Michael Sveda discovered cyclamate by accident

Multiple sugar substitutes were accidental discoveries when lab workers didn't wash their hands

Saccharin, aspartame, and cyclamate all have origin stories from lab workers tasting something sweet on their hands. A Johns Hopkins University worker in the late 1800s, for example, tasted something sweet on his (unwashed or poorly washed) hands during dinner, prompting him to then taste everything on his lab bench in order to identify that the sweetness was a compound derived from his overheated coal tar—a substance he later named saccharin. (Some users may encounter a paywall.)

Saccharin was banned in Canada in the 1970s, but regulators may allow its use once again

The product, commonly known as Sweet'N Low, was banned in Canada in the late 1970s due to research indicating that the sweetener could cause cancer in lab rats. Subsequent studies have found that the rodent findings didn't hold true for humans, and so Canadian regulators state that they are considering updating their stance to allow the product to be added to certain foods (the product is currently allowed in the US).

At the beginning of the 20th century, a group of young men ate standard American food—replete with food additives like borax and formaldehyde—as part of government research to better understand food safety.

The WHO labeled aspartame as 'possibly carcinogenic' but US regulators consider it safe

The International Agency for Research on Cancer, an arm of the World Health Organization, labeled aspartame—the artificial sweetener in Diet Coke—as one of several hundred possible cancer-causing substances in 2023. The determination was based on animal and human studies and "limited" evidence linking it to liver cancer. The WHO and US Food and Drug Administration both say the substance is safe at moderate levels. The FDA says a person weighing about 132 pounds would need to have 75 packets daily to reach an unsafe level.

Teddy Roosevelt was given a daily dose of saccharin

America's 26th president was prescribed a sugar-free diet by his clinician, so when the chief chemist for the US Department of Agriculture approached him with concerns about the product's safety in the early 1900s, the duo clashed over how to regulate it.

Listen to how the 1902 'poison squad' experiments changed food safety in America

As part of government research, a group of young men were paid to eat standard American food—replete with food additives like borax and formaldehyde—which revealed the dangers of unregulated food. The work was led by the first FDA commissioner, Harvey Wiley, who helped end the "century of the great stomachache."

MSG was first isolated from seaweed in Japan in 1908

The compound monosodium glutamate has been identified in dairy, meats and vegetables, and provides an "umami"—Japanese for "tasty"—flavor to food. Studies in the late 1960s characterized MSG as harmful, but only when testing doses hundreds of times greater than what would be consumed in a typical diet.

'Dirty soda' took off in Utah before exploding on TikTok

The concoction is a combination of Diet Coke, coffee creamer, and citrus. This Eater article delves into the history behind the sugary drink, pinpointing its start as a Mormon-friendly alternative to alcohol and caffeine. The explainer also explores why the drink became so popular on social media and offers helpful hints for crafting your own recipe.

Merck developed MDMA in the early 1900s as part of its effort to create a blood clotting drug

The company's chemists were attempting to synthesize a substance that could compete with an existing patent for the best clot medicine of that time, hydrastinine. MDMA was the byproduct of that effort.

The research that led to sour

Scientists are trying to figure out if there are unique receptors that respond to the molecules that make up flavors we associate with calcium, blood, batteries, and other items that often escape dinner menus. Taste researcher Dr. Danielle Reed says the minimum evidence for a taste category typically involves identifying dedicated receptors and then removing them to show the taste vanishes.

Revelations that apples were sprayed with the chemical Alar led to its ban in the 1980s

Almost three decades after Rachel Carson’s “Silent Spring,” a “60 Minutes” segment on the use of Alar, a chemical sprayed on apples, drew national attention and inspired supermarkets and schools to remove apples from their shelves and cafeterias. That same year, the Environmental Protection Agency took action against the use of the chemical in food.

A moldy cantaloupe supercharged penicillin production

In 1943, a moldy cantaloupe found at a market in Peoria, Illinois, yielded a strain that produced six times more penicillin. Though often credited to lab worker “Moldy Mary” Hunt, accounts differ on who actually brought in the fruit.

A delicious flavor used to be made from a beaver’s butt

Love vanilla-flavored foods? Well, it was once made from castoreum - a yellowish exudate from the castor sacs of mature beavers. And the FDA regards castoreum as “natural flavoring."

The birth of the multivitamin

In 1912, biochemist Kazimierz Funk, often anglicized as Casimir Funk, proposed that there existed an essential nutrient in food that could prevent deficiency diseases, such as scurvy or rickets. This article explores the origin of the multivitamin, an invention that has garnished...

History's weirdest weight loss fads, fact-checked

Nothing catches popular attention more than a claim to have found a quick weight-loss technique. History shows us such claims are often unfounded. Dr. Michael Mosley explores extreme weight-loss tips from history, from tapeworms to vinegar diets.

Rome's herbal panacea may not be as extinct as we thought

Silphion: cure-all, aphrodisiac, birth control, tasty seasoning. Nero allegedly ate the last of this miracle plant. This article details how a researcher may have found more. Seven centuries after the yellow-flowered plant was first documented growing in what's now Libya, it vanished. Historians proposed that the loss of Silphion may have been the first recorded extinction of any species.

McKinsey cashed in by consulting for both companies and their regulators

While McKinsey worked with e-cigarette maker Juul, it also consulted for the US Food and Drug Administration's department regulating vaping and nicotine.

Scientists still don't know why DEET is such an effective bug repellent

This chemical, used to keep ticks, fleas, mosquitoes, and other nuisance bugs away, is used by an estimated one-third of the US population and has been available to consumers since 1957. Researchers theorize that multiple mechanisms may be at work to deter bugs, including perhaps masking or confusing bugs' olfactory receptors.

