Rensselaer Republican, Volume 13, Number 27, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 24 March 1881 — Discoveries Made by Accident. [ARTICLE]

Discoveries Made by Accident.

Valuable discoveries have been made, and valuable fuTtmtinna imjiaatod by the veriest accident. . The swaying to and fro of a chandelier in a cathedral suggested to Galileo the application of the pendulum. Mezzotint owed its invention to the simple accident of the gun-barrel of a sentry becoming rusted with dew. An alchemist, while seeking to discover a mixture of earths that would make the most durable crucibles, One day found that he had made porcelain. The power of lenses, as applied to the telescope, was discovered by a watch-mak-er's apprentice. While holding spectacleglasses between his thumb and finger, he was startled at the suddenly-enlarged appearance of a neighboring church-spire. The composition of which printing-rol-lers are made was discovered by a Solopian ? printer. Not being able to find the peltball, he inked the type with a soft piece of lue which had fidlen (rat of a glue-pot., t was such an excellent substitute that after mixing molasses with the glue, to give the -mass proper consistency, the old x pelt-ball was entirely discarded.

The procesrafwhitening sugar was discovered in a curumi way. A hen that had gone through a clay puddle went with her muddy feet into a sugar house. She left her tracks on a pile of sugar. It was noticed that wherever the tracks were the sugar was whitened. Experiments were instituted, and the result was that wet day came to be used in refining sugar. The art of etching upon glass was discovered by a Nuremberg glass-cutter. By accident, a few drops of aqua fortis fell upon his spectacles He noticed that the glass became corroded and softened where the acid had touched IL That was hint enough. He drew figures upon glass with varnish, applied the corroding fluid, then cut away the glass around the drawing. When the varnish was removed, the figures appeared raised upon a dark ground. The shop of a Dublin tobacconist, by the name of Lundyfoot, was destroyed by fire. While he was gazing doleftilly into the smouldering ruins, he noticed that his poorer neighbors were gathering the snuff from the canisters. He tested the snuff for himself, and discovered that the fire had largely improved its pungency and aroma. It was a hint worth profiting by. He secured another shop, built a lot of ovens, subjected the snuff to a heating process, gave the brand a particular name, and in a few years became rich through an accident which he at first thought had completely ruined him. The art of lithographing was perfected f through suggestions made by accident. A poor musician was curious to know whether music could not be etched upon stone as well as upon copper. After he had pre"pared his slab, his mother asked him to makes memorandum of such clothes as she proposed sending away to be washed. Not having pen, ink and paper convenient, he wrote the list on the stone with the etching preparation, intending tq make a copy of it at leisure. A few days later, wnen about to dean the stone, he wondered what effect aqua fortis would Kave upon it He applied the add, and in a few minutes saw the writing standing out in relief. The next step necessary was simply to ink the stone and take off an impression. A Brighton stationer took a fancy for dressing 'his show-window with piles of writing paper, rising gradually from the largest to the smallest size in use; and to finisn his pyramid off nicely, he cutcards Ur bring them to a point. Taking these cards for diminutive notepaper, lady customers were continually wanting some of “that lovely little paper,” and the stationer found it advantageous to cut paper to the desired pattern. As there was no space for addressing the notelets after they were folded, he, after much thought, invented the envdope, which he cut by the aid of metal plates made for the purpose. The sale increased so rapidly that he was unable to produce the envelopes fast enough, so he commissioned a dozen houses to make them for him, and thus set going an important branch of the manufacturing stationary trade. Tho origin of blue-tinted paper came about by a mere slip of the hand. The wife of William East, an English papermaker, accidently let a blue hag fell into* one of the vats of pulp. The workmen were astonished when they saw the peculiar color of the paper, while Mr. East was highly incensed over what he considered a grave pecuniary loss. His wife was so much frightened that she would not confess her agency in the matter. After storing the damaged paper for four yean, Mr. East sent it to his agent at London, with instructions to sell it for what it would bring. The paper was accepted as a “proposed novelty, and was disposed of at quite an advance over the market price. Mr. East was astonished at receiving an order from his agent for another large invoice of the paper. He was without the secret, and found himself in a dilemma. Upon mentioning it to his wife, she told him about the accident. He kept the secret, and the demand for the novel tint for exceeded his ability to supply it