If we knew what it was we were doing, it would not be called research, would it? – Albert Einstein
Everybody knows who Albert Einstein was, right?
He once owned a chain of bagel shops with his brother, didn’t he?
In all seriousness, for a brilliant, world famous physicist, Einstein had a pretty good sense of humor, as future Pearls will demonstrate.
His theory of relativity made a crucial contribution to modern physics, as it explains the effect of gravity on space and time. His work also led directly to the development of the atomic bomb, which wasn’t very funny. Today’s “pearl” is funny, but it’s also very true.
The Belousov-Zhabotinsky reaction was an unexpected result of an experiment observed by Boris Belousov. Because of laziness and/or shoddy peer review, the science journals to which Belousov submitted rejected his paper — nobody believed his claims were possible, they didn’t bother to attempt replicating his experiment. Belousov retired in frustration.
Matches were also discovered by accident. Penicillin, Post-It notes, microwave ovens, safety glass, x-rays, and Viagra were all fortuitous but “accidental” discoveries as well.
Perseverance and good luck had led to some of mankind’s most important discoveries!
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