The Ketchum keystone. [volume] (Ketchum, Idaho) 1885-1899, 1894-04-14
HArn uUCrDIxTs
Which Led to q Number Of Inn.
portant Discoveries.

Which Led to . Number OF Inn.
portant discoveries.
some of the most celebrated discover
u, in the world of science and art have
bese the result Of hsppy accident. The
worker, striving earnestly for one thing,
finds that, while failing in his original
ouest, he has attained another and far
more wonderful one.
The discovery of steam was one OF
these "happenings,' as we all know. The
boy Watts, always Thoughtful and plsn-
ming, sat one day by his mothers kitchen
fire. There was tea-kettle swinging
from its hook, and as the water grew hot,
it began to boil, and the steam violently
lifted the kettle lid. As it rose and fell,
and the boys eyes followed the motion,
his brain was fir ed with the thought, "1f
this small puff of steam can move the
iron lid, why would not larger amount
move q larger object7" and the whole
subject of steam navigation was there in
. nutshell.
The quick wit Of woman discovered
the strange force now known as galvan-
ism. The wife of q celebrated savant,
Galvani, of Bologna, Italy, was one day
idly looking at some dead frogs, just
skinned, for some purpose of scientific
investigation, when suddenly the legs
moved convulsively. She called her hus-
bands attention to the phenomenon, and
soon from that one small starting point
he evolved the wonderful theory and
principle of the galvanic battery.
Snuff.takers will smile to learn that
their favorite delight was the result OF .
great fire in which tobacconist lost all
his stock. After the flames had subsidized
he was wondering about to see if any
t7,ins could be saved He noticed that
the poor people around the place were
gathering up the half burnt boxes OF to-
bacco. He thought it worthless, and made
no election to the depreciation, when, by
chance tasting and smelling bit, he
found chat the heat had added wondrous
pungency and favor to the original arti-
Gle. He was shrewd enough to profit by
the discovery, and at once set about bak-
ing his tobacco in ovens, and then some
Of his sBack- Yard Snuff" was established
and his fortune made.
Glass is made from melted sand, as all
.schoolboys know. but the discovery was
one of merest chance. According to his
tory, number of sailors were shipwreck-
cd upon the coast of Spain, and, building
q fire on the sand to dry their dripping
garments, found, after the fire died down,
I. crystalline subtance, which was the
6rst glass known to mankind.
The pendulum Of our modern clock
was the result of chance look Of Calico,
a. he stood in . cathedral and saw the
chandelier oscillate back and forth. He
had the genius to apply the discovery,
and thus, clocks were invented in the
year 1859.
The beautiful gloss and smooth surface
Of our satin fabrics are all the lucky find
of an ordinary weaver. One day, when
trade was dull, this man walked back and
forth before his loom, thinking how he
could increase his business. Each time
he passed the machine he pulled short
threads from the work, and carelessly
placing them in bis mouth he rolled them
over and over, and, finally, spat them on
the floor. After awhile he picked up one
of these balls of silk thread, and upon
unroliing it was astonished at their bril-
liancy. Catching the idea he made ex.
pcriments and finally produced the beau
tlful satin.
Many more of these happy accidents
might be mentloned-the fall of the sp.
apple that led Newton to the theory of
gravltation; the flying kite of Benjamin
Franklin that drew down lightning from
the skies; the bit of silver wire, that sug.
gested to DR.. Marion Simms his great
surgical theory, the discovery of modern
porcelain, and of the principles Of litho-
graphy. History abounds in these incl
dents, and no doubt the world will yet
be enriched by many more benefactors
resulting from q happy accident, or a
careless suggestion lodging in an earnest,
thoughtful mind prepared by deep study
over other problems, to receive it.
Cora and Chaska.
When Cora Belle Fellows was welded /
to Chaska sad came with her dusky liege