When all that's left is Serendipity Quiz

Answer: Synthesization of ammonia

His method of synthesizing ammonia from the air can easily be considered one of the most important advancements of the 20th century. The nitrogen attained in the fertilizers from this process is said to be responsible for half of the food in the world today. It is unlikely that the world would be able to sustain its current population without this discovery.

Unfortunately, he realized he could use the same process to become the father of chemical warfare by using a similar process to make chlorine gas bombs. His wife, Clara Immerwahr, committed suicide in protest at his choice of cruel warfare support. That same day he left his thirteen year old son (Hermann), who found his mom dead that morning, to grieve on his own. Hermann later committed suicide in shame of the war crimes.

Although Fritz converted to Christianity, he was forced to leave Germany because of his Jewish background. The Nazis used a chemical he developed for pesticides, called Zyklon B, to execute millions of Jews during World War II, undoubtedly executing his extended family and friends.

Answer: Microwave oven

While working at Raytheon in the 1940s, Percy stood near a magnatron (used for radar defense) for too long and noticed the chocolate bar in his pocket melted. He realized this technology would be useful when he successfully made popcorn. Eventually the home microwave was introduced in 1967 by Amana.

Answer: Conditioning

Pavlov's famous experiments were originally intended to measure the saliva of dogs and identify the mechanism for the stomach secretions of the digestive system. Pavlov won a Nobel prize in 1904 for digestive research rather than discovery of conditioning. Pavlov's later experiments concerning conditioning are now considered to be some of the most unethical, ranging from animal abuse to force feeding orphans.

Answer: X-Ray

Wilhelm Roentgen was awarded the first Nobel prize in physics in 1901. His X-Rays have been monumental in medical diagnosis and radiography. He studied X-Rays more closely after noticing a fluorescent screen light up more than a meter away. One of the first X-ray images taken was of his wife's left hand. You can clearly distinguish her wedding ring on the image. All of Roentgen's lab notes were burned at his request after he died.

Answer: Penicillin

The chance discovery was made after observations of his Staphylococcus aureus petri dish contained the mold Penicillium notatum in 1928. This was not a commonly known or studied mold at the time but it proved to be an antibiotic. Antibiotics have revolutionized the medical field and have accounted for saving many lives.

Answer: Cosmic Microwave Background

The cosmic microwave background (CMB) is the strongest evidence for the big bang theory. Before the CMB was discovered, the standard model for the universe was the steady state theory. The steady state theory assumed an infinite static universe and did not allow for expansion. The CMB has given astronomers a baby picture of the universe from radiation left over from the big bang using the entire universe as a telescope.

This was thought to be a mistake at first because it seemed more like interference. Penzia and Wilson spent many hours systematically determining what the sound could possibly be. Going as far as tediously cleaning the radio antennae from pigeon feces and aggressively shooing birds away. Fortune would allow a group of researchers nearby at Princeton University to take notice.

Robert Dicke and Dave Wilkinson recognized the possibility of this as being the CMB, which happened to be exactly what they were attempting to confirm. They eventually published the cosmological interpretation of the signal.

Answer: Viagra

The very first sign that the research was on to something else was when men refused to give the medicines back after the failed tests. Viagra was publicly released in 1998 and quickly became one of the best selling drugs. There have been many complications making a female equivalent drug.

Answer: Special relativity

The luminiferous aether was a theoretical concept that light must have a medium to go through in order to behave like a wave. This was derived from the fact that the oceans need water for waves, sound needs air to be heard, and similarly light must have a medium that could exist even in a vacuum in order to be seen.

They had constructed a clever device called the interferometer to more accurately measure the speed of light to get more precise measurements. Without evidence produced from these experiment, physics would not have been able to make the tremendous leaps following special relativity.

Answer: Gunpowder

Gunpowder was first used as a medicine before military uses were realized. It is ironic that the gunpowder ended up being used to take lives rather than extend them. The gunpowder was eventually used in fireworks and is still used today as a ritual to scare off evil spirits. The compass, paper making, and printing are also considered significant Chinese innovations.

Answer: Velcro

Astronauts use velcro inside their helmets in order to scratch their noses. The U.S. military has developed a near silent version of velcro but it is classified for public production. Velcro has very impressive shear strength and much less peel strength.

Its shear strength has been shown to be enough to even lift a car. Velcro is a portmanteau of two french words meaning velvet hooks, velours for velvet and crochet for hook. Velcro is also commonly known as hook and loop fasteners.