Hey there, Storyland listeners, Seth here, and I've got a special treat for you today.
Every now and then I come across another podcast that I know your family is going to love.
And today I want to share one of those podcasts with you right here in the Storyland feed.
You're about to hear a full episode from Who Smarted one of the funniest and smartest podcasts for curious kids.
This particular episode is about accidental inventions, those amazing things that got invented completely by mistake.
I hope you have fun listening, learning and laughing.
If you enjoy it, make sure you find and follow Who Smarted on your favorite podcast app.
Now sit back and get ready for trusty trivia, accidental inventions.
And now it's time for Who Smarted?
Hey Smarty Pants, guess where I am?
Did you say, I have no idea?
Yeah, this game might be more fair with a few hints.
Okay, hint one, I'm at a school.
Hint two, it's a special day when kids present science projects.
Hint three, when I said this game would be more fair with some hints, that was actually a hint.
Okay, what do you got?
Did you say, I'm at a science fair?
Great guess, Smarties.
This year, yours truly was invited to be a guest judge for the science fair in my local elementary school.
After all, Who Smarted is a science podcast, so it makes sense they would ask me.
Well, that and nobody else was available at 11am on a Tuesday.
Anyway.
This year, all the science fair presentations have a special theme.
Accidental inventions!
Whoa!
Hey, look!
I just invented a laser toothbrush!
No, no, no, no, no, no.
That's not what an accidental invention is.
Oh.
But what exactly is an accidental invention?
And what are some of the most famous accidental inventions?
And are there any accidental inventions that are part of your everyday life?
Um, I don't know.
Well then, listen and learn as we find out the answers to these questions, and more as we take another big whiff of science and history on Who Smarted.
Who Smarted?
Who's smart?
Is it you?
Is it me?
Is it science or history?
Listen up, everyone.
We make smarting lots of fun on Who's Smarted?
Wow, I just took a lap around the gym, and I must say, there are a lot of cool projects here.
It's going to be hard to pick just one winner.
That's okay, trustee.
This fair isn't so much about picking a winner and more about presenting some great projects and some interesting science and history.
Oh, but then why was I invited to judge?
Because we thought if we put Casual Observer on the invite, you wouldn't come.
Ah, pretty sneaky, Mrs. Fox.
Smarty Pants, meet Mrs. Fox.
She's the sixth grade science teacher at this school and an old friend who loves to outsmart me.
Nah, there's no outsmarting you.
But this way we all get to smart together.
Good point.
So let's talk about this year's theme.
What made you choose accidental inventions?
Well, as it turns out, there are lots of inventions, discoveries and even food recipes that were purely accidental.
I thought it would be cool to show that even mistakes can sometimes lead to something great.
Ah, that is cool.
Okay, Smarty Pants, with all that in mind, what do you think an accidental invention is?
Is it A, an invention that came about unintentionally B, an invention that causes accidents, or C, an invention that does not work well?
The answer is A, an invention or discovery that came about unintentionally or by accident.
Whoa!
Oh, look!
A new kind of chewing gum!
No, not that kind of accident.
Mrs. Fox, can you please explain to the Smarty Pants?
Sure.
It may seem like all inventions were created on purpose, or that all new discoveries were the result a scientist or inventor set out to make, but that's not always the case.
Oh, and speaking of cases, I'm staring at a display case here filled with something that looks downright delicious.
Smarty Pants, see if you can guess what it is.
If you said chocolate chip cookies, you're right.
Not that I'm complaining, but why are there chocolate chip cookies here?
Oh, wait, is this the snack bar?
No trustee.
Believe it or not, even though chocolate chip cookies are a super popular treat, they're actually the result of a cooking accident.
No, seriously?
Seriously.
Chocolate chip cookies were accidentally invented by Ruth Wakefield in 1930.
Okay.
Hey, but what does that even mean?
Was she trying to make chocolate chip pancakes instead?
Close-ish.
You see, Ruth Wakefield was baking chocolate cookies when she realized she was out of baker's chocolate.
So she broke semi-sweetened chocolate into small pieces and added them to the dough.
