Necessity isn't always the mother of invention.
Lots of the things we rely on to cure our diseases, cook our meals, and sweeten our days weren't designed — they were accidentally discovered.
Alyson Kreuger contributed additional research to this article.
Play-Doh
Inventor: Joseph McVicker, head of a Kutol Products Company, a soap manufacturer in Cincinnati, Ohio
What he was trying to make: In the early 1950s, Kutol created a doughy clay to take off soot in coal-burning homes. But as the Christian Science Monitor reports, people soon switched from coal to gas to warm their homes, and company was headed toward bankruptcy.
How it was created: McVicker learned that his schoolteacher sister was using the "dough" as a modeling clay in her classes. Eureka! It was a toy, not a cleaning product. By 1957, colored Play-Doh was sold at Macy's and hawked on kids' TV shows — turning its creators into millionaires.
Popsicles
Inventor: Frank Epperson, an 11-year-old
What he was trying to make: In 1905, Epperson was chilling out on the back porch of his family home in San Francisco. In a very fortunate case of playing with his food, Epperson was stirring powdered soda and water in a cup with a stick. He went inside for the night, but left the cup.
How it was created: The next morning, as Gizmodo writes, Epperson discovered a "sweet icicle on a stick." He named his invention after himself: the Eppsicle! He made them for his friends, and later his kids, who called it Pop's-icicle, or Popsicle. In 1923, he applied for a patent and the Popsicle was properly born — saving overheated Americans for many summers to come.
The Slinky
Inventor: Richard Jones, a naval engineer
What he was trying to make: In 1943, Jones was trying to design a meter to monitor power on battleships.
How it was created: Jones was working with tension springs when one of them fell to the ground. The spring kept bouncing from place to place after it hit the floor — the Slinky was born.
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