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Jun 21 2012

10 Accidental Inventions: By the Numbers

37 min 3 movies discussed
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Every once in a while Chuck and Josh do things by the numbers and here's a good example. Turns out a surprising amount of ubiquitous items in our everyday lives were stumbled upon by accident. This episode explores a few of the more noteworthy ones.

AI Summary

In this episode of Stuff You Should Know, Josh and Chuck dive into 10 fascinating accidental inventions that changed the world. From Albert Hofmann's unexpected discovery of LSD while working with ergot fungus to the Kellogg brothers stumbling upon corn flakes at their sanitarium, the hosts explore how some of humanity's most important innovations came about completely by chance. They cover everything from dynamite and penicillin to Velcro and Viagra, sharing the surprising stories behind these world-changing accidents and the inventors who turned happy mistakes into revolutionary products.


Movies Discussed

Little Miss Sunshine
Little Miss Sunshine
2006 1h 42m
★ 7.7
"That's like Little Miss Sunshine wacky. — Josh compared a listener's family story about smuggling marijuana for medical purposes to the wacky family dynamics in this movie." — Josh
Oscar
Oscar
1991 1h 49m
★ 6.3
"Sylvester Stallone in that terrible movie where he plays a good gangster. Oh yeah, Oscar. — Josh referenced this Sylvester Stallone movie while discussing spats (shoe covers) in relation to the Battle Creek Toasted Corn Flakes Company name." — Josh
The Road to Wellville
The Road to Wellville
1994 1h 58m
★ 5.6
"Is fictionalized in the T.C. Boyle book, The Road to Wellville. — Chuck mentioned this movie adaptation of T.C. Boyle's book when discussing the accidental invention of Corn Flakes by the Kellogg brothers." — Chuck

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