Like what happened to this group of Swedish scientists. According to the British newspaper The Independent, they left their equipment switched on over the weekend by accident and ended up creating a synthetic form of the world's most absorbent material.
Their experiments to create what they now call Upsalite were not going well till the cock-up happened. Johan Gomez de la Torre, researcher at the Uppsala University, said: "A Thursday afternoon in 2011... by mistake (we) left the material in the reaction chamber. Back at work on Monday morning we discovered that a rigid gel had formed and after drying this gel we started to get excited."
The breakthrough has far-reaching commercial applications, including cleaning up huge oil spills.
It might also have been by chance that the US engineer William Percy had a bar of chocolate in his pocket when he visited a factory which produced equipment for radars. It was during the Second World War. Percy was intrigued when the sweet melted and he decided to investigate.
The scientist observed the effect the equipment had on popcorn and other foods and invented another machine with similar technology. It was the precursor to the microwaves we see today.
But we can't talk about accidental breakthroughs in science without mentioning the Scottish bacteriologist Alexander Fleming, who discovered penicillin, the first antibiotic, in 1928. Fleming came back to his laboratory after a holiday and observed a strange phenomenon in a dish used to grow microbes. He noticed a bacteria free circle around a growth of mould and realised that the mould was acting as an antibiotic killing the bacteria around it.
Maybe being absent-minded isn't a problem as long as you have the curiosity of a scientist. Get used to observing your surroundings. Who knows where it might lead?
Quiz 測驗 1. What happened to the group of Swedish scientists?
They forgot to switch off their equipment when they left for the weekend.
2. Where was William Percy when his bar of chocolate melted?
He was visiting a factory which produced radars.
3. Who is Alexander Fleming?
The Scottish bacteriologist who discovered the first antibiotic.
4. Why were there no bacteria around the mould?
Because something in the mould had killed the bacteria.
5. What word is used in the article to refer to something which was not created by nature?
Synthetic.
Glossary 词汇表 absent-minded心不在焉的 to achieve取得（成就） synthetic合成的，人造的 absorbent吸水的 an experiment一個試驗 a cock-up一個差錯 a breakthrough一個突破 commercial application商業應用 by chance偶然地，無意之中 intrigued引起興趣的，被迷住了 to investigate（動詞）調查 a precursor前身 penicillin盤尼西林（青霉素） an antibiotic一種抗生素 a phenomenon一種現象 a microbe一種微生物