But instead of melting and being absorbed by the dough to make chocolate cookies, as she expected, the small pieces remained as little chunks or chips.
And just like that, the chocolate chip cookie was born.
Whoa.
Ah, I see.
And now people all over the world get to enjoy her cooking accident.
Speaking of, can I please have a cookie?
Okay, but just one.
Remember, this is someone's project.
No problem.
Okay, what's next?
Please tell me there are more tasty accidents to try.
There are.
This next one isn't a food you usually eat by itself, but rather you use it to hold another popular dessert treat and then eat it afterwards.
Hmm, that's a tricky one.
What do you think, Smarty Pants?
Any ideas what it could be?
Yeah, I'm stumped too.
Can you give us any more hints, Mrs. Fox?
Sure.
It was accidentally invented in 1904, and the food that goes inside it is... ice cream.
Ooh, I think I know what it is.
Smarty Pants, are you thinking of a shape right now?
Is that shape... cone?
That's right.
Ice cream cones were invented accidentally.
Smarty Pants, how did people eat ice cream before the ice cream cone was invented?
Did they eat it from A, a traffic cone, B, with their hands, or C, in a bowl?
Did you say C, from a bowl?
If so, nice job.
So, how did people go from enjoying ice cream bowls to ice cream cones?
It all started at the 1904 World's Fair in St.
Louis with a man named Ernest A. Hamwey, who had a Zalabia stand.
Ah, um, sorry, what's a Zalabia?
Smartypants, do you have any idea?
Yeah, me neither.
Zalabia is a type of waffle.
Ernest's stand was near another vendor's ice cream stand.
It was a hot day, so lots of people wanted ice cream.
But then, tragedy struck.
Huh?
The ice cream vendor ran out of bowls.
But not to worry.
Ernest A Hanwee came to the rescue by rolling his alabia or waffle into a cone shape and topping it with a scoop of ice cream.
And just like that, the ice cream cone was born.
Amazing!
Hey, Smarty Pants, maybe next time you run out of bowls or plates, you can invent something too.
Oh, is that another popular summer treat I see?
It sure is, trustee.
This one comes on a stick, is something you lick and can usually be found in different fruit flavors.
Oh, and here's one more musical hint.
Pop goes the weasel.
Did you say pop?
As in popsicles?
That's right.
Popsicles were an accidental invention, too.
Smarty pants.
Were popsicles invented by, A, a chef, B, an ice cream truck driver, or C, a kid?
If you said they were invented by a chef, you're wrong.
Sorry.
While this might sound surprising, popsicles were actually invented by a kid.
Whoa.
In 1905, one year after the accidental invention of the ice cream cone, 11-year-old Frank Epperson mixed soda water powder, a popular drink at the time.
And water.
He left the mixture on his back porch overnight with a stirring stick still in it.
The temperature dropped to a record low that night.
And what he found in the morning became the first popsicle.
Very cool.
In more ways than one.
18 years later, in 1923, Frank Epperson remembered his frozen soda water and started a business making what he called Epsicles in seven fruit flavors.
Even though the name was eventually changed to Popsicles, we still enjoy this same frozen treat today.
I can't believe so many food favorites were invented by accident.
But wait, there's more.
Oh boy, we'll find out what this one is right after this quick break and a word from our sponsors.
Now back to Who Smarted?
Where were we?
I was about to feed you facts about another accidentally invented food.
One that Americans spend nearly $4 billion on each year.
Any guesses what it could be?
Smarty Pants, is it A, potato chips, B, hamburgers, or C, pizza?
Well, those are all good guesses.
The food in question is...
The potato chip.
Oh, we actually covered the history of the potato chip on a past episode of Who Smarted?
But the short version is a customer at the Carrie Moon Lake house in Saratoga Springs, New York, kept sending back his plate of fried potatoes.
It seems they weren't thin and crispy enough.
Annoyed but wanting to give the customer what he wanted, a frustrated chef named George Crumb sliced the potatoes super thin, added salt and fried them until crispy.
To his surprise, the customer loved them.
And the rest is ship history.
It's a good thing.
He decided to make potato chips for his demanding customer instead of serving something disgusting instead.
Who wants meat cake?
