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51 Accidental Inventions that Changed the World Paperback
Did you know? • Ice-lollies were invented when a little boy left a glass of soda water out on a chilly night. • Potato chips were the result of a chef wanting to teach an annoying customer a lesson. • And sandwiches were made when an Earl did not want to get his hands dirty while eating. This book is about the good stuff. The wonderful inventions we now cannot live without—from high-heels to tea-bags, pencils to x-rays, each story is an amazing mix of luck and a whole lot of perseverance and hard work. Imagine what our hot summers would be without ice-lolly? The horrors of never tasting potato chips! What would we do without our quick-fix Superglue? We hardly give a thought to the many little things we use every day. Don’t you think it’s time we learnt about a few stories of origin? Where do they come from? Who invented them and how? Learn about 51 fascinating stories of inventions in a book blending adorable, simple illustrations with lively text bursting with facts. Who knows, you might accidentally come up with an invention one day too!
- GenresEbooksNonfictionScience
224 pages, Paperback
First published October 1, 2019
222 people are currently reading
81 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
June 30, 2021
A good book covering many things that I studied during my schooling. Many of these inventors and their inventory were part of my syllabus.
A recommend read for kids
A recommend read for kids
June 14, 2021
"I would love to read this book to kids"
The stories about the accidental inventions are interesting. Just because it says accidental it does not mean there was no hard-work involved in it. We also need luck on our side. Many-a-times it is the necessity or our adverse conditions that lead to invention just like how white ink, pneumatic tyres or sanitary napkins were invented. Hence to quote from the book
"They show us luck and chance need to be reinforced with hard work to become an achievement". Also, the other thing I loved is that it has stories about female inventors as well. There was no bias. I would love to read such a book to kids.
The stories about the accidental inventions are interesting. Just because it says accidental it does not mean there was no hard-work involved in it. We also need luck on our side. Many-a-times it is the necessity or our adverse conditions that lead to invention just like how white ink, pneumatic tyres or sanitary napkins were invented. Hence to quote from the book
"They show us luck and chance need to be reinforced with hard work to become an achievement". Also, the other thing I loved is that it has stories about female inventors as well. There was no bias. I would love to read such a book to kids.
June 27, 2021
There's a likelihood of you being aware of the back stories for most of the inventions. Even so, the interesting titbits where you don't makes this a breezy read.
July 3, 2021
Infotainment page turner
It's an infotainment. Nicely woven information with deep research, background. You will find almost all your answers on who, how, when. I would recommend to read this to all story tellers so that they could ignite many more young minds as well their own
It's an infotainment. Nicely woven information with deep research, background. You will find almost all your answers on who, how, when. I would recommend to read this to all story tellers so that they could ignite many more young minds as well their own
April 22, 2020
Textbook style writing meant for kids. The author is highly impressed with western "inventions". Though to her credit, she's also mentioned the chinese!!
February 10, 2024
There are some very interesting stories of inventions that we see all around us in this book. The fact that many of them came about while the inventors were trying to do something else entirely is what qualifies them as 'accidental' though this takes nothing away from their efforts.
So many everyday products that we cannot imagine our current lives without, like pneumatic tyres, velcro, paper, pencils, penicillin and even chips and sandwiches have some intriguing origin stories that the author has put some effort into researching and presenting here.
The target audience of middle graders and younger would definitely find these tales inspiring; particularly the ones featuring qualities like perseverance, curiosity and a questioning mind from childhood that enabled new discoveries. The illustrations add to the appeal.
I do wish, however, that the book had better editing because apart from some grammatical errors, there are also some issues with dates mentioned changing from one line to the next! This definitely jars especially given the factual nature of the book.
So many everyday products that we cannot imagine our current lives without, like pneumatic tyres, velcro, paper, pencils, penicillin and even chips and sandwiches have some intriguing origin stories that the author has put some effort into researching and presenting here.
The target audience of middle graders and younger would definitely find these tales inspiring; particularly the ones featuring qualities like perseverance, curiosity and a questioning mind from childhood that enabled new discoveries. The illustrations add to the appeal.
