Serendipity

Serendipity is finding something unexpected and useful while searching for something else entirely. For instance, the discovery of the antibacterial properties of penicillin by Alexander Fleming is said to have been serendipitous, because he was merely cleaning up his laboratory when he discovered that the Penicillium mould had contaminated one of his old experiments.

External links

• Polymers & Serendipity: Case Studies -- rayon, nylon, and more examples in chemistry
• Max - A software agent built to induce serendipity.
• The Three Princes of Serendip ? one version of the story.