Roy Plunkett was trying to make a new refrigerant gas when the tetrafluoroethylene he had stored in a pressure bottle formed a waxy white mass on its own. Tetrafluoroethylene molecules had joined into long chains, creating a polymer now called PTFE, known by the brand name Teflon. The material turned out to be extremely slippery, chemically inert and resistant to heat, which made it a poor refrigerant but a remarkable coating. Those properties made it useful for non-stick cookware, seals, gaskets and parts that must resist corrosion. Plunkett's accident turned a failed experiment into one of the most widely used materials in everyday life.

Hampi is a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Karnataka, India, with more than 1,600 surviving remains spread over 4,100 hectares. It was the capital of the Vijayanagara Empire from 1336 to 1565. Travellers from Persia and Portugal described it as a prosperous, wealthy and grand city with temples, markets and farms along the Tungabhadra River. By 1500 it was estimated to be the world's second-largest city after Beijing, and probably India's richest at the time. In 1565 a coalition of Muslim sultanates defeated the Vijayanagara Empire, its capital was conquered and destroyed, and the city was left in ruins. Hampi remains a religious centre, with the active Virupaksha Temple at its heart.