Accidental Innovation Discoveries That Are Life Changing

 

Some of the most innovative ideas do not always come to be due to deliberate study or planning but rather come to be out of an error or accident.  In this individual paper two game changing ideas will be reviewed that came to be out of error or accident.  According to Drucker (2002) innovation is the ability for an entrepreneur to create new revenue streams either by a new means or enhancing an existing means.  Innovation often occurs due to market needs, demographic changes, new knowledge, process enhancements, or accident (Drucker, 2002).  The ideas reviewed here are definitely innovative, but they did not follow a traditional systematic process in being discovered but rather were invented by accident.  Regardless the impact of the innovation has influenced our culture.

Prior to Charles Goodyear’s accidental discovery rubber was used for a variety of things including pencil erasers. (Bellis, 2018).  The challenge with non-vulcanized rubber is that it did not hold up well in cold or hot weather.  In cold temperatures non vulcanized rubber would become brittle.  In hot weather non vulcanized rubber would become sticky.  Many inventors including Charles Goodyear worked to invent a more robust rubber compound.

Charles Goodyear was awarded a contract in 1834 to make rubber mail bags for the U.S. government.  Charles Goodyear noticed that the rubber mail bags did not function well in hot or cold temperatures.  Charles Goodyear began researching ways to make rubber more durable.  The discovery of vulcanized rubber which is the rubber used to make tires was discovered completely by accident. Charles Goodyear accidently turned off the light in his lab and spilled vials containing sulfur, lead and rubber on to a hot surface which then generated vulcanized rubber (Yonatan, 2017).  The process of vulcanizing rubber allows the rubber to become more resilient, not absorb water nor conduct electricity, and retain is shape (Martin’s Rubber Company, 2020).  Vulcanized rubber has the properties of being elastic, waterproof, and weatherproof (CEW, n.d.).  Charles Goodyear patented the idea in 1844 and although his patent was challenged in court he is recognized as the founder.  Although Charles Goodyear owned the patent, he did not become wealthy off of the patent nor did he start the Goodyear Tire Company.  The Goodyear Tire Company was named after him as he is known as the inventor of vulcanized rubber.

Vulcanized rubber was initially used to manufacture rubber bands which was patented in 1845 by Stephen Perry (Bellis, 2018).  In subsequent years the use of vulcanized rubber expanded into balloons, tires, rubber soled shoes, hoses, and rubber stamps.  Life today would be much different without Charles Goodyear’s accidental discovery of vulcanized rubber.

Although Goodyear spent years focused on finding a way to make rubber more durable his discovery occurred due to an accident rather than a cleverly designed experiment.  Goodyear’s focus on creating a more durable rubber product did not occur overnight but rather he had many setbacks including losing all of his money in the 1837 financial crisis (Somma, 2014).  But nothing deterred Goodyear from finding a solution to the rubber durability issue.  Even with the accidental discovery it still took Goodyear several years to perfect the specific chemical recipe for vulcanized rubber.

Charles Goodyear’s accidental discovery of vulcanized rubber has changed many aspects of our lives.  Vulcanized rubber is used in the tire industry.  Without this discovery people could still be driving cars and trucks with metal wheels.  This discovery enables people to connect through the ability to travel in cars, airplanes, and busses.  The discovery also has influenced construction of commercial buildings with many commercial buildings having rubber membraned roofs which keeps the weather elements out and internal building elements in.  Charles Goodyear’s accidental discovery drove innovation in several industries and continues today.

The desire for durable products drove Charles Goodyear to search for an answer.  His accidental discovery and the perfecting of his discovery drove others to identify additional uses for his vulcanized rubber.  Charles Goodyear was looking to improve the durability of mail bags but his discovery provided durability to other products such as pencil erasers and then future discoveries such as tires.  Although vulcanized rubber was an accidental discovery the use cases for the discovery were wide and culturally changing.  Culturally with this discovery people now expected durability and to not experience disruption in their products due to changing weather conditions.

