There have been many accidental discoveries, and not all involved Christopher "Which way is Spain?" Columbus.
For example, the drug penicillin was discovered by a slob who didn't clean up after himself. Biologist and pharmacologist Alexander Fleming neglected to wash his staphylococci bacteria culture before he went away on vacation. When Fleming returned a few weeks later, he observed mold on the plate that the bacteria would not grow around. This fortuitous discovery eventually led to the development of the wonder drug penicillin.
Physicist Wilhelm Conrad R�ntgen wasn't out to revolutionize the medical field, but that's exactly what he did when he discovered X-rays. The curious R�ntgen wished to see if cathode rays could escape "a glass tube covered in black cardboard." R�ntgen eventually discovered these rays could be used to photograph the human skeleton, and, like Fleming, he won a Nobel Prize for his efforts.
And the list goes on. Additional serendipitous discoveries includePost-it Notes, Silly Putty, and Sir Isaac Newton's theories on gravity(though the part about the apple falling on his head isn't really true).
The Vulchitrun gold treasure was unearthed on December 28, 1924 by two brothers while plowing their farmland four kilometers from the village of Vulchitrun in Northern Bulgaria. At a depth of 40 sm., both of the men chanced upon a vast amount of gold objects. They divided the items equally between themselves and each of the brothers began to sell the finds either intact or smashed to pieces.
The living standards of the two fortunate men have improved but a goldsmith gave them away. They were immediately arrested by the police and the pieces of the leftover gold hoard were confiscated. Only 13 objects were remained: one large deep vessel, one big cup and three smaller ones, two big discs and five small ones. They were all made of solid gold and weighed a total of 12.425 kilos. The artifacts were dated back to the 13th – 12th century BC.
