Serendipity, Errors, and Exaptation Innovations
A recent maxwell commercial appeals to customers about the many ways used coffee grounds can be used for common household fixes and a beauty product including degreaser, pan scrubber, natural wood stains, hair volumizer facewash, etc. Further investigation shows that the coffee by-product can also be used as a pest repellent, body scrubber, candles, deodorizer (Oden, n.d.). It makes us wonder how something that is meant to be thrown away can be turned into something useful. Some curious minds must have experimented with the by-product and discovered its new usages. The same concept was probably true for soap and its many deviations, including dish detergent, shampoo, body wash, laundry detergent, etc. Many manufactures benefit from the creation of soap. The alternative use and benefits were probably heavily researched or discovered by other means such as serendipity, error, or exaptation.
Error in
terms of innovation is the discovery of something new due to an error or failure
in creating something else. In 1968, a
scientist named Spencer Silver in an attempt to create an extra-strong adhesive
ended up creating just the opposite, a very weak adhesive that would easily peel
off (Greenwald, 2018). No one thought of
any use of the product until another scientist thought that the little pieces of
paper could be used as bookmarks for his church songs. Serendipity in terms of innovation is the unintended
discovery of something good or useful from something. The term is very much similar to creation from
error, except that there was no failure involved. The term would best describe the discovery of
penicillin. In 1929, Dr. Alexander
Fleming discovered the antibiotic by chance when he left out a culture of
Staphylococcus aureus in his lab for two weeks and returned to find the culture
growth inhibited by a mold called Penicillium notatum. Exaptation in terms of innovation is the repurpose
of a thing into something else with an entirely different use. During World War I, doctors created wadding
pads known as Cellucotton to heal and dress wounds (Taibi, 2017). Many Red Cross nurses found that it makes
great feminine care protection pads. As a result, Kotex was born.
References
Greenwald, M. (2018). 30
Life-Changing Inventions That Were Totally Accidental. https://bestlifeonline.com/accidental-inventions/
Oden, T. (n.d.). 8 Amazing
Things To Do With Your Used Coffee Grounds. https://www.javapresse.com/blogs/enjoying-coffee/8-things-to-do-with-used-coffee-grounds
Taibi, C. (2017). 12
Amazing Inventions Created Entirely By Accident. https://www.huffpost.com/entry/amazing-products_n_3749564#:~:text=%2012%20Amazing%20Inventions%20Created%20Entirely%20By%20Accident,a%20super%20adhesive..%20In%201968%2C%20while...%20More%20
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