Oof, some mistakes should not be celebrated.
Anyway, we've learned about a lot of accidentally invented foods.
But what about other fun things that were invented by accident?
Trusty, catch!
Um, why did you just throw this thin disc-like object at me?
Because it too was an accidental invention.
Smarty Pants, do you know what it is?
Is it A, a flying potato chip?
B, a dinner plate?
Or C, a frisbee?
The answer is C, a frisbee.
Here, catch.
Oh, nice throw, trusty.
Obviously you've thrown a frisbee before.
Yep, I love tossing the old frisbee around in the park.
Cool.
But do you know where the name frisbee came from?
Hmm, what do you think, smarty pants?
Is the frisbee named after the person who invented it, the town where it was invented, or a bakery?
Surprisingly, the frisbee is named after a bakery.
But why?
It's not a food.
A bakery near Yale University, the Frisbee Bakery, sold pies in tins.
After the students finished eating the pie, they tossed the tin back and forth.
What started as a pie tin became the plastic Frisbee disc we love to throw around today.
Sweet, but I do wish you still got a pie every time you bought a Frisbee.
Oh, I see another toy I used to love playing with as a young narrator.
Here's a hint.
It's pretty silly.
Oh, and it's also very stretchy and comes inside a plastic egg.
Give up?
Why, it's none other than Silly Putty.
In 1944, an engineer named James Wright worked with silicon at General Electric.
One day, he added boric acid to silicon oil, making a gooey substance that bounced.
And everyone loved it right away, right?
Nope.
People had no use for it, so it was forgotten about for a while.
But then in 1949, a man named Peter Hodgson had the idea to put it in plastic eggs, call it Silly Putty, and sell it as a toy.
From there, it took off.
Oh, yeah.
I loved playing with Silly Putty.
Still do, but I'm not alone.
Smarty Pants, fun fact.
The astronauts on Apollo 8 played with Silly Putty when they got bored and used it to keep tools from floating around after they left Earth's gravity.
Of course.
Silly Putty isn't the only famous toy that's an accidental invention.
Smarty Pants, which of these toys do you think was an accidental invention?
Is it A, a yo-yo?
The answer is... That's right.
If you said slinky, nice job.
In 1943, Richard James, an engineer for the United States Navy, was working on developing torsion springs that could keep sensitive equipment steady at sea.
When one of the springs fell, Richard watched as it moved curiously across the floor.
He recognized something special was happening.
When he arrived home, he showed the crawling spring to his wife, Betty.
They gave it to their son, Tom.
He let it go at the top of the stairs.
Sounds like it was fun for the whole family.
It was.
After watching it walk down the stairs, Richard decided to work on developing a fun toy spring.
It just needed a clever name.
Betty looked through a dictionary for two days, trying to find a word that was both fun and descriptive.
They settled on slinky.
Oh, way more fun than torsion spring.
By November 1945, the Slinky was ready to be introduced in stores as a holiday present.
So, Smarty Pants, do you think people wanted to buy the Slinky?
Go ahead, shout out your answer.
Mrs. Fox, what happened next?
A store called Gimble's had 400 Slinkys to sell.
They sold out in 90 minutes.
And while not as popular as it once was, kids all around the world still play with Slinkys today.
Everyone knows it's Slinky.
And that's our accidental invention themed science fair.
Wow, I am glad I'm not a judge.
It would be too hard to pick or eat just one.
A double dose of shout outs to Smarty Duo, Eli and Copeland in Bennettsville, South Carolina.
We hear you love listening to Who Smarted in the Car after school every day.
Nice.
We're so happy to have you both smarting with us, Smarty Pants.
This episode, Accidental Inventions, was written by Slinky Sarah Sweetick and voiced by Diana Helen Kennedy, Adam Frisbee Davis and Jerry Colbert.
Technical direction and sound design by Josh Hahn.
Our associate producer is Max Wafflecone Kamaski.
The theme song is by Brian, Silly Putty Suarez, with lyrics written and performed by Adam Tex Davis.
Who Smarted was created and produced by Adam Tex Davis and Jerry Colbert.
This has been an Atomic Entertainment production.
