The Unique Origins of Many Popular Products
Happy accidents make good inventions. Spills, explosions, odd chemical reactions, and plain old forgetfulness produced some of today’s most practical products.
Origins of Gatorade - In the early 1960s, University of Florida Gators football coach Ray Graves grew tired of watching his players grow tired in the tropical summer heat. When he asked his team doctor for help, Dr. Robert Cade inspired a research team to create a hydrating mixture of water, salt, sugar, lemon juice, potassium, and phosphate.
Dr. Robert Cade invented the formula for Gatorade.
After Dr. Cade invented Gatorade, he offered rights to the drink to the University of Florida but the university turned him down. He then signed a deal with Stokley-Van Camp (now PepsiCo) and began selling it.
Origins of Velcro
After a 1941 hunting trip, Swiss engineer George de Mestral and his dog were both covered in burdock burrs. De Mestral examined some of the burrs under a microscope. He found that their hook-shaped spikes would latch onto loops in fur, hair, or clothing, making them incredibly sticky. He realized that materials could be bound together in the same way, if the hooks and loops were constructed properly.
Origins of the Bra
New York socialite Mary Phelps Jacob patented the modern bra as the result of an unsuitable corset. When she found her whalebone corset poking out of an evening gown before an event, Phelps used silk handkerchiefs and ribbon to build herself a primitive bra. When friends and strangers started asking for their own bras, Phelps knew she was onto something. In 1914, she patented her “Backless Brassiere,” then started a business that sold it.
Origins of the Microwave
In 1945, Raytheon engineer and inventor Percy Spencer stood in front of a magnetron—a radar component—and noticed a chocolate bar start to melt in his pocket. Curious about the magnetron’s potential, Spencer obtained a bag of popcorn kernels and watched them pop next to the magnetron. The microwave oven was born.
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