The Accidental Invention That Changed the World

Ah, shower thoughts: those sudden flashes of profound wisdom and insight that strike when we least expect them. Does a straw have one hole or two? If a tomato is a fruit, is ketchup a smoothie? Why do they package croutons in sealed bags; aren’t they already stale bread? If nothing sticks to Teflon, how does Teflon stick to frying pans? While sadly many of these questions don’t have definite answers, the last one fortunately does. So turn on your cooking range, tell your roommate to shut up about their precious cast-iron frying pan, and join us as we dive into the surprisingly fascinating history of Teflon and non-stick cookware. The story of Teflon begins in 1938 with American chemist Roy J. Plunkett. Born in 1910 in New Carlisle, Ohio, Plunkett studied chemistry at Ohio State University, where he earned his PhD in 1936 for his thesis on carbohydrate oxidation. Upon receiving his doctorate, he went to work as a research scientist at the E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Company’s Jackson Laboratory in Deepwater, New Jersey. Plunkett’s first assignment at DuPont was to investigate a family of gases called chlorofluorocarbons as potential refrigerants. At the time, most refrigeration systems ran on highly-toxic substances like sulfur dioxide and ammonia, which leaked and killed dozens of people every year... Author: Gilles Messier Editor: Daven Hiskey Host: Simon Whistler Producer: Samuel Avila