40 Familiar Inventions & How They Came to Be - Mistakes That Worked

I have used this book with third graders as they learn to hypothesize. Not wanting to make mistakes, they will change their hypothesis or make it "fuzzy" enough that it is safely generalized. This book shows great examples of people who made mistakes in their "hypothesis" and profited (chocolate chip cookies!).

So fun to read! My kids beg for this book! they are 5 and 6 and this book inspires them and encourages them at later times when their own ideas don't work out. very encouraging to children and adults frustrated with their own "mistakes".

My daughter was constantly complaining that she couldn't do anything right so I got this book. She has begun to turn her mistakes in to 'possibilities' and think about other ways that they could be useful. Many interesting facts in the book and it held the interest of my 7 year old fairly well.

If you have a 10-15 years old, this is a nice book for him/her. This is not a history of technology book, it's more of an easy reading.

Additionally, if you don't live in the US, the book makes little sense, since it is full of American references both historically and in terms of customs. On the other hand, if the lucky child who's going to receive it as a gift is American, this is yet another good reason to read this book.

Brought to you by OBS reviewer Kayt

Sandwiches, chocolate chip cookies, Frisbees, Silly Putty, the potato chip, how did they come to be? They were Mistakes that Worked: The World’s Familiar Inventions and How They Came To Be. Delightful facts, entertaining cartoons and well delivered historical information contribute to make this book a fun read. Learn more about how some of the most populate day to day items went from mistakes to successes. I for one am sure glad they messed up and produced Coco Cola and chips, as well as chocolate chip cookies. I know I learned some very interesting things about items I use often if not every day. Things we take for granted like rubber and aspiring had to come from somewhere, be invented by someone. How funny to find out they came from mistakes.

Although this intriguing book is written towards a younger audience (middle grade level), I really enjoyed it. I think it is fascinating to learn where and how things I use and eat and drink came to be what they are. I am pretty sure readers of the intended readers will get a lot of it and have fun while learning. The writing is not dumbed down, yet is still very easy to understand and has the necessary warnings for those younger reads. The cartoons are cute and well done. I feel Mistakes that Worked is the perfect fun read for inquisitive readers of all ages.

*OBS would like to thank the publisher for supplying a free copy of this title in exchange for an honest review*

Loved how it shows that mistakes can lead to something bigger! Nice way to start off my sixth grade science class - stressing how discoveries can be unexpected and lead to greatness! And that mistakes are OK as long as we learn from them! Love the short, nonfiction stories - interesting without being too technical. You can just pick and choose the ones you want to read. We read about the accidental discoveries of the chocolate chip cookie, popsicle, and potato chip. Of course, we had to try samples afterwards! I also did the penicillin/Fleming discovery and then used petri dishes to mold bread. We also filled petri dishes with agar and did mouth swabs to grow our own "germs!" Was a hit!

This book could actually be either an adult book or a child's book. It's very interesting with small (one page or less) stories of how various things were invented...from various foods, to toys, to medication, to even the names of towns in the US. Very interesting and simple stories to read and go 'Wow I didn't know that"... this book would be a good 'starter' book for a child for a Science project or for a starter idea to write about an essay for a school project. Lots of references to various museums around the US

I use these short pieces to teach reading strategies. The selections are short, interesting and engaging and allow the teacher to teach the students different strategies for comprehending informational text. Strategies such as anticipation guide, list-group-label, and key word are easily applied to these selections. Kids love the exercises and learn much about the differences between reading fiction and reading information. Works really well for low readers.

i enjoyed reading this funny book so much. if i could tell another child about this book i would. the book was verry funny when i read it to my child he asked if he could try a crazy idea. i think it is great

I had to do a science project about inventions and their origins. I was amazed how many simple inventions were stumbled upon by accident. Want to know how the Frisbee was invented, How about chocolate chip cookies? Well this book has all the answers. Excellent reading for all ages!

My 9 year old son read this book & enjoyed it, he got a lot of information about the discovery of penicillin, the leaning tower of Pisa & so much more, he kept talking to us about the things he learned. It's an easy & fast read, fun for adults too.

this book is ok...that's about as far as i would go. there were some interesting quirks but i felt this was all too shallow.
it did provide some interesting cocktail banter and it does give value for money.
you'll finish it within half an hour and forget it under your bed.

i enjoyed reading this funny book so much. if i could tell another child about this book i would. the book was verry funny when i read it to my child he asked if he could try a crazy idea. i think it is great

I had to do a science project about inventions and their origins. I was amazed how many simple inventions were stumbled upon by accident. Want to know how the Frisbee was invented, How about chocolate chip cookies? Well this book has all the answers. Excellent reading for all ages!

My 9 year old son read this book & enjoyed it, he got a lot of information about the discovery of penicillin, the leaning tower of Pisa & so much more, he kept talking to us about the things he learned. It's an easy & fast read, fun for adults too.

this book is ok...that's about as far as i would go. there were some interesting quirks but i felt this was all too shallow.
it did provide some interesting cocktail banter and it does give value for money.
you'll finish it within half an hour and forget it under your bed.

This book is great! It deserves more than 5 stars. I have read this book more than once, and I plan to read it again. The stories behind the inventions are amazing! I learned so many new facts. Did you know that Levi's jeans were invented by accident? If you want to learn more, read this amazing book!

Make no mistake; this is a well-made piece of work. The stories flow smoothly, and the illustrations are very nice. However, the facts just haven't been checked. It claims (incorrectly) that Coca-Cola was an accident, it states (falsely) that Cinderella originally wore fur slippers instead of glass, and it actually elaborates with no real evidence on the history of the brick. For these reasons, I don't recommend it; if you really enjoy it and want to, check everything at snopes.com, where facts are checked ruthlessly.