Many of the incredible inventions that we have come to love and depend on today are the result of mere accidents. This includes many of the popular foods we often consume. The creation of some food has been traced to a place, time, person and an event that can be considered an accident. The American author was indeed right when he stated, “Accident is the name of the greatest of all inventors.” Here you will learn of five foods that you probably love that were invented accidentally.

1. Ice Cream Cones

Ice cream was not always served in cones. Initially, it was placed in small bowls for sale. The use of ice cream cones came to being in 1904 at the St. Louis World’s Fair by Ernest Hamwi. An ice cream vendor who worked next to Hamwi at the fair ran out of bowls to serve the ice cream. Hamwi thought of rolling up the crispy waffles he made into a cone shape that would accommodate the ice cream. This innovative idea was well liked by the customers and was a huge success.

2. Worcestershire Sauce

Worcestershire sauce is used when grilling, steaming or stir-frying vegetables and as condiments on sandwiches or shellfish. This diversely used sauce was invented in 1835 in the town of Worcester, England. Lord Marcus Sandy, the former governor of Bengal, India, had a craving for his favorite Indian sauce one day after he returned to England. He asked drugstore owners, John Lea and William Perrins, to recreate the sauce; however, due to the sauce’s overpowering odor of fish and vegetables they chose to store it in the basement. They completely forgot about it there for about two years. The sauce’s flavor was altered by the maturing process, and it was a hit with customers.

3. Cheese Puffs

Cheese puffs is a snack enjoyed by both children and adults. In the 1930s, the Flakall Company in Beloit, Wisconsin had a machine that could crush grain for use as feed for livestock. Moist corn was added to the process to prevent the machine from clogging. The machine produced quite a bit of heat, which caused the corn to puff out in ribbons as it was released. These were picked up but a worker, Edward Wilson, who brought it home, fried it and added some seasonings, giving rise to delicious cheese puffs.

4. Popsicles

Popsicles are ideal for hot summer days. This tasty treat was invented in 1905 by an eleven-year-old child named Frank Epperson of Northern California. Epperson loved making sodas and one day forgot his concoction with a stick in it outside in the chilly night. He discovered the drink with the wooded stick frozen in the glass the next morning. He created them for his friends and children for over twenty years. The idea was later protected by a patent in 1923 under the names Frozen handled confection, or ice lollipop or Epsicles. They were given the name popsicles a few years later.

5. Chocolate Chip Cookies

Who loves a yummy chocolate chip cookie? This sweet delight was invented in 1938 by Ruth Graves Wakefield. While in the process of making Chocolate Butter Drop Do cookies, she realized that she had no baker’s chocolate, but that did not stop her. She cut up pieces of Nestlé chocolate bars and used this as a substitute thinking it would melt into the cookie. Surprisingly the chocolate remained intact while it was being baked. Today, chocolate chip cookies are a go to snack for many.