in the case of the microwave.
Not unlike various other discoveries that were amazing, the idea of the microwave was
discovered quite by accident by a man named Percy Spencer.
This all happened in 1946, Percy Spencer was contracted by the Raytheon Corporation to
work on a project related to radar.
Radar was actually invented around that time for World War II, and so future study of it
was paramount for many.
While working on a vacuum tube, he noticed something wrong with his pocket.
Mainly, the chocolate bar that was in it was fully melted.
Usually, that would mean that Spencer was either lazy (who doesn't eat a chocolate bar
immediately?) or forgetful.
But in this case, it was neither.
Because the chocolate bar shouldn't have melted that quickly.
Spencer realized that it was the vacuum tube that must of done this, so testing a theory,
he pointed it at other food objects, and watched as they all got cooked.
Seeing this, he realized they were being cooked by microwaves, and later on he filed a patent
for the first microwave machine.
By the time 1965 came around, the first countertop microwave was released.
Fast forward to now, most modern homes have a microwave, and it's considered a major staple
of the home.
It's amazing to think that such a simple accident led to one of the best modern inventions in
history.
7.
Anesthesia The world of medicine is one full of many
complications and tests.
Today, finding a new medicine is a process that takes years of test, trials, and approvals.
And that's after millennia of medicinal practices that were...let's just say not exactly healthy.
The idea of performing surgeries on people while they were asleep was ludicrous because
of how the body reacted to pain.
That is, until the birth of Anesthesia came about.
Before this tried-and-true product, putting a patient under the influence of no pain wasn't
easy.
Ether was used for a while, but it was dangerous as it could put the attending doctors and
nurses to sleep as well.
Then came Nitrous Oxides, which you know as Laughing Gas.
But, in the right amounts, not only would Nitrous Oxide make you laugh, it would make
it so you didn't feel pain.
Which one dentists friend figured out when he gashed his leg one time and then walked
around care free because he didn't know he was hurt!
Eventually, in 1844, a man named Horace Wells performed the first operation using Anesthesia.
It didn't go well, but it did start a trend of other doctors using it.
Eventually, the practice was spread all over the world, and now, Anesthesia is a commonplace
medicine for anyone going into surgery.
With it, many surgeries as they are now likely would've never been performed.
6.
Big Bang The creation of the universe is a very hot
topic, and by "hot topic", I mean something that is hotly debated between those who believe
in science, and those who believe in a God or gods having created the universe.
For most who believe the science theory of creation, they point to the "Big Bang" as
the creation of the universe.
In short, the Big Bang was an event that created a massive explosion of energy, and through
that the universe was created, and continues to grow.
But, as for when that theory was discovered, that would be in 1964 in New Jersey, when
two men accidentally discovered some "noise" in space that didn't register with everything
they knew should be up there.
Robert Wilson and Arno Penzias were two radio astronomers working with the Holmdel Antenna
and when they came across the noise in space, they slowly whittled down everything it could
and couldn't have been.
Then, they recalled a theory of another scientist that said that a Big Bang event would leave
cosmic radiation in the universe...and that's exactly what they found.
Their accidental discovery helped shape the science world, and they actually got a Nobel
Peace Prize as a result of the discovery.
5.
Chewing Gum Yeah, I know it sounds ridiculous, but in
fact, Chewing Gum (not to be confused with Bubble Gum, that came later) was an accident
that was equal parts dumb luck and frustration.
You see, the basis of Chewing Gum back then was a sap called Chicle.
It was actually imported into the United States via Mexico, and eventually ended up in the
hands of Thomas Adams.
But his mission wasn't to make gum, rather, it was to make rubber.
Or to be more accurate, make a substitute for rubber.
Adams gave it all he got, but eventually, he had to give up because it just wasn't working.
So...out of frustration, he took one of the "rubbers" he made and popped it into his mouth...then
he started to chew it...and it was good!
And so, he made Adams New York Chewing Gum and became one of the biggest gum distributors
in the land.
Gum became so popular that it was eventually given to soldiers in World War 2 as part of
their rations.
And they actually used it as a currency to trade with locals!
Cool huh?
So you see?
Sometimes the worst of times can bring about the best of discoveries.
4.
Herculaneum.
The legend of Pompeii is a story that many are told for one reason or another.
It is the story of the volcano known as Mount Vesuvius htat erupted in such a violent way
that it destroyed the entire city of Pompeii, creating both a legend and a horror story
all at once.
And to be clear, as I hope you would already know, the story is 100% true.
But what gets lost in the legend is that Vesuvius didn't just destroy one city, it actually
destroyed two.
And the second one wasn't "rediscovered" for many centuries.
