Most of the inventions take years and years to bear fruit. And yet, sometimes people get to taste success in the most unexpected ways. So, here are a few foods that were accidental discoveries.
Whether it is popsicles or potato chips, they have become our comfort days, and they are a result of some divine intervention.
Popsicles
The popsicles were the accidental discovery of an 11-year-old. Well, no wonder that a food that youngsters so love was an accidental discovery by a youngster. In 1905, on a frigid evening, a young Franck Epperson left behind powdered soda water along with a stir stick on his porch. He was in for a great surprise the following day, an icy one!
After 17 years, Epperson started distributing his icy creation around his neighborhood, and people loved it! The success of the icy popsicles became an instant hit, and his cool creation was a hit in the amusement park to garner immediate success.
After becoming an adult, he filed a patent for his popsicle. Although owing to his financial trouble, he sold off his patent to Joe Lowe Co. Over the years, the popularity of popsicles has not waned, and people still cannot have enough of this icy treat.
Ice Cream Cones
The discovery of ice cream cones makes us believe the age-old adage. Necessity is the mother of invention. And a person at a county fair came up with the idea of ice cream cones when there was a dish shortage. Although an Italian guy (Italo Marchiony) takes the credit for creating this sweet treat, however, it was the humble guy from a county fair who made this treat hugely popular.
At the St. Louis World’s Fair, a vendor ran out of dishes serving ice creams. Ernest Hamwi, a Syrian concessionaire, was selling waffle-like pastries at the adjacent booth.
The ice cream vendor thought on his feet and rolled the waffles into a cone shape after cooling them for a few minutes. The man’s ice cream cones soon began flying off the vendors’ stall. No wonder it became an instant hit with the people at the fair, and soon the popsicle fever caught on the entire world.
Potato Chips
George Crum created this salty success, and it became a bonafide hit among the people who were craving a snack that could cater to their hunger pangs way back in 1853. Crum was a chef who worked at a posh Moon Lake Lodge Resort in Saratoga Springs, New York. People loved french fries at the restaurant. However, one customer complained about the thickness of the fries.
Crum made them thinner, but he still couldn’t satisfy the fussy customer. Crum then made his fries reed-thin to irritate the customer. Well, not only was the customer happy, but this salty guilty pleasure managed to floor the world over. He named it Saratoga Chips and was available at various grocery stores by 1895.
Corn Flakes
Your favorite breakfast cereal has a history too. In 1898, W.K Kellogg and his brother Dr. John Harvey Kellogg made granola treats for patients being treated at the sanitarium. They wanted to create something that would cater to the taste buds of the vegetarian. They were cooking wheatberry in the kitchen and forgot about it. This led to the flaking of the kernels. Excited with their discovery, they began experimenting with other grains to find out what would come out of them.
And as they came upon corns, they were able to come upon something that would become extremely popular. The puffed corn took on a delectable crunchy texture and wholesome look, which became extremely popular. W.K Kellogg founded the “Battle Creek Toasted Corn Flake Company,” the precursor to Kellogg’s, and started boxing the cereal.
It soon became a breakfast staple and began to be sold as the perfect healthy meal, changing how people perceived breakfast. To this day, few people have been able to develop a food that is more delicious and convenient than corn flakes. Healthy or not, nothing tastes as good as crunchy corn flakes, cold, creamy milk, topped off with your favorite fruits and nuts.
These food discoveries, though accidental, have made a permanent place in people’s menu! And that goes to show its tremendous success!
