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Proof that some errors are not

mistakes—just happy accidents.

by Nick D’Alto

To avoid all mistakes in the conduct of great enterprises is beyond man’s powers.

–Fabius Maximus, Roman politician

(c. 275 B.C.– 203 B.C.) Most people try to avoid making mistakes, yet psychologists say that learning from our mistakes can help us to lead happier lives. In fact, the history of innovation is filled with tales of goofs that turned into happy accidents, from penicillin (discovered when an experiment acquired bread mold) to Silly Putty (a failed attempt to invent artificial rubber) to the microwave oven (inspired when radar equipment melted a worker’s chocolate bar), to name but a few.

Make no mistake about this: You can learn how to
benefit from your blunders. So take note of these ten
tips and timeless words of wisdom that can help us all
to make successful errors.

1
When you don’t
get what you
WANT, want
what you GET.

■ In the 1930s, DuPont chemist Roy Plunkett was trying to develop a better

refrigerator. The chemical he created to be a coolant failed to perform as expected; it was too slippery. Rather than throw it out, Plunkett considered other uses. Today, we know this chemical as a nonstick coating: Teflon.

–illustrations: Eldon Doty

You must make your
own blunders, must
cheerfully accept your
own mistakes as part of
the scheme of things.

–Minnie Fiske, American actress (1865–1932)