Philosophers & thinkers know the value of mistakes – not simply because they teach us valuable lessons but also because, sometimes, mistakes can have quite interesting results.
Take a look at these 3 foods that the world has come to love so much. Had it not been for a certain mistake made in each case, they may never have found a form or existence. It’s such a good thing that we all make mistakes. I can’t imagine the world without these foods.
Potato Chips
What happens when an annoyed chef seeks revenge on one of his customers? Potato chips are born! The year was 1853 and George Crum was one harassed chef. A particular customer wasn’t very impressed with the quality of his fried potatoes. He kept sending them back saying “they were too thick and soggy.”
In order to teach him a lesson, and probably to vent some of his frustration, Crum sliced the potatoes really fine; stir fried them, added some extra salt and sent them across. Thankfully for him, the customer didn’t barge into the kitchen and demand his head on a platter. Instead, he praised Crum for this innovative take on the potato fries. The popularity of the “Saratoga Chips” (as Crum called them) grew in leaps and bounds and the rest, as you know it, is history.
Popsicle
What would the world be without popsicles? Half our childhood is spent cramming one into our mouths and letting it drip slowly and surely onto our clothes. I bet you each child has at least a few T-shirts and shorts to show with Popsicle stains on it. Bless Frank Epperson, the 11 year old genius, who made this wonderful invention, even if it was by mistake.
Here’s how it happened. In 1905, Frank Epperson, the kid, forgot a mixture of water and powdered soda on his porch with his stirring stick in it. As luck would have it, San Francisco’s recorded an all time low temperature that night. When Epperson woke up the next morning, he found a frozen delight on his stick, which he called the Epsicle. However, his creation was only made public 18 years later at which point he renamed it the Popsicle.
The Sandwich
The oh-so-commonly eaten snack that we are capable of putting together even if we are sleepwalking is credited to John Montagu, the 4th Earl of Sandwich. Get the connection? Earl of Sandwich making sandwich?
John Montagu felt like combining proteins and carbohydrates one fine day and ordered his valet to bring him meat between two pieces of bread. And since people wished to copy the Earl and eat what he was eating, they would go about ordering “the same as Sandwich!” As you can imagine, it was eventually shortened to just sandwich. Good for us, I say. Keep it up Earl of Sandwich!
