Tag Archives: accidental inventions

Laminated Safety Glass was Invented by Accident

Today I found out laminated glass, also known as “Safety Glass”, was invented by accident. Laminated glass can be found in car windshields, bank teller protective barriers, and a variety of other places where shatterproof glass is a necessity. This type of safety glass was invented by Frenchman Édouard Bénédictus.  Bénédictus is probably more popularly remembered for his art, but […]

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The Slinky was Originally Intended to be Used as a Tension Spring in a Battleship Engine Horsepower Meter

Note: This is a guest article contributed by frequent TIFO visitor and owner of DumpADay, Jon. Today I found the Slinky was originally intended to be used as a tension spring in a battleship engine horsepower meter. In 1943, Richard James, a marine engineer in a Philadelphia shipyard, was working at his desk, developing a special meter designed to monitor […]

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