Scholastic Canada




  Families   Teachers Kids   Teen Reads- Ages 12 and Up  
Book CentralWhat's New?Authors & IllustratorsStuff to Do
Search All Titles


Accidental Discoveries: Laughing Gas to Dynamite
Scholastic Canada
ISBN 0-590-51425-3
144 pages
Ages 8-11

Read an Excerpt
Write a Review




Accidental Discoveries: Laughing Gas to Dynamite
by Larry Verstraete

Many inventions and scientific discoveries — from the Slinky toy to Post-It notes — have been made "by accident." Here are almost 50 stories of unexpected discoveries that have influenced our lives.


If you like this book...
...check out more
Non-fiction books!




Excerpt from ACCIDENTAL DISCOVERIES
by Larry Verstraete

George de Mestral (1948)
VELCRO


George de Mestral was on a hike through the woods when inspiration struck. Bothered by annoying burrs that stuck to his clothing, de Mestral stopped to pry them loose. What made them so difficult to remove? he wondered. A closer examination showed that the burrs had hook-like arms that locked into the open weave of his clothing. The discovery led de Mestral to invent a hook-and-loop fastener of his own. Today his invention - Velcro - can be found on everything from clothing and lunch bags to space suits and spacecraft.


From Accidental Discoveries: Laughing Gas to Dynamite, copyright © 1999 by Larry Verstraete.