From The Mind of Merc - Inventions (Accidental)

Sometimes I find my mind wandering over various eclectic topics and occasionally I am inspired to write some of them down. Today, following on from last month's post about killer inventions, I was thinking about inventions that came about by accident.
It's amazing how many familiar products came about by sheer fluke.

Here are a few examples of those lucky enough to create something successful by accident:

Slinky – Inventor: Richard Jones
– He was actually trying to make a meter to monitor power on battleships using tension springs
Penicillin – Inventor: Alexander Fleming
– He was actually trying to make a wonder drug - penicillin was discovered on a dish he threw away
Choc chip cookies – Inventor: Ruth Wakefield
– She was actually trying to make normal chocolate cookies but the bits didn't melt
Crisps – Inventor: George Crum
– He was actually trying to make a plate of fried potato that a customer insisted needed to be thinner
Pacemaker – Inventor: John Hopps
– He was actually trying to make a way to use radio frequency to restore body temperature
Silly Putty – Inventor: James Wright
– He was actually trying to make a rubber substitute out of silicon during WWII
Microwave – Inventor: Percy Spencer
– He was actually trying to make a radar related project
Saccharin – Inventor: Constantine Fahlberg
– She was actually trying to make a oxidisation experiment - a chemical spill lead to a sweet discovery
Fireworks – Inventor: chef in China
– He was actually trying to make a new cooking experiment using charcoal, sulphur and saltpetre
Scotchgard – Inventor: Patsy Sherman
– She was actually trying to make a rubber material that would be resistant to exposure from jet fuels
Cornflakes – Inventor: John and Will Kellogg
– They were actually trying to make boiled grain but they left it on the stove too long
LSD – Inventor: Albert Hofmann
– He was actually trying to make lysergic acid derivatives and accidentally swallowed some
Post-its – Inventor: Spencer Silver
– He was actually trying to make a strong adhesive and ended up with the opposite result
X Rays – Inventor: Wilhelm Rontgen
– He was actually trying to make advances in cathodic ray tube experiments
Inkjet printer – Inventor: Canon engineer
– He was actually wasn't trying to make anything - he was on a break but rested his hot iron on his pen

Who knows what other coincidental creations will be made in the future 

From The Mind of Merc - Helmets

Sometimes I find my mind wandering over various eclectic topics and occasionally I am inspired to write some of them down. Today I was thinking about cycle helmets. To my mind, there is no reason why someone wouldn’t wear a cycle helmet.

The only excuses I’ve ever heard run as follows:

-    It’ll mess up my hair 

      – And an accident will mess up your head

-    It’s inconvenient 

      – Not as inconvenient as a brain injury

-    It’s uncomfortable 

      – Find one that isn’t (Also, if it’s uncomfortable, that could well mean it doesn’t fit properly)

-    It’s not a legal requirement 

      – Neither were seatbelts in cars but you wouldn’t dream of travelling without one of those nowadays

-    If it were it would mean less people would cycle 

      – It would also mean less people would die

-    It’s not cool 

      – Neither’s a coma

-    I can’t afford one 

      – Can you afford the medical and rehabilitation bills for a brain injury?

-    It’ll never happen to me 

      – Tell that to the people who thought the same (oh wait, you can’t)

They were not invented as an inconvenience or time waster – they were invented as a life saver and they do exactly what they’re supposed to do.

According to statistics, cycle helmets reduce the risk of serious head injury by up to 88%. What this effectively means is that in an accident, if you’re wearing a helmet, you have an 88% less chance of dying.

In case you hadn’t noticed – a car is a lot harder than you or your bike. In a fight between you and a car – you will come off worst. Why would you run the risk of permanent debilitating injury and the implications that can have for you and your family for the sake of wearing a small domed-shaped object on your head?

For further examples of why helmets are so important, visit this page: https://www.buzzfeed.com/daves4/helmets?utm_term=.kv8ANkVQe#.norK8aNXE

Still think they’re a waste of time, money, effort?