Serendipity, Error, Exaptation Examples

Greetings to all,

Serendipity

A serendipitous discovery that turned out to be good or useful was the invention of the microwave oven. In the year 1945, 
an American engineer by the name of Percy Spencer was testing magnetrons using high-powered vacuum tubes inside a 
radar system. One day Spencer was working near a magnetron that was producing microwaves while Spencer had a peanut 
butter candy bar in his pocket. While working with the magnetron Spencer noticed that his candy bar had melted and 
shortly after Spencer’s research lead to the invention of the microwave oven (Tweedie, 2015).   

Error

A discovery that came about through an error is that of the discovery of penicillin. On September 3^rd, 1928, Alexander 
Fleming returned from vacation to his lab to discover in one of his Petri dishes that had contained Staphylococcus 
bacteria had an unusual spec of mold growing inside of it. This mold he noticed had caused the inhabitation of bacteria
 growth around the mold. Through further experimentation, Fleming found that his mold had the capability of killing a 
large amount of different harmful bacteria. This mold would later go on to be what we know today as penicillin (ACS, 
1999).  

Exaptation

A discovery that fits the description of exaptation or repurposing to achieve something new is that of Listerine. In 
1860 Louis Pasteur’s had a theory that germs were the cause of a wide range of infections that affected medical patients. 
Inspired by this theory Doctor Joseph Lister in 1865 performed operations in a chamber sterilized by an antiseptic and as
 a result, the mortality rate at the facility began to decrease. As a result of this discovery in 1879 Dr. Joseph Lawrence 
developed created what we now know today as Listerine mouthwash, with the original intent of it being primarily using 
surgeries and bathing wounds. After its invention was it realized that this product could also be used as a mouthwash to
sterilize the mouth (LISTERINE, 2015).

Meaning of the Terms

For me serendipity is simply something that is found to be of use in one way or another; I have read about numerous 
examples discoveries being useful or beneficial, this can range from the invention of the automobile to solar panels. 
Errors, as they pertain to discoveries, are mistakes that lead to the accidental invention of something else; the perfect 
example of this that I have read so for is that of the pacemaker (Williamson, 2011). Exaptation is the utilization of a 
discovery intended for a specific purpose and using it for something else other than its original intent. With 
exaptation, I have to laugh and think about how books are sometimes used as TV stands or boxes as tables as that
 is not the purpose of their design but that is what they are used for in some cases.  

References

ACS. (1999). Discovery and development of penicillin . Retrieved from ACS: American Chemistry Society : 
https://www.acs.org/content/acs/en/education/whatischemistry/landmarks/flemingpenicillin.html

LISTERINE. (2015). From surgery antiseptic to modern mouthwash. Retrieved from Listerine: 
http://www.listerine.com/about

Tweedie, S. (2015, July 03). How the microwave was invented by a radar engineer who accidentally cooked a candy
 bar in his pocket. Retrieved from Business Insider: http://www.businessinsider.com/how-the-microwave-oven-
was-invented-by-accident-2015-4

Williamson, M. (2011, September 29). Wilson Greatbatch: Inventor of the implantable cardiac pacemaker. 
Retrieved from Independent: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/wilson-greatbatch-inventor-of-the
-implantable-cardiac-pacemaker-2363206.html