This is the accidental discovery of Herculaneum.
So the obvious question becomes why did Pompeii get all the "glory" and legend while Herculaneum
didn't?
Timing for the most part.
It was 12 hours after the fall of Pompeii that the fall of Herculaneum happened.
What's more, because it was upwind of the volcano, the effects of the eruption not just
wiped it out, but it actually preserved it perfectly.
Some say that Herculaneum is actually in better shape than Pompeii.
Which was actually found to be in pretty good condition to be fair.
Heading now to the 18th century, a farmer was doing work on land that was his.
But what he didn't know at the time was that said land was also above Herculaneum.
He began to dig a well and found some marble in the ground that he couldn't explain.
The land itself shouldn't have had such stonework.
It was later realized that he had dug up part of the Roman Theater that was in Herculaneum.
Robberies would soon come to the buried city, and then, King Charles of Bourbon made a more
official expedition to rediscover the city, one that continued in the 20th century.
Thanks to these expeditions, the city is now protected, as well as studied heavily.
Because Herculaneum now gives us a second "viewing" into what happened when Vesuvius
erupted, and that kind of information is invaluable.
3.
The "New World" In an age where technology has basically mapped
out pretty much everything in the world today, it may sound odd that to us that at one time,
the people of the world didn't know just how big their world actually was.
So much so that at one time, a man named Christopher Columbus had the idea to sail the ocean blue
and find a new trade route from Europe to India in a fraction of the time.
Little did he know that there were a set of connected continents in his way.
Now despite what the legend says, Columbus did NOT find America, but he did find several
other countries, and helped prove that there were things over here that many people didn't
expect.
And over time, this would grow into many expeditions including the Conquistadors, the Mayflower,
and the birth of the English presence in America.
And I'm pretty sure you know what happened from there.
But either way, this is one accidental discovery that definitely changed history.
2.
X-Rays When a doctor tells you that you need an X-Ray,
you don't blink most of the time.
You know what they do, and what they show, and you know that you'll be protected.
However, a long time ago, the idea of X-Rays weren't even on the minds of doctors and scientists
the world over.
They didn't even know it was possible!
Then in 1895, a German Physicist named Wilhelm Roentgen did an experiment that would led
to the discovery of X-Rays, although very accidentally.
He was working on a cathode ray tube, and noticed that he could see an image.
This was odd, as the tube itself was completely covered, yet it was showing on a fluorescent
screen nearby when the room was pitch black.
Something that shouldn't have happened within the scopes of known sciences back them.
Not sure what to make of it, he tried to block the "glow" that was showing up on screen,
including putting his hand in front of the tube.
When he did, he saw an image of his bones within his hand on the screen.
Understanding (in part) what was going on, he swapped the tube for with a photographic
plate, and thus, X-Ray imagery was born.
The only sad part is that like many new sciences Roentgen and other doctors didn't understand
about radioactivity and how it could harm humans when they were exposed.
However, after realizing that, they found out about lead shielding, and now X-Rays are
another important medical tool for us all.
1.
The Dead Sea Scrolls When it comes to the many religions of the
world, one of the reasons that they believe is that they have proof of those who come
before them.
Thus making certain religious texts and artifacts some of the most important things in the world
today.
And many are actively trying to find them for all sorts of means.
Please, no Ark of the Covenant jokes.
But in 1947, one of the most important religious documents of all time were found by complete
accident, and by kids no less!
This is the tale of the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls.
The Dead Sea Scrolls were found near the city of Jericho.
A group of teenagers were looking over a group of goats when suddenly one got lost (anyone
who knows the Christian Bible will know the irony in this.)
The teenagers then went to go find the goat.
As they did, they found cave, and wondering if the goat was in there, one of the teenagers
threw a rock into it, and he broke a pot.
Upon hearing this, he went into the cave and found several more pots, and within them were
papyrus scrolls.
Scrolls, that were in fact some of the earliest known pieces of the Bible.
Numerous chapters were within these scrolls, and each of them were a piece of history.
The true irony though was that the teenagers weren't exactly sure about the value of this
find.
So they went into town and sold it for what they could.
But then, they were tested, and found to be very real, and very old.
A massive search for more of these scrolls was started.
By the end they had found thousands of papyrus scrolls, from scraps to full texts of the
Bible.
This accidental find is considered one of the greatest finds in history, and today the
Dead Sea Scrolls have been shown off in many countries around the world.
Thanks for watching everyone!
What did you think of these interesting and amazing accidental finds?
Can you believe that they were truly found on accident?
Which one of these discoveries was your favorite?
Do you know of another discovery that should be on this list?
Let me know in the comments below, be sure to subscribe, and I'll see you next time on
the channel!