Can’t imagine a world without buffalo wings? You only have to look back 60 years, as the accidental invention of deep-fried spicy wings served with celery and blue cheese dip can be almost indisputably traced to The Anchor Bar in Buffalo, New York, in 1964. Teresa Bellissimo had meant to order chicken necks, but instead received a shipment of wings and so thought up a new dish to avoid wasting them.
There are a few claims on the invention of the crispy-on-the-outside, gooey-on-the-inside creation that is the chocolate brownie. But the story favored by many and cited in Betty Crocker's Baking Classics, is that home economist Mildred Brown Schrumpf in Bangor, Maine was baking a chocolate cake and it deflated.
Champagne wasn’t always the epitome of good taste, it was once considered the result of shoddy wine-making. In fact, 17th century wine makers spent a lot of time trying to get the bubbles out of the fizzy drink. However, eventually they grew to love it and when French monk Dom Pierre Perignon cracked the perfect formula he famously said "Come quickly! I am drinking the stars!", although this part may have been added to the story later.
Corn Flakes came about when Kellogg’s founders John and Will Kellogg were attempting to make granola. The duo accidentally flaked wheat berry, then experimented with corn and realized they were onto something. The recipe was perfected and Corn Flakes was eventually rolled out across the world.
Legend has it blue cheese was invented by accident when a drunken cheese maker left behind a half-eaten loaf of bread in a cheese cave. On returning, he discovered the moldy bread had transferred to the cheese turning it blue. These days, it’s made under more controlled circumstances with specific bacteria.
Despite earlier attempts to crack the ready-meal market, it wasn’t until Swanson Foods made a royal business blunder that left it with 520,000lbs (2,356 tons) of excess turkey after Thanksgiving in 1953, that TV dinners successfully made it into American homes. Annoyed bosses requested staff think up a way to avoid wasting it. A ready meal that looked like a TV was the answer.
Did you know, the inventor of the Popsicle, the much-loved summertime treat, was an 11-year-old child? In 1905, Frank Epperson left a cup of soda with its stirring stick in it on the porch overnight and when he went outside the next morning it had frozen. Frank called his invention the ‘Epsicle’, because it was like an icicle, and later made it for his own kids who called it ‘Pop’s ‘sicle’. The catchy name was patented in 1923.
The most recognized story of the ice cream float dates back to the late 19th century when Robert Green, owner of a soda shop in Philadelphia, would use carbonated water, syrup and cream to make drinks. However, one day he ran out of cream and used ice cream instead. There are a few contenders to this story, including George Guy, one of Robert Green’s own employees who claims he was the inventor.
Everyone's favorite childhood summertime frozen treat was created by accident in Kansas City Missouri in the late 1950s, by shop owner Omar Knedlik whose soda fountain kept breaking down. In order to keep his sodas chilled, he put them in the freezer so when he served them they were frozen and slushy. Customers loved it, coming back to specially request "those pops that were in a little bit longer."
For more throwback frozen foods check out summer treats we wish still existed
It was a moment of thinking-on-your-feet that led to the invention of the ice cream cone, which some might go as far as saying ice cream is incomplete without. It was at the St. Louis World’s Fair, in Missouri, in 1904, when Syrian concessionaire Ernest Hamwi decided to roll up some zalabia, which are crisp, waffle-like pastries, to help out a neighboring ice cream vendor who ran out of bowls.
In Massachusetts, in the 1930s, restaurant-owner Mrs Wakefield is said to have been baking cookies, and discovered she'd ran out of an ingredient so substituted in Nestlé semi-sweet chocolate. The cookies were thought to be so delicious, Nestlé provided Ruth with a lifetime supply of chocolate in exchange for being able to print the recipe on its packet.
Not for the weak-hearted, the story of yogurt’s invention borders on somewhat disturbing, with origins in ancient civilization. Central Asian herdsmen stored milk in containers made out of animal stomachs to preserve it while on the go. They noticed some of the milk became thick and tart due to the presence of good bacteria.
Nachos were accidentally invented by a maître d’ named Ignacio “Nacho” Anaya at the Victory Club in Piedras Negras, Mexico, in 1943. Ten hungry US military wives crossed the border from the Fort Duncan Army base and unable to locate the chef, Anaya improvised by covering a plate of tortilla chips with grated cheese. He melted it under a broiler, topped it with sliced jalapeños and served it as an appetizer.
Though beer is referenced as early as the 6th century BC in Mesopotamia (now broadly Iran, Iraq, Syria and Turkey), no one’s exactly sure who invented it or how. Historians believe it’s possible it was created by accident during bread-making: someone baking bread outdoors was interrupted by a rainstorm, ran for cover and returned to the dough a day or two later to discover fermented liquid.
The Chinese invention of tofu is believed to have happened sometime during the Han dynasty (206-220 BC). Legend has it a cook was experimenting flavoring a batch of cooked soybeans with nigari seaweed and ended up producing bean curd. However, other stories exist such as a man who blended cooked soybeans as he wanted to prepare a soft dish to feed his elderly parents.
We have the Dutch to thank for brandy. The sweet liquor was invented as a cheap and practical way for 16th century tradesman to transport wine. They evaporated liquid out of the alcohol so they could fit more in cargo and pay less tax. It was called brandewijn, which means burnt wine, and stored in wooden casks. When it was opened at the other end, it had a whole new aroma, color and taste.
The incredibly popular chip was invented quite inadvertently, the salty snack was first created as a form of revenge. At the Moon’s Lake House in Saratoga Springs, New York, in 1853, Cornelius Vanderbilt sent his French fries back to the kitchen for being too thick. In outrage, waiter George Crum prepared them again as thin and hard as possible. Although this origin story is sometimes contested, the restaurant is where they gained popularity.
