Popsicles were invented by accident. Photo / Getty Images
Popsicles were invented by accident. Photo / Getty Images
Accidents happen. Sometimes, they result in a wine stain on your new white dress, or an embarrassing email sent to the wrong recipient. Other times, they beget delicious developments (sandwiches, we're looking at you). Here, we present a collection of our favorite "accidental" treats, so that the next time you reach for, say, a popsicle, you'll know exactly whom to thank.
1. Popsicles
Negligence never tasted so good, thanks to Frank Epperson. In 1905, the eleven-year-old boy left a cup filled with soda powder, water, and a stirring stick on his porch in San Francisco. Temperatures dropped overnight, the mixture froze, and Frank was left with an accidentally icy treat: the popsicle. The rest is history.
2. Beer
Cheers to the Mesopotamians, whom many believe stumbled upon beer about 10,000 years ago. Photo / Getty Images
It's difficult to pinpoint the exact moment in which beer was created, but many believe the popular beverage was conceived about 10,000 years ago by the Mesopotamians. The natives of Mesopotamia (modern-day Iran) found that the spaces in which they stored grains often became damp, fermenting their harvest - bad for bread, good for brew. It's unclear whose idea it was to sample the spoiled grains, but whoever it was, we thank them.
3. Coca Cola
Coca-Cola was once used in medicinal practices, specifically to alleviate headaches and nervous disorders. Photo / Getty Images
Now known as the bubbly beverage sold and served everywhere around the world, Coca-Cola was once used in medicinal practices, specifically to alleviate headaches and nervous disorders. In the 1880s, a pharmacist named John Pemberton created a brown syrup made of wine and coca extract (yes, like cocaine) that he dubbed "Pemberton's French Wine Coca." When Atlanta prohibited the sale of alcohol, Pemberton removed the wine from his creation, mixed the coca syrup with carbonated water, and came up with Coca Cola. That's how a "brain tonic" became the (now cocaine-free) soda we all know and love.
4. Sandwiches
According to historians we have gambling to thank for the glory of the sandwich. Photo / Getty Images
According to many historians, the sandwich - including the one you may be eating right now - was born out of a gambling problem. Apparently, John Montagu, the 4th Earl of Sandwich (a town in southeast England), spent a significant amount of time at the card table, and asked his cook to bring him something that he could eat while gambling. The cook obliged by bringing him meat between two slices of bread, which the Earl thoroughly enjoyed. The snack grew in popularity throughout England, eventually taking the name "sandwich" after Montagu's town. Thanks to one man's gambling habit, we can now all enjoy the deliciousness of paninis, po' boys, reubens, BLTs... Is it time for lunch yet?
5. Corn Flakes
Corn Flakes were a total - and very successful - fluke. Photo / Getty Images
Although a pretty basic staple, Kellogg's famous Corn Flakes cereal is surrounded by a slew of colorful conception myths. One source claims that John Harvey Kellogg - a Seventh-Day Adventist (a devotee of the Second Coming theory) and firm believer that sex and masturbation were sins - was on the hunt for an edible sex-drive-suppressor. He thought that plain foods, like cereal or nuts, would quash people's sexual appetites; after some experimentation, Corn Flakes came to be.
The Kellogg's official website tells a completely different story: Apparently, in a failed attempt to make granola, Kellogg accidentally flaked wheat berries. He kept experimenting until he flaked corn, and went on to create the recipe for Kellogg's Corn Flakes.
While the intriguing history of the famous cereal has yet to be confirmed, it seems like one thing is certain: Corn Flakes were a total - and very successful - fluke.
