Famous Technology Mistakes
Think you've made mistakes with technology? Well, join the club. To prove this fact, take a look at some mistakes made by some famous business people and entrepreneurs: "I think there is a world market for maybe five computers."
- Thomas Watson, Chairmain of IBM 1943 "Computers in the future may weigh no more than 1.5 tons"
- Popular Mechanics, 1949 "640K should be more than enough for anybody."
- Bill Gates, 1981 "X-Rays are a hoax"
- Lord Kelvin (1824-1907) These are just a few gaffs. But many mistakes lead to great success. Take Coca Cola. In 1886 a Pharmacist name John Pemberton combined a bunch of ingredients in a kettle to get what he thought would be a tonic for people who were tired, nervous or plagued with sore teeth. Today, people consume millions of coke everyday, which is encouraging for us screwups. Post-it Notes were born when a 3M researcher was trying to improve adhesive tape. Instead of a nice sticky tape, he got some semi-sticky adhesive - not exactly what you want from tape. A rubber shortage in World War II prompted the US government to begin looking for a synthetic replacement. In an attempt to find a replacement, a scientist at General Electric added some boric acid to silicone oil. What he got was a gooey, bouncy substance - Silly Putty. So look at your mistakes carefully, you never know where they will end up. ----------------------
"Genius? Nothing! Sticking to it is the Genius. I've failed my way to success."
- Thomas Edison
Think you've made mistakes with technology? Well, join the club. To prove this fact, take a look at some mistakes made by some famous business people and entrepreneurs: "I think there is a world market for maybe five computers."
- Thomas Watson, Chairmain of IBM 1943 "Computers in the future may weigh no more than 1.5 tons"
- Popular Mechanics, 1949 "640K should be more than enough for anybody."
- Bill Gates, 1981 "X-Rays are a hoax"
- Lord Kelvin (1824-1907) These are just a few gaffs. But many mistakes lead to great success. Take Coca Cola. In 1886 a Pharmacist name John Pemberton combined a bunch of ingredients in a kettle to get what he thought would be a tonic for people who were tired, nervous or plagued with sore teeth. Today, people consume millions of coke everyday, which is encouraging for us screwups. Post-it Notes were born when a 3M researcher was trying to improve adhesive tape. Instead of a nice sticky tape, he got some semi-sticky adhesive - not exactly what you want from tape. A rubber shortage in World War II prompted the US government to begin looking for a synthetic replacement. In an attempt to find a replacement, a scientist at General Electric added some boric acid to silicone oil. What he got was a gooey, bouncy substance - Silly Putty. So look at your mistakes carefully, you never know where they will end up. ----------------------
"Genius? Nothing! Sticking to it is the Genius. I've failed my way to success."
- Thomas Edison
