While the list of accidental scientific discoveries appears to be endless, many games and toys also are the result of serendipity. Here are a few of them.

Frisbee. This popular flying disc actually came about after students at Yale University finished eating pies from a local bakery called Frisbie’s and began tossing around the empty, saucer-shaped pie tins. A California carpenter invented a plastic variation and called it the Pluto Platter. Wham-O, a company then known for the Hula Hoop, bought the rights and renamed it.

Play-Doh first originated as a wallpaper cleaning compound at a Cincinnati-based company making soap and cleaning solutions. Instead of manufacturing it as a cleaning product, the company realized its toy potential, and Play-Doh, the original, reusable modeling compound, was born. More than 2 billion cans of Play-Doh have been sold since 1956.

Lego. The Lego Brick was created in 1932 by a poor Danish carpenter who, after struggling to earn a living in his construction and furniture-making business, turned to making wooden toys. He sold many wooden toys of all kinds and, in 1934, he named his toy company Lego, based on a contraction of two Danish words leg godt, meaning "play well." The company began making plastic building blocks in the late 1940s, and the Lego System of Play was developed. The Lego Toy Company is still family-run and children spend over 5 billion hours each year playing with Lego toys.

Koosh Ball. This popular ball was actually invented in 1987 to teach young children how to catch. Engineer Scott Stillinger found that his children’s small hands couldn’t easily grasp balls during a game of "catch," so he tied rubber bands together to make a small, catchable ball that was easy for small fingers to hold onto. Listening to the "koosh" sound the ball made as it landed in his hand, the inventor realized that was the perfect name and the Koosh Ball was born. How many rubbery strands does it take to create the energy-absorbent, porcupine-look of a Koosh Ball? Approximately 5,000 fibers go into each ball.

Classroom Discussion

1. Ask students to list unusual uses they have found for everyday items (i.e., a metal clothes hanger as a radio antenna or to gain access to a locked car with the keys inside). Also ask how they came up with the idea (was it spontaneous or had they seen someone else doing the item in a similar manner?). Appoint a class recorder to list the unusual applications on paper as you list them on the chalkboard or overhead projector. Keep the list made by the "secretary" for comparison with unusual applications in other classes. The next class day, share all of the unusual applications with each class and discuss which is the most serendipitous.