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Unit 7 Discussion Board 2

Innovation Definitions

Serendipity Innovations:  Serendipity innovations present when something different than expected happens while performing typical activities, and the result can be applied to make an improvement or create a new solution.

Error Innovations: Innovation errors result when a mistake is made while performing a task that results in a useful innovation.

Exaptation Innovations:  Exaptation innovation involves using a solution for one application and applying it to develop a different innovative application.

Serendipity Innovation – Saccharin

In 1879, Constantin Fahlberg, a Russian chemist, was mixing chemicals in the lab to investigate the oxidation of o-toluene-sulfonamide (Britannica, 2023).  He later noticed a sweet taste in his food, and despite washing his hands, the taste was on his arms and legs.  He performed more experiments and discovered that the sweetness was caused by combining o-sulfobenzoic acid, phosphorus chloride, and ammonia. The chemical combination was used to create saccharin, the first artificial sweetener (Britannica, 2023).

Error Innovation - Coca Cola

Coca-Cola was developed by a pharmacist, John Pemberton, who was trying to create a painkiller to use as an alternative to morphine, which he was addicted to.  The painkiller included leaves from the coca plant, which contains cocaine, and kola nuts, which contain caffeine.  He called the drink “French Wine” (Cyca, 2023). While working on an alcohol-free version during prohibition, he used sugar syrup instead of wine. He accidentally added carbonated water, an error that led to the creation of Coca-Cola.  He started to market the beverage as a fountain drink instead of a medicine.  In addition to the error innovation, the Coca-Cola example demonstrates exaptation since Pemberton adapted the non-alcoholic medicine to develop a fountain drink.

 

Exaptation Innovation – Printing Press

Johannes Gutenberg and his associates developed one of the first printing presses modeled after wine presses used in the Mediterranean area. A long handle attached to a wooden screw was used to exert pressure against the paper on top of the type, which was mounted on a wooden plate.  In 1455, he used the press to print the Bible, one of the earlier books printed using this technology (Britannica, 2023).

References

Britannica.com (2023, September 8). Printing Press. The Web and Communication. https://www.britannica.com/technology/printing-press

Britannica.com (2023, September 25). Saccharin. Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/science/saccharin

Cy
ca, M. (2023, January 10). 7 Momentous Inventions Discovered by Accident – Coca-Cola. History.com. https://www.history.com/news/accidental-inventions#coca-cola

Greenwald, M. (2018, August 25). The First Artificial Sweetener. 30 Life-Changing Inventions That Were Totally Accidental. https://bestlifeonline.com/accidental-inventions/

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