Unintended Inventions

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68 – March, 2023

By Wayne Cavanaugh

In 1928, physician and scientist Sir Alexander Fleming went on vacation. He’d been experimenting with the influenza virus for far too long and needed some downtime so he packed his bags and turned off the lights. When he returned, he noticed mold growing in a petri dish full of Staphylococcus bacteria that was preventing the staph from growing. Fleming discovered that the mold produced a bacteria-killing chemical that he eventually named “penicillin”. So, there you have it–Fleming would have never invented the age of antibiotics if he hadn’t taken a week off!

In 1943, inventor James Wright combined silicone oil and boric acid in a failed attempt to find a less expensive alternative to rubber tank treads and boots for the war. It didn’t work. But his fellow scientists had a blast bouncing and stretching his pliable mistake and using it to transfer brightly colored comics onto paper. Wright had accidently invented Silly Putty. A different kind of hero, but a hero nonetheless.

Last month, AKC all-breed dog clubs unintentionally invented a phenomenon that has the potential to be as much fun as Silly Putty and as life-saving as Penicillin–they invented “a week without dog shows.” It was a scheduling miracle that gave humans and canines a brief but well-deserved break.

During most of its history, the revered Westminster Kennel Club was held on the second Monday and Tuesday every February. With logistical issues sparked by the pandemic in 2020, the move was made to Lyndhurst for 2021 and 2022 resulting in the date being shifted to June. For 2023, with rumors that WKC might be moving back to the February dates, all-breed clubs nationwide prudently left the old Westminster dates open–just in case. Not just some all-breed clubs, all of them.

Click here to read the complete article
68 – March, 2023

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