The Swizzels drumstick, the first chewy lolly to exist, was invented in the UK in 1957 by Trevor Matlow, son of one of Swizzels-Matlow's founders. He was experimenting with a new machine and happily discovered it was possible to create a lollipop with two flavors instead of one. Milk and raspberry were selected, but there have been other variants since such as Strawberry & Banana and Peaches & Cream.
Raisins were discovered as early as 2000 BC when an unsuspecting someone stumbled upon a dried crop. Originally they were used for decoration, as trading items, prizes at sports events, and in medieval times, as the sweetener of choice.
This seriously spicy chicken is a treat to those who like hot food and a punishment to everyone else. Which is precisely the reason it was invented. In Nashville in the 1930s, Thornton Prince was caught cheating by his girlfriend. To get revenge she served him a breakfast of chicken dangerously doused in extremely hot pepper, but the plan backfired and he enjoyed it.
Pink lemonade has been in American culture for more than a century, but have you ever wondered how it got its pink color? A number of stories linking its invention to traveling circuses in the mid 1800s are circulated. The most realistic of the lot is that it was "invented" by accidentally dropping red-colored cinnamon candies in a traditional vat of the stuff.
The battle to claim the invention of toasted ravioli, a popular St. Louis, Missouri appetizer, endures between two local restaurants. Oldani’s claims in the 1940s, a chef tipsy on red wine accidentally dropped ravioli into a fryer. Angelo’s version of events is a waiter instructed an untrained cook to 'drop some raviolis' and they mistakenly thought he meant into boiling oil.
Tex-Mex favorite the chimichanga was reportedly invented by Monica Flin at her Tucson restaurant, El Charro Café, Arizona, in 1922. She accidentally dropped a burrito into the frying pan and when hot oil splashed up, she was about to swear, but stopping herself because her young nieces and nephews were around, yelled "chimichanga!" instead.
The generally accepted story of British dessert Eton mess is that a strawberry, meringue and cream pudding was dropped at an Eton v Harrow cricket match in the late 19th century. Instead of wasting food, it was scooped back up and put in bowls. An even funnier version of how the smashed up strawberry, meringue and cream mess came to be involves a 1930s picnic, a pudding and a labrador.
Poured over cheese on toast or used to marinate meat, Lea & Perrins Worcestershire sauce is a staple in most pantries but it was actually invented by accident. Chemists John Wheeley Lea and William Perrins were tasked with recreating a recipe nobleman Lordy Sandys experienced in Bengal, India. At first the product wasn’t to its makers’ tastes, but after storing it in the cellar the sauce's flavors mellowed.
Fun dessert Dippin’ Dots, which features hundreds of miniature ice cream balls, was invented by microbiologist Curt Jones in Lexington, Kentucky in 1988. He realized anything added to liquid nitrogen instantly froze and applied the technique to ice cream. Dippin’ Dots was the resulting product.
The Parisian dish of hot crepes covered in sugar, orange juice, Grand Marnier, brandy, and set alight, was invented by mistake at Monte Carlo’s Cafe de Paris in 1895. A young waiter was preparing a dish for the Prince of Wales, the future King Edward VII of England, and accidentally set it on fire. Scared to begin again, he served the dish anyway.
Aspartame is an artificial sweetener used in sugar-free food and drink and was invented in 1965 by scientist Dr James Schlatter entirely by accident. He was working on discovering an anti-ulcer drug and when he licked his finger to pick up a piece of paper, he found it tasted sweet. It's likely to be one of the only times accidentally ingesting a chemical in science has led to a positive outcome.
The idea for Bassetts Liquorice Allsorts was (literally) stumbled upon in 1899, when a clumsy company representative Charlie Thompson tripped and sent rows of neatly separated sweets flying. On seeing the bright mix of shapes and colors jumbled together, a customer was inspired and immediately placed an order for a mixed delivery. Liquorice Allsorts hit the shelves and have been a success ever since.
Feeling nostalgic? Here are the candies we loved from our childhoods
The charming tale of the tarte Tatin starts with two sisters Stéphanie and Caroline Tatin at the Hotel Tatin in Lamotte-Beuvron, 100 miles west of Paris, in the 1880s. The story goes that one day Stéphanie was making apple tart and forgot the pastry, so she tried to rescue it by putting the pastry base on top and flipping it when it came out of the oven.
The British Bakewell pudding is said to have been invented by accident in the Derbyshire town of Bakewell, England in 1860, the result of a misunderstanding between Mrs Greaves, who was the mistress of a local inn, and her cook. A nobleman visited and requested a strawberry tart, but egg mixture was erroneously poured on top of the jelly. Needless to say, the nobleman loved it.
Ever wonder why Portuguese ports have English and Scottish names, like Taylor’s, Graham’s and Cockburn? In the 17th and 18th century when Britain was at war with France, the English started sourcing full-bodied robust reds from the upper Douro, with its rocky hills and hot climate. To survive the long sea journey back to the UK, it’s said a pair of brothers fortified the wine with grape brandy to maintain its quality.
The first cheese puffs were invented at an animal feed factory, The Flakall Company of Beloit, Wisconsin in the 1930s. A curious employee named Edward Wilson decided to take home some of the puffed pellets it produced made from grain and once seasoning was added, thought they tasted good. Who'd have known?
The sandwich is named after John Montagu, the fourth Earl of Sandwich, an 18th century English nobleman. It’s said he couldn't leave a gambling game he was playing, so requested his servant bring him meat between two pieces of bread. The meal caught on and people started saying "I’ll have the same as Sandwich".
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