FORTUNES BY ACCIDENT.

New Zealand Mail, Issue 1156, 27 April 1894, Page 29

FORTUNES BY ACCIDENT.

SOME REMARKABLE STORIES.

The old proverb, " Accidents will happen in the best regulated families," acquires a new forco whon wo see on every hand that an accident often uives to the inventor fame and fortune. Edison's discovery of the phonograph was the result of fan accident, although tho eminent electrician avers that this lucky accident is the only one from which, during his career as an inventor, he has derived benefit.

It was an accident, too, which led to the discovery of the means by which a number of lines in the construction of a house ensure the greatest amount of safety to tho building. Mr McLaughlan, the mathamaticiau, had been engaged upon the solution of the problem for many years. He had almost iriven up his efforts to achievo a solution when one day ho accidentally looked at the cell of a honey bee. Much interested in its construction, he carefully examined it. The result of that examination gave him the key to the whole position—«ho solution of the problem. The odd side of the discovery lies in the fact that this problem had puzzled the heads of three centuries of mathematicians. Lovers of snuff are doubtless aware that the famous u Lundyfoot" snuff was discovered by accident. A fire at a Dublin snuff maker's, instead of bringing ruin, gave the manufacturer an idea. Whilst viewing the ruins of his house of business the snuff maker mechanically picked up a box of burnt snuff. From force of habit he lifted it to his nose. Its flavour startle! him—he had discovered a new kind which would throw all others in the shade. In a few years ho had made a fortune. Millionaires are already familiar with the accident which gave a tobacco mat the idea of wrapping tobacco in tinfoil, and the further accident which enabled a workman to roll the tinfoil sufficiently thin to make its use profitable. The discovery of lithography was the result of an accident. In tho year 1796 we are told, tho citizens of Munich had juat witnessed the first triumphant performance of Mozart's opera, "Don Juan," and tho theatre was desertod by all save one man, Alois Sennefelder, who, after making around of inspection in the building to see that no sparks had ignited anything combustible, retired to his room to stamp the tickets of admission for the following day. When he entered his apartment he had three things in his hands—a polished whetstone which he had purchased for sharpening razors, a ticket stamp still moistened with printing ink, and a cheque on the treasurer of the theatre for his weekly salary. As ho placed the cheque upon tho table, a gust of wind swept it high up in his room for a moment, and then deposited it in a basin tilled with water. Scnnefelder dried the wet paper as well as ho could, md then weighed it down with th* whetstone, upon which he had carelessly placed the printing stamp. When he returned to his room tho follow ing morning he was astonished at seeing the Jotters of the stamp priuted with remarkable accuracy upon the dampened paper. A thought came to him. He w jndered whether, by some such means, he could not simplify his work of continually copying the songs of tho chorus. He went out and purchassd a large ston*, commenced making experiments, and, as we all know now, finally discovered the art of printing from stone —lithography. The hints of the tolephono were received by .accident, in an instant almost, by Bell. Ericsson received the hint of the screw propellor whilsc idly watching a fish swimming in a quiet pool ; and an accident —a railway accident—gave Westinghoase the first suggestion of tho air brake. His train was brought to a stand still, and the guard told him that a collision had occurred. Then it occurred to him that it should be possible to invent some mechanical appliance which would give an engineer command of a train such as he did not possess in the use of the throttle and the reversing lever. He turned over this idea in his mind, and being skilful with his hands and having the capacity of the inventor, he construe ted in a little while the first model of the air brake.

It happened that nob long afterwards he was in Chicago, and he met an inventor who thought that to him had come the Inspiration for the perfect brake, and had euch faith in tli< inspiration that he

worked it out, and had secured patents for his dosign. ** I, too," said Westinghouse, *• have a scheme for a railway brake which will enable the driver of a train to apply the brako fiom tho engine to tho last carriage, and will bring a train to a standstill in far less time than the hand-brake now in use can do."

44 Ah, but," the older inventor said, " you cannot make a brake which will do these things without infringing upon my patents."

"I can and will," replied young Westinghouse ; and within a year he had done his work and found himself a famous man. It was a curious accident which led to the discovery of the principle of manufacturing satin. A silk weaver, in despair at not selling his material, unconsciously put sevoral threads in his mouth. When ho spat them out he was astonished at their glossy appearance. This accident gave him the idea of producing a new material, to which was given the name of 4 'satin." Dr Catling's accidental presence at a battle gave him the idea for his famous Gatling gun. 4t In 1861," he says, 4 *l was living in Indianapolis. My residence was near the dopdt, aud I often saw troopa of volunteers leaving for the front, or when tho dead bodies wore brought home for burial. Tho sight of these poor men at once gave me the idea of inventing some deadly gun which would shorten warfare and lessen suffering." When the idea of the telegraph was first accidentally suggested to Morse he was a popular and successful painter, yet ho abandoned his art and for years endured the groatest hardships in order to Gevelop and perfect the idea which had come to him.

44 Indeed, so straightened were my circumstances," he wroto afterwards, 4< that 44 that in order to save time to carry out my invention and to economise my scanty means, I for many months lodged and ate in my studio, procuring my food in small quantities from some grocery aud preparing it myself. To coneeal from my friends the stinted manner in which I lived, I was in the habit of bringing my food to my * rooms in the evenings, and thiß was my mode of life for many years." The final introduction of the telegiaph, and its adoption in all parts of the world are familiar history.— The Million,