When you get an idea for an invention, it is easy to consider the challenges, risks, and possible setbacks you

may encounter and become discouraged. However, there are many stories of famous inventions that involved all of those setbacks and challengesinventions that people cant imagine living without today. While many products are the result of coming up with an idea first, and then developing it, many other projects are inspired by moments in everyday life. Some other inventions were the result of fortunate mistakes or accidents made on the part of the inventor. The story of how penicillin came into existence is an interesting one. The first commercially available antibiotic drug was called prontosil, and it was a sulphonamide drug developed in the early 1930s. Prior to that discovery, however, Alexander Fleming developed an interest in anti-bacterial agents after working as a captain in the Royal Army Medical Corps during World War I. In 1927, Fleming had begun to work on investigating the properties of staphylococci, a particular type of bacteria. He had developed a reputation as a researcher; one of his best-known habits, however, was that of leaving his laboratory constantly untidy. In August of 1928, Fleming left on a holiday with his family. Before leaving, he had stacked all of his cultures on a bench in a corner of the lab. When he came back on September 3, 1928, Fleming discovered that one culture was contaminated by a fungus, and that colonies of the staph bacteria that had been around it had been destroyed; colonies farther away remained normal. Fleming grew the mold in a pure culture and found that it produced a substance that killed a number of disease-causing bacteria. He identified the mold and after several months of calling the substance mold juice, named the operative substance penicillin on March 7, 1929. He went on to publish his discovery, but little attention was paid to his article. Fleming discovered that cultivating the mold was very difficult, and the antibiotic agent it contained was equally difficult to isolate. He became convinced that the difficulties inherent in producing enough of the substance would render it unimportant in treating infection. In addition clinical trials, which used the penicillin as a surface antiseptic, were inconclusive. In the 1930s, Flemings trials began to show more promise, and he tried to find a chemist who would be able to refine usable penicillin. Finally, researchers at Oxford worked out how to isolate and concentrate the chemical, and the team published its first results in 1940. When D-Day arrived, enough penicillin had been made to treat all of the wounded Allied forces. Of course, the impact of the development of penicillin is immeasurably huge. Diseases that routinely killed and disfigured people in all walks of life could be readily treated. It is important to note that the invention of penicillin is not only a testament to the power of an accidental discovery, but also the fact that some inventions take many years to be developed. In the case of penicillin, it took Fleming over 10 years to develop his discovery into something that could be used. The invention of penicillin is proof that anyone can be an inventorprovided they are perseverant and patient.