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Comment by LaserDiscMan | Hacker News Reader

The lines blur between creation/discovery for some of these. Additionally, the historic nature makes it impossible to determine if these were all the work of a single individual, but I'll go with:

Joseph Shivers - Lycra/Spandex

Albert Hoffman - LSD

Anton Köllisch - MDMA (was killed in WW1)

John Pemberton - Coca Cola (significantly different to the modern drink)

John Baird Glen - Propofol

Percy Spencer - Microwave Oven

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This is an interesting list because it gestures toward the fact that basically any first synthesis of a compound not found in nature appears to meet the poster's criterion.

It's vanishingly uncommon for a first synthesis to have been undertaken by a true team, although this can get murky recently with drug discovery software narrowing search space. Nevertheless there is always a moment when (barring alien civilization) the compound never existed, then it does: it is nearly always one person doing the chemistry, with (at most) assistants who are fully supervised extensions of his or her will.

Aspirin, for only one example, is the creation of Charles Frédéric Gerhardt.

John Wesley Hyatt - Plastic

The guy was trying to make ivory-free pool balls and discovered something that changed the future.

>The guy was trying to make ivory-free pool balls and discovered something that changed the future.

For the better or for worse?

A story about the value of synthetic polymers. When I visited the North Korean border circa 2004 the reverence with which the North Koreans treated plastic opened my eyes to its utility. Because they have no plumbing, the North Koreans at the border are considered "wealthy" because they can obtain discarded plastic containers that float across the river from China and allow them to easily haul water. The alternative is pottery, which is highly inefficient. It goes without saying that they had no metal. Another great thing: plastic lenses. Much lighter and cheaper than glass. Good enough for many uses. An Australian invention, like wifi. We are moving away from single-use plastics: someone needs sanction the consumer packaged goods industry.

Given we can make certain plastics from renewable resources, recycle them, or even compost them, I'd lean better, but I also think we're on a trajectory to people preferring 'micro-plastic free' diets.

I'd wonder what the original Coca Cola would taste like.

Tounge-numbing sensation

Cocaine

Modern Coca-Cola is still flavored with coca leaves. Coca-Cola still imports the leaves and they are processed by a pharmaceutical company to extract the cocaine.

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