Serendipity in Science
• G.D. Searle & Company chemist James Schlatter accidentally ingested Aspartame (NutraSweet) while developing a test for an anti-ulcer drug.
• Viagra (sildenafil citrate) was found to induce erections in male test subjects while being evaluated as a cure for hypertension and angina.
• A Raytheon scientist, Percy Spencer, noticed that a candy bar in his pocket had melted while he was testing a magnetron for radar sets, giving birth to the microwave oven.
• And straying a little beyond science, Christopher Columbus was, of course, looking for a new way to India in 1492, which is why Native Americans are called Indians.
Not every serendipitous discovery is so obviously beneficial as penicillin. For instance, 50 years earlier, heroin was first synthesized, accidentally, also at St. Mary’s Hospital.
Barry Evans (barryevans9@yahoo.com) wonders if it isn’t all* serendipity. The collection of his first 80 “Field Notes” columns is available directly from him or from Eureka Books. Also, he will be talking about his column at the Humboldt County Library Main Branch, in Eureka, this Saturday at 1:30 p.m.
*
→ post a comment
Recent field notes
May 17
Eclipse Lore
May 10
Early Animal-rights Artist?
May 3
Six Rivers (By Any Other Name)
Today
Lanphere Dunes Restoration
STAFF PICK / outdoors / 9:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Meet at Pacific Union School. Help remove non-native invasives at the Lanphere Dunes Unit of the Humboldt Bay National Wildlife Refuge. Tools and gloves provided, wear work clothes and bring water. Carpool to the protected site. 444-1397.
44th Annual Kinetic Grand Championship Race
STAFF PICK / events, art, outdoors, sports, for kids, free / 9 a.m.-6 p.m. A 3-day, 42-mile kinetic sculpture race over land, sand, mud and water! LeMans start at the Noon Whistle on the Arcata Plaza. Follow the race through Manila, Eureka and into Ferndale on Memorial Day for the Glorious Finish. kineticgrandchampionship.com. 889-3024.
Open Gardens
outdoors / 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Humboldt Botanical Gardens, College of the Redwoods, Eureka. Roam the 44-acre fully fenced property. $5. www.hbgf.org. 442-5139.
Organic Gardening Seminar
garden / 11 a.m.-1 p.m. Shafer's Ace Hardware and Garden Center, 2760 E St., Eureka. Free lecture by Duncan McNeill on how to create a healthy environment and healthy soils for your plant’s roots. E-mail shafers@sbcglobal.net. 442-5734.
More →
0 Comments