The microwave oven was invented by mistake.


Happy Accidents Accidents happen, and sometimes they can lead to inventions. One aſt ernoon in 1946, Percy Spencer was working in his lab. He was trying to create a powerful radar set for airplanes. During a test of a new device, something strange happened. T e candy bar in Spencer’s pants pocket melted. Spencer wondered why the candy was


melting. He also wondered what would happen if he put other items in front of the device. Next, he tried a bag of corn kernels. To his surprise, popcorn sputtered, cracked, and popped all over the lab. Both the candy and the popcorn were being


exposed to energy. Spencer made a metal box to hold this energy. When he put food inside, the energy cooked it. Spencer had invented something that would revolutionize cooking, the microwave oven.


Looking for a Use Inventors don’t always know what to do with their inventions. T at’s what happened with the invention of self-sticking notes. In 1968, Spencer Silver developed a type of


glue for his company. It was sticky, but not too sticky. He couldn’t think of a good use for it. For years, no one used the formula for the glue. One day, a coworker named Arthur Fry


remembered the glue. Fry liked to sing. He used bookmarks in his music book to mark his songs. Yet he oſt en lost his place because the bookmarks fell out. What he needed, he thought, was a better marker.


Changing the World Fry put a little of Silver’s glue on small slips of yellow paper. T e self-sticking notes worked perfectly. Today, this invention comes in dozens of colors, and is sold in more than 100 countries. Inventors don’t always know what will come


from their work. Many are driven to solve problems. Some want to make a better world or an easier life for those around them. Some create their inventions by accident. Today, in living rooms and labs all around


the world, inventors are hard at work. T ey are mixing their curiosity with their creativity. T rough hard work and persistence, they may create something new. Who knows what the next invention will be?


Wordwise


invention: an original device, system, or process


model: a small object, that represents in detail another, often larger, object


patent: an offi cial paper that gives an inventor the right to be the only one to make, use, and sell an invention for a certain time


prototype: an early model of something


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