Middle School
Worksheets
Accidental Discoveries: Charles Goodyear and Vulcanized Rubber
Serendipity is a word that may be used to describe making an accidental discovery of something useful while looking for something else. Several of today's most important inventions have been the result of serendipity. Some believe it was serendipity that brought about the discovery of vulcanized rubber.
Charles Goodyear went broke several times in his lifetime. He lost his health, was put in debtors' prison, and lost his fortune more than once as he pursued his dreams.
Goodyear became interested in the manufacture of life preservers on a visit to New York. He noticed the tubes that were on the inside of these preservers were not very well made. He thought he could improve the tubes. He experimented with latex, or gum, the natural form of rubber. When he thought he had a better product, he went back to New York to show his ideas to the manager of a rubber company there. Unfortunately, his materials melted in the heat of the summer.