I do wish, however, that the book had better editing because apart from some grammatical errors, there are also some issues with dates mentioned changing from one line to the next! This definitely jars especially given the factual nature of the book.
January 19, 2022
This reads as a children's book?
The section on Teflon should be rewritten. There is a possible risk of flu-like symptoms from breathing in fumes from an overheated Teflon-coated pan. Worse, the material: Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS) are the most investigated substances of the group of per- and polyfluorinated chemicals (PFCs). Whereas for PFOS regulatory measures are already in force on international level (inclusion in Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants) such activities are missing for PFOA. The environmental concerns of PFOA, which are summarized in the present study, underline the necessity of regulatory measures on an international level for PFOA. Since it seems more likely to agree on a regulation within the European Union first, a regulatory strategy based on the European chemicals regulation REACH (EC No. 1907/2006), is discussed in the present study.
The section on Teflon should be rewritten. There is a possible risk of flu-like symptoms from breathing in fumes from an overheated Teflon-coated pan. Worse, the material: Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS) are the most investigated substances of the group of per- and polyfluorinated chemicals (PFCs). Whereas for PFOS regulatory measures are already in force on international level (inclusion in Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants) such activities are missing for PFOA. The environmental concerns of PFOA, which are summarized in the present study, underline the necessity of regulatory measures on an international level for PFOA. Since it seems more likely to agree on a regulation within the European Union first, a regulatory strategy based on the European chemicals regulation REACH (EC No. 1907/2006), is discussed in the present study.
August 31, 2022
Casual and easily digestible, but provides little value except for powerpoint story perhaps.
The theme of "Accidental" is neither clearly defined nor consistently articulated.
Microwave was invented because the founder found his chocolate melted, and then rigorously improved and tested it. Was it accidental invention or accidental event that led to an invention?
Even more ridiculous, high heels was included because medieval nobles 'accidentaly' found ambassadors wearing practical tall shoes?
On the other hand, I rather like play-doh story where it was intended as putty substance that helped clean scraped wallpaper. It was invented, then it had 'accidental' side uses, and become famous in unintended way.
Overall, it was almost okay in my book.
The theme of "Accidental" is neither clearly defined nor consistently articulated.
Microwave was invented because the founder found his chocolate melted, and then rigorously improved and tested it. Was it accidental invention or accidental event that led to an invention?
Even more ridiculous, high heels was included because medieval nobles 'accidentaly' found ambassadors wearing practical tall shoes?
On the other hand, I rather like play-doh story where it was intended as putty substance that helped clean scraped wallpaper. It was invented, then it had 'accidental' side uses, and become famous in unintended way.
Overall, it was almost okay in my book.
December 21, 2021
New knowledge to gain
I like this book as I got new knowledge. I also recommend it to people who like to be intelligent. Though the book was long, I like the accidental inventions that the people had made. Thus I give it a 5-star rating.
I like this book as I got new knowledge. I also recommend it to people who like to be intelligent. Though the book was long, I like the accidental inventions that the people had made. Thus I give it a 5-star rating.
April 27, 2022
A nicely written collection of serendipity that really has made an impact in the world and the lives of many people. Some of them were new information to me. Some were things that I already knew but reading them again was good!
April 14, 2020
A good book for high school kids
March 14, 2022
not the wordplays in headings LOL
May 15, 2022
Good Book
Book is so good not only for children as well as for adults. Most of the facts people are not even aware of.
Book is so good not only for children as well as for adults. Most of the facts people are not even aware of.
May 29, 2022
Just okay
This book is just okay. Not recommended for serious reading. Just time passes for children . Please give it a read if u just want to pass your time
This book is just okay. Not recommended for serious reading. Just time passes for children . Please give it a read if u just want to pass your time
August 1, 2022
Great gift for an elementary school kid, highly recommend.
September 23, 2022
3.5 stars
May 15, 2025
This book contains a collection of many interesting inventions, arranged alphabetically. It's a nice read and I quite enjoyed it. Although none of it mentioned any Indian invention and for a book written by an Indian, it was a bit disappointing.
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews