Mad scientists never die. Or so it seems when we analyze characters like Frankenstein and Dr. Jeckyll. They aren't isolated examples born in gothic novels. The trip of Charles Darwin around the world was the result of many lucky coincidences. Things could have been quite different from what they turned out to be.
Serendipity is a rare word for a very common occurence in science.
Find out amazing examples of what and how things were discovered by accident. Honeycomb shaped beehives were a sure bet. When I searched for examples of hexagonal close packing arrays in nature I was not expecting the many surprises now collected in this story. Snow Crystals in Snow Flakes . An invariable symmetry combined with an endless variation of shapes lead to the unique beauty of snow crystals.