Champagne

Bubble Wrap (brand)

Bubble wrap, invented as wallpaper, failed; later became successful packaging material

Microwave oven

Percy Spencer invented the microwave oven accidentally

Croissants are not French

Croissants originated in Vienna, not France, as a celebration of defeating the Ottoman siege

Stephanie Kwolek invented Kevlar by accident while looking for a lighter tire fiber at DuPont in 1965

Stephanie Kwolek invented Kevlar by accident while looking for a lighter tire fiber at DuPont in 1965

Hot chocolate

Chocolate was a bitter drink in Mesoamerica for 3,000 years before Europeans added sugar

Discovery of penicillin

Alexander Fleming discovered penicillin by accident in 1928