Experiments Gone So Wrong That The Scientists Were Only Left With Regret
Science is wonderful. It’s how we learn about the universe and our place within it, and without it human progress would be somewhere between slow and nonexistent. But whenever you’re trying something new, there’s always a good chance it can go wrong as well as right. If you’re lucky the result is no worse than a couple of singed eyebrows, but sometimes things go more wrong than you could ever imagine…
20. New Coke
Some experiments are controversial, but don’t cause any real harm. For instance, when you produce one of the most popular drinks in the world, but decide to change it. The Coca-Cola Company was losing money to Pepsi in the 1980s, so it thought it might be worth trying something new. Scientists busied themselves in their labs as they tested new possible formulas.
Misleading market research
Its taste tests actually went really well, and the 1985 launch in America was an exciting time for the execs. What the tests hadn’t revealed, though, was just how deeply people were attached to the original Coke. The backlash was so big that the firm had to bring back the original formula — now styled as “Coca-Cola Classic” — just over two months later. To the company’s pleasure, it led to a huge spike in sales. Maybe this experiment wasn’t such a disaster after all…
19. Clever Hans
Clever Hans was a very clever horse. Or not. We all like to think that our favourite animals are super-smart, but at the turn of the 20th century Wilhelm von Osten took it to the next level when he decided to prove it by apparently teaching his horse Hans math. He’d ask Hans to do a calculation, and Hans would tap his hoof an appropriate number of times to indicate the answer. That sounds like a successful demonstration of animal intelligence.
Horse sense?
Berlin University psychologist Oskar Pfungst was appointed to test Han’s supposed mental acumen. He found that Hans only gave the right answer when he could see the person asking the question. He was picking up on subtle prompts in body language which told him how to respond. The experiment may have revealed the truth, but it’s still a truth that’s somehow a bit disappointing. Who doesn’t like the idea of an equine genius?
