Accidental Vulcanized Rubber

Introduction

This blog is about innovation by accident. The invention is vulcanized rubber, which is also contested by Goodyear as not an accident. Goodyear maintains the hot stove incident that created weatherproof rubber or vulcanization held meaning for Charles Goodyear because “his mind was prepared to draw an inference.”  Goodyear’s meaning of the preceding quote is that people who apply themselves most perseveringly to a subject are intentionally drawing an inference—not experiencing a revelation as the result of an accident.  This blog will go into the details of how and what Charles Goodyear went through and how his perseverance, innovation, and relentless pursuit of innovation lead him to success. Furthermore, the blog will detail another example of Thomas Adams’s accidental invention in rubber to try to compete with Goodyear that lead to modern-day chewing gum.

Vulcanized Rubber

Often innovation happens by mistake. I am reminded of the saying of a broken clock: “Even a broken clock is right twice a day.” Sometimes when organizations have processes and systems in place to promote and encourage innovation, the results can be different than what is anticipated. In the case of Charles Goodyear, he started in the rubber business as a recovering bankrupt hardware merchant in Philadelphia in 1834. Goodyear tried to sell a new valve he invented for rubber life preservers to no avail. The early 1830s were dubbed “rubber fever,” and the demand for Brazilian waterproof gum increased. The problem with the rubber was it melted in the heat and froze in the cold, and this outraged the public. There were massive returns, costing investors to lose millions, and everyone thought the rubber business was over in America. Creativity researchers Reiter-Palmon and Robinson (2009) list the creative problem-solving process to include:

1. Problem construction,

2. Idea generation,

3. Idea evaluation, and

4. Idea implementation and monitoring.

After speaking with Roxbury India Rubber Co., Goodyear was put in prison for his debt upon his return to Philadelphia. While in prison, Goodyear began experiments with rubber working on a batch of raw rubber with his wife’s rolling pin that she brought him. Goodyear tried items like magnesia powder and quicklime to solve the melting issues. Once released from prison, he started a laboratory in his kitchen and earned a medal for his progress at a New York trade show. He decorated samples with paint, gilded and embossed them. Kaufman and Beghetto (2009) found the creative process termed “little-c” when non-experts are creative and work through solutions for simple innovations.

It was not until Goodyear ran short of rubber and used nitric acid to remove the paint and other coatings that made the piece turn black, and he threw it away. Several days later he remembered how the nitric acid made the rubber smooth and dry and better than anything else he had previously created. In the financial panic of 1837, Goodyear was destitute and camped his family in an abandoned rubber factory living on fish they caught in Staten Island harbor. After some time, Goodyear found new backing for a government contract of 150 mailbags to be manufactured with the nitric acid process. However, the warm weather melted the bags, and the rubber was still problematic.

Finally, in 1839, Goodyear experienced a breakthrough when he was showing off his latest formula. He accidentally threw his hands up in the air in excitement, and the piece of rubber fell on a hot potbelly stove.  Goodyear expected it to melt like before, but instead, the rubber charred like leather with an elastic rim. So by serendipity, weatherproof rubber was born. Gilson and Madjar (2011) define radical creativity when the creation of ideas or processes distinctly are markedly different from what exists. Goodyear went on to success using a steam-heating process (vulcanization) with shirred goods that he rushed into production, and rubber rose to worldwide success. Goodyear made flags, jewelry, ships and sails, calling cards, musical instruments, rubber hats-vests-ties, and even had his autobiography printed and bound with rubber. Because Goodyear continued to experiment with his never-ending rubber creations, he potentially missed delegated manufacturing revenues.

Yes, people wanted the waterproofing qualities of rubber, but what was the best use of these materials for profit? Lindgren's (2016) research showed two successful predominant strategies for startups; one was experimentation and innovation. A second approach was to have a business strategy and goals guiding the development activities rather than customer feedback. Goodyear was doing just that.

Another innovation in the late 1800s involving rubber was from an inventor by the name of Thomas Adams Sr. Adams changed the rubber industry through his experiment with making rubber from a local tree, Maniklara Chicle, as a cheaper alternative to Goodyear’s Brazilian rubber. The Ancient Greeks and Egyptians used several forms of chewing gum. The big change came when Adams made Chicle chewing gum, which was far superior to paraffin wax gums at the time. Adams then went on to market it in small gumballs wrapped in colorful paper and added flavors. He is known as the father of modern-day chewing gum. The difference in Adams’s business model versus Goodyear’s business model is that Adams established his manufacturing and grew his business with patented machines used to manufacture the product.

Conclusion

Creativity is a manifestation of consciousness with psychosocial and cultural influences that endeavor beyond the inventor’s cognitive processes and accumulated knowledge (Sereboff, 2015). Goodyear and Adams used their creativity to manifest their inventions. Goodyear figured out by mistake that heat would vulcanize a sulfur-based rubber, which revolutionized the industry. Similarly, Adams was trying to find a cheaper rubber to compete with Goodyear and discovered a new use from the chicle experimentation. He later capitalized on it by innovation in manufacturing and mass production.

References

Gilson, L. L., & Madjar, N. (2011). Radical and incremental creativity: Antecedents and processes. Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts, 5, 21. doi:10.1037/a0017863.

Kaufman, J. C., & Beghetto, R. A. (2009). Beyond big and little: The four c model of creativity. Review of General Psychology, 13, 1-12. doi:10.1037/a0013688.

Lindgren, E., & Münch, J. (2016). Raising the odds of success: the current state of experimentation in product development. Information and Software Technology, 77, 80-91. doi: 10.1016/j.infsof.2016.04.008

Reiter-Palmon, R., & Robinson, E. (2009). Problem identification and construction: What do we know, what is the future? Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts, 3, 43-47. doi:10.1037/a0014629.

Sereboff, J. L. (2015). Invention: A creative manifestation of consciousness (Order No. 3721305). Available from ProQuest Central; ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global. (1727757121). Retrieved from https://proxy.cecybrary.com/login?url=https://search-proquest-com.proxy.cecybrary.com/docview/1727757121?accountid=144789