Six Inventions Born from Vacation: From Penicillin to Barbie
An article by Quartz highlights six notable inventions that emerged during vacations between 1856 and 1983. In 1856, William Perkin developed the first synthetic dye while on Easter break from the Royal College of Chemistry. Alexander Fleming stumbled upon penicillin in 1928 after observing mold on petri dishes in his London laboratory following a holiday. In 1941, George de Mestral invented Velcro after noticing burrs on his dog in the Swiss Jura Mountains. During a family trip in Santa Fe, New Mexico, Edwin Land came up with the idea for instant photography in 1943. Kary Mullis created PCR in 1983 during a nighttime drive to Mendocino County, California. In 1956, Ruth Handler was inspired to design the Barbie doll after encountering the Bild Lilli doll in Europe. The article underscores the importance of unstructured time for fostering creativity.
Key facts
- Alexander Fleming discovered penicillin in September 1928 in London after leaving unwashed petri dishes during a month-long holiday.
- George de Mestral invented Velcro in 1941 after examining burrs stuck to his dog's fur in the Jura Mountains, Switzerland.
- Edwin Land conceived instant photography in 1943 in Santa Fe, New Mexico, after his daughter asked why she couldn't see a photo immediately.
- Kary Mullis worked out the concept for PCR in April 1983 while driving to a weekend cabin in Mendocino County, California.
- William Perkin invented the first synthetic dye in 1856 at age 18 during his Easter break from the Royal College of Chemistry in London.
- Ruth Handler developed the Barbie doll concept after seeing the Bild Lilli doll in a shop window during a 1956 European trip.
- Fleming, Florey, and Chain shared the 1945 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for penicillin.
- Mullis won the 1993 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for PCR.
- Velcro was patented in Switzerland in 1955 and later used by NASA in the 1960s.
- Polaroid introduced the first Land Camera in November 1948 in Boston, priced at $89.75.
- Barbie was introduced at the American International Toy Fair in New York in March 1959, selling for $3.
Entities
Artists
- Alexander Fleming
- George de Mestral
- Edwin Land
- Kary Mullis
- William Perkin
- Ruth Handler
- Howard Florey
- Ernst Chain
- August Wilhelm von Hofmann
- Michael Smith
- Jack Ryan
- Elliot Handler
Institutions
- St. Mary's Hospital
- Polaroid Corporation
- Cetus Corporation
- Royal College of Chemistry
- Mattel
- Greiner & Hausser
- NASA
- Royal Society
- British Journal of Experimental Pathology
Locations
- London
- United Kingdom
- Suffolk
- Jura Mountains
- Switzerland
- Santa Fe
- New Mexico
- United States
- Mendocino County
- California
- Lyon
- France
- Greenford
- Boston
- New York
- Germany
Sources
- Quartz —