A second accidental discovery is the implantable pacemaker.  The implantable pacemaker was discovered by Wilson Greatbatch in 1956 (Concordia University, 2021).  Wilson Greatbatch accidentally discovered the implantable pacemaker when he was working on a device to record the human heartbeat.  He accidentally placed the incorrect sized resistor in the circuit and he realized that the device was able to create electrical impulses that mimicked the human heart.  At the time of his discovery pacemakers were large machines that patients were tethered to at the hospital.  Wilson Greatbatch’s accidental discovery was small enough that it could be implanted in the chest of the patient and electrodes could be run to the patient’s heart.

Wilson Greatbatch teamed up with Dr. William Chardack and Dr. Andrew Gage to continue to perfect his accidental discovery (U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, 2018).  This team worked for two years to continue to perfect the accidental innovation.  With this smaller device patients no longer needed to remain hospitalized and tethered to a machine.  The device was first implanted into a dog and then in 1960 implanted into a human which extended the human’s life by eighteen months.

The implantable pacemaker has extended the lives of many.  The implantable pacemaker addresses the medical concern of an irregular heartbeat.  More than three million people have an implantable pacemaker (U. S. Department of Veterans Affairs, 2018).  In addition, Greatbatch went on to invent a corrosion free lithium battery for his implantable pacemakers (LEMELS N-MIT, n.d.).  Throughout Wilson Greatbatch’s career he continued to focus on inventions that could improve human sustainability including HIV treatments and renewable energy (Intellectual Ventures, 2016).  Wilson Greatbatch was a true inventor as when he passed away in 2011, he held three hundred and twenty-five patents.

The cultural forces to improve healthcare and to extend the lives of humans led to this

discovery.  Although the discovery was due to an error in resistor size the focus on improving the quality of human life drove it and enabled others to assist with perfecting the discovery.  Wilson Greatbatch’s desire to not let an error dissuade him also influenced the discovery as Greatbatch realized the error but also realized the potential in hearing what sounded like a regular heartbeat. 

In both cases with Goodyear and Greatbatch the errors could have led to nothing but their ability to keep their minds open to the possibility assisted them in making life changing discoveries.  In addition, they continued to focus on perfecting their product from the accidental version to the version that could change lives.  Both Goodyear and Greatbatch’s accidental discoveries have led to additional discoveries in the areas of use for rubber and in new medical devices such as the external heart.  The ability for both individuals to see greater than the failure or accident has allowed both of them to influence and improve the lives of many.  The culture of people worldwide has been changed by their accidents and mistakes.

References

Bellis, M. (2018, December 23). Vulcanized rubber. https://www.thoughtco.com/vulcanized-rubber-1991862

CEW. (n.d.). John Dunlop, charles goodyear, and the history of tires. https://www.cewheelsinc.com/john-dunlop-charles-goodyear-history-tires.

Concordia University Texas. (2021, May 18). 9 successful inventions made by accident. https://www.concordia.edu/blog/9-successful-inventions-made-by-accident.html

Drucker, P. F. (2002, August). The discipline of innovation. Harvard Business Review. https://hbr.org/2002/08/the-discipline-of-innovation?cm_sp=article_-links_-comment

Intellectual Ventures. (2016, November 8). The heartbeat of invention: How pacemaker creator Wilson greatbatch saved countless lives. https://www.intellectualventures.com/buzz/insights/the-heartbeat-of-invention-how-pacemaker-creator-wilson-greatbatch-saved-co/

LEMELS N-MIT. (n.d.). Wilson greatbatch:  The implantable cardiac pacemaker. https://lemelson.mit.edu/resources/wilson-greatbatch

Martin’s Rubber Company. (2020, January 27). What is vulcanized rubber used for. https://www.martins-rubber.co.uk/blog/what-is-vulcanised-rubber-used-for/

Somma, A. M. (2014, December 2014). Charles goodyear and the vulcanization of rubber. https://connecticuthistory.org/charles-goodyear-and-the-vulcanization-of-rubber/

U. S. Department of Veterans Affairs. (2018, August 2). The invention of the cardiac pacemaker. https://www.research.va.gov/research_in_action/the-invention-of-the-cardiac-pacemaker.cfm

Yonatan, R. (2017, December 4). 12 famous accidental innovations. https://getvoip.com/blog/2017/12-famous-accidental-innovations/