Please know there are so many ideas out there and you are certainly not limited to the ideas provided in the project. (For additional ideas, do a Google search for "Products that exist because of failure".)

In approximately 200-300 words, please tell me the Failure topic you selected and why you selected it. What about this topic is of most interest to you?

Examples:

Believe it or not, many of the technologies and solutions we count on today came about because someone made a mistake. Failure is a part of engineering and design. It is what one does when faced with a failure that can lay the seeds for success.

Microwave

Take the microwave oven for example. It was not developed because someone was trying to engineer a faster way of cooking. In fact, the idea of using microwave energy to cook food was accidentally discovered by Percy LeBaron Spencer of the Raytheon Company who was experimenting with and testing a magnetron. While he was working and had stored a candy bar in his pocket for a snack. Percy was working in an area where he was exposed to microwaves, and found that the candy bar had melted all over his pocket. Instead of being distracted by the mess, he realized that microwave heating could raise the internal temperature of many foods -- and then research found that it could cook far more rapidly than a conventional oven.

Post-It Notes

Post-It Notes are another example of how not giving up in the face of failure can lead to innovation. In 1968, Dr. Spencer Silver, a chemist at 3M in the United States, was trying to develop a new and stronger glue. Instead, he developed a weaker adhesive that pulled off instead of staying put. Six years later, a colleague of Dr. Silver, Art Fry, remembered the light adhesive when he was daydreaming about how he wished his bookmark would stay put in his church hymnal. The rest is history. 3M launched the product in stores in 1977 in four cities under the name "Press 'n Peel," but its results were disappointing. Then, a year later, in 1978, 3M issued free samples to residents of Boise, Idaho, and 95 percent of the people who tried them said that they would buy the product. On April 6, 1980, the product debuted in US stores as "Post-It Notes." In 1981, Post-Its were launched in Canada and Europe. Today, it is tough to find an office or home that doesn't use them. By the way, the yellow color of original Post-It Notes was also an accident -- the lab next-door to the Post-it team had a bunch of scrap yellow paper, which the team initially used.

Silly Putty

Silly Putty was also created from a failure. According to the Silly Putty website, James Wright, an engineer working for GEs lab in New Haven, CT was working to develop a substitute for rubber when it was hard to come by in the US during World War II. Wright failed in his attempt in 1943, because his boric acid and silicone oil combination produced something not rubbery at all, but a gooey substance that lost its shape when left alone -- exactly a success. But, GE kept looking for a use for the material, and for six years sent it out to other engineers to collaborate. The new material ended up with Ruth Fallgatter, who owned a toy store. She teamed up with a marketing person, Peter Hodgson, and they started selling the material in eggs under the name Silly Putty. More than 300 million eggs have been sold since 1950!

Rubric

Failure: Seeds of Innovation Topic Selection

Failure: Seeds of Innovation Topic Selection

Criteria Ratings Pts This criterion is linked to a Learning OutcomeTopic Selected Topic must be a failure that led to a successful product or process. 15 pts Appropriate topic selected. 8 pts Topic selected but does not meet the criteria of being a "successful" failure. 0 pts No topic selected. 15 pts This criterion is linked to a Learning OutcomeReason for selection Indicate why your team selected the topic and why it is of interest to the team. 15 pts Clear explanation given of why topic was of interest to the team. 8 pts Incomplete explanation as to why team selected the topic or why it was of interest to team. 0 pts No reason identified. 15 pts This criterion is linked to a Learning OutcomeWriting, spelling and grammar 10 pts Minimal writing errors that do not interfere with meaning. 6 pts Several writing errors that do not interfere with meaning. 0 pts Writing errors make post/replies difficult to read and understand. 10 pts Total Points: 40