ACCIDENTS THAT CHANGED THE WORLD
Alexander Fleming noticed this growing in a laboratory dish, eventually leading to the discovery of penicillin.
What is mold?
Long before becoming associated with Italian cooking, tomatoes originated on these continents.
What are the Americas?
The tiny extra pocket on traditional jeans was originally intended to hold one of these.
What is a pocket watch?
Adults normally have this many bones in their skeleton.
What is 206?
Before alarm clocks became common, a “knocker-upper” was hired to perform this morning task.
What is wake people up?
A drink accidentally left outside overnight with a stirring stick helped inspire this frozen treat.
What is a Popsicle?
Coffee's origins are traditionally traced to this African country.
What is Ethiopia?
Raised bumps on the F and J keys help users do this without looking at the keyboard.
What is position their fingers for typing?
This is the largest internal organ in the human body.
What is the liver?
Before home refrigerators were common, this worker delivered large frozen blocks to people's homes.
Who is an iceman?
Percy Spencer's work with radar technology helped lead to the invention of this kitchen appliance.
What is the microwave oven?
Potatoes were first cultivated thousands of years ago in this South American mountain range.
What are the Andes?
The small arrow beside the fuel-pump symbol on many dashboards indicates this.
What is which side the fuel door is on?
This transparent front portion of the eye has no blood vessels.
What is the cornea?
This worker walked city streets each evening lighting gas lamps.
Who is a lamplighter?
Chemist Constantin Fahlberg discovered this artificial sweetener after noticing an unexpectedly sweet taste on his hand.
What is saccharin?
Cacao was consumed by civilizations including the Maya and this later Mesoamerican empire.
What is the Aztec Empire?
The ridged edges of many coins historically helped reveal when someone had done this to precious-metal coins.
What is clipped or shaved the edges?
This powerful jaw muscle helps close the jaw during chewing.
What is the masseter?
These workers manually connected telephone calls by plugging cords into switchboards.
Who are telephone operators?
Wilhelm Röntgen discovered this form of radiation while experimenting with electrical equipment in 1895.
What are X-rays?
The French croissant was influenced by crescent-shaped pastries associated with this European country.
What is Austria?
The little hole near the top of many padlocks allows water to drain and can also be used for this maintenance task.
What is lubrication?
Humans share roughly 98 to 99 percent of their DNA with this great ape.
What is the chimpanzee?
Before newspapers and electronic media were widespread, this person loudly announced official news in public places.
Who is a town crier?