The Somerset press. [volume] (Somerset, Ohio) 1873-1977, 1874-05-29
NUMBER I
Happy Accidents.

hAPPl ANNAhthAos
The cracking of a picture placed in
the sunshine set Van Eyck experiment.
ing TO produce a yarnish that would dry
in the shade. He found what he sought
and found beside that by mixing it with
his colors they acquired greater force and
brilliaHcy, and required no subsequent
vanishing; and so came about the dis
coyery, or rediscovery, Of the art Of paint
ing in oil. Mezzotinto owed its inven-
tion by Prince Rupert to the simple &C.
cident of sentry's gun-barre being rust
ed by the dew. Henry Schanward a
Nuremberg glass-cutter, happened to let
some aqua-fortis fall upon his spectacles,
and noticed the glass was corroded and
sOftened where the aqua-fortis had touch
ed it. Taking the hint, he made liquid
accordingly, drew some figures upon a
piece of glass, covered them with warm
ish, and applied his corroding fluid, cut
away the glass around his drawing, so
that when he removed the varnish the
figures appeared raised upon a dark
grOnud- and etching upon glass was add
ed to the ornamental arts. Alois Sene.
fielder, playwright and actor, thinking il
possible to etch upon stone-in lieu OF
copper polished slab for the purpose
He was disturbed by his mother coming
into his small laboratory with request
that he would jot down her list of thingr
for the wash, as the woman was waiting
to take the basket away. There being
neither paper nor ink handy, Senefelder
etching preparation, that he might copy
them at his leisure. Some time after.
ward, when about 10 clean the stone, he
thought he might as we'll see what would
be the effect of biting the stone with
aqua-fortis, and in few minntes saw the
writing standing out in relief. Taking
up pelt-ball charged with printing ink,
he linked the stone, took offa few impress
sions upon paper, and he had invented
lithography. The belt-ball used by Schef.
elder was long indispensable in print
ing Office. A Salepian printer in hurry
to get on with job, could not find his
ball, and linked the form with a piece oi
soft glue that had fallen ont of the glue
pot; with such excellent results that he
thence-forth discarded the pelt-ball al.
together, and by adding treacle to the
glue, to keep it from hardening, hit up
on the composition Of which printers
rollers have ever since been made.
Three very different discoveries are
recorded to have resulted from the un-
intentional application of intense heat
Pliny attributes the discovery Of glass tC
some merchants travelling with nitre
who, stopping on the banks Of river tc
take a meal, were at a loss for stones tc
rest their kettles upon. Putting then
upon pieces Of nitre, they kindled theil
fires; the nitre, dissolved by the heat
mixed with the sand, and the merchants
were astonished TO see n transparent
matter flowing over the ground, which
was nothing else but glass Charles
Goodyear had for years experimental ir
vain, hoping to deprive india-rubber o
its susceptibility to the action of hea
and cold. COnversing with a friend Of
the subject, lie emphasized an assertion
by hinging piece of sulphured rubber
across the room. 1t lighted upon thu
stove; and when he picked it up a few
days afterward, he found the intense hea
to which it had been subjected had con
ferred upon the india-rubber just thu
quality he had 50 long striven to impair
to it. According to some, he stumbled
upon the discovery in different man
ner; but, at any rate, vulcanized india
rubber was the creation of an accident
A Limerick tobacconist looking doleful
ly at his poor neighbors cropping among
the smoldering ruins Of his burned-ou
shop, noticed that some of them, afte
trying the contents of certain canisters
carefully loaded their waistcoat pocket
from them. He followed suit, and founC
the snuff had come out of the fiery or
deal very much improved in pungenc!
and aroma. Like a wise man he sai6
nothing, but took another place, set up
lot of ovens, and before long Black Var,
Snuf,-otherwise "Irish Blackguard"-
was all the rage with lovers Of nasal ii
tillatin; and in a few years Lundyfoo
was rich man, owing to the accident h
thought had ruined him. A would-b
alchemist, seeking to discover what mix
ture of earths would make the stronges
crucibles, one day found he had mad
porcelain. Instead of transmitting met
ais, as he had fondly hoped to do, Bott
ger transmitted himself, Gas if he ha'
been touched with a conjurer's wand, Ia
was on a sudden transformed from an al
chemist into potter Chambers' .Jour,i
al.