GLP-1 drugs, first used to manage diabetes, were derived from Gila monster saliva

Scientists studying the barely-there feeding frequency of the Gila monster found its saliva had a hormone regulating blood sugar and appetite. Further research revealed this hormone resembled a human one known as GLP-1, giving rise to the modern wave of diabetes and weight-management drugs.

The mystery of the cucumber, from coiling tendrils to its bitter, mature fruit

Cucumus sativus was first cultivated 3,000 years ago in the Himalaya of India, appearing in ancient Sanskrit hymns in the Hindu tradition. They are typically harvested well before maturation, as their yellow, final fruit is bitter. Their coiling tendrils were so distinct they prompted famed naturalist Charles Darwin to publish one of his lesser-known works, "On the Movements and Habits of Climbing Plants." Its refreshing coolness inspired cucumber-derived body washes and sprays over millennia.

Ken Caminiti exposed steroid use around the league

In 2002, newly retired Ken Caminiti was the first to admit to using steroids as a player, citing how common PEDs were in the league, something that had long been rumored, especially after the single-season home run record was broken in 1998 by Mark McGwire.

Learn why the Montreal Protocol may help prevent millions of cancer deaths

By restoring the ozone layer and reducing ultraviolet exposure, full implementation of the Montreal Protocol is expected to prevent about 443 million cases of skin cancer, 2.3 million skin cancer deaths, and 63 million cases of cataracts among Americans born from 1890 to 2100.

Budweiser stores yeast derived from the original 1800s strain in a secret bunker, which only the Head of Yeast Management can access—not even the CEO

The word ‘coupon’ comes from a French word meaning ‘to cut’

The history of coupons starts in the US with the Coca-Cola coupon that was mailed to consumers, offering them a chance to come try the soda for free in a nearby pharmacy. A coupon created by cereal company Post is one of the earliest widely cited follow-ups—it offered a penny off a box of Grape Nuts in 1909.

A major US-designed polio vaccine was first tested in the Soviet Union

Albert Sabin's live attenuated virus vaccine—requiring two drops in the mouth—didn't garner political support in the US, so it was tested in the Soviet Union in the late 1950s.

Cigarette smoke exposure boosts MS risk by up to 55%, though smokeless tobacco doesn't

The components of the smoke itself are associated with these significantly increased risks, so it's something beyond nicotine itself that drives that risk. What's more, smoking also increases the risk of developing antibodies to MS-treating drugs.

The FDA does not approve dietary supplements before they go to market

The US Food and Drug Administration does not regulate products including vitamins, probiotics, and herbal mixes as drugs due to the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act of 1994, which amended the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act. Because dietary supplements are regulated as a subcategory of foods, inspectors do not assess whether dietary supplements work as advertised before sale.

The history of many kitchen appliances involves unexpected discoveries and applications, including wartime radar turned hamster defroster and replacing an 'ice king' with heat-stealing boxes.

The use of fungi to detoxify land and water—a process known as mycoremediation—has been used to clean up natural resources affected by the 2025 California wildfires.

70 years ago today, city officials in Santa Cruz, California, banned rock 'n' roll to protect its youth from corruption after witnessing a 'provocative' concert the night before.

Listen to an in-depth conversation on the links between Parkinson's disease and herbicide exposure and the challenging pace of scientific investigation.

The story of Dollree Mapp, whose legal challenge over her 1957 conviction for possessing "obscene material" led to a major strengthening of the Fourth Amendment

The American cockroach is actually from Africa, an apparent hitchhiker aboard ships carrying enslaved people, with evidence suggesting the bug may have arrived in the New World as early as the 1600s.

Mid-century modern graphic designers, known for their bright colors and bold lines in advertising, also found success with children's books.

The first line of 'immortal' human cells, which can divide indefinitely and are used in scientific research, was nonconsensually taken from a Black woman.

US intelligence allegedly pursued more than 600 schemes to assassinate Cuban revolutionary Fidel Castro.

Long before Major League Baseball began allowing instant replay for balls and strikes, an umpire reluctantly used the technology to determine whether a hit was a home run, a move that inadvertently ushered in a new era for the sport.

Sunflowers have long been a symbol of nuclear disarmament because they can extract large amounts of radioactive cesium from soil.

See how fireworks are made and learn how metals like magnesium and copper are responsible for different colors.

The word 'jazz' evolved from 'jasm,' 19th-century American slang for 'energy'

'Saturday Night Fever,' the 1977 film that introduced disco to the mainstream, was based on a fabricated magazine story.

When caught in the mouths of cardinal fish, seed shrimp release glowing, bioluminescent chemicals, which alert predators of the cardinal fish, prompting the shrimp's ejection.

Sony set the standard for cylinder-shaped batteries when it repurposed manufacturing equipment used to make rolls of magnetic recording tape.

After the Boston Tea Party, colonists switched to coffee, which became the main morning drink for revolutionaries.

The most expensive ad of all time was for Chanel No. 5 perfume and cost roughly $33M to produce in 2004—about $57M in today's dollars.

The concept of phantom limbs, the perception that amputated limbs are still present, dates back to a French military surgeon in the 16th century.

Before writing 'Walden,' transcendentalist Henry David Thoreau nearly burned down his hometown with a campfire that grew out of control.

The hormonal disorder PCOS was renamed PMOS in 2026, a move designed to improve care and research by shifting the focus to the hormonal causes of this condition that affects 1 in 8 women.

Despite being favored by 87% of Americans, Congress does not have term limits.

Fast-casual restaurant Chili's is experiencing a resurgence, with its parent company recently reporting a nearly 32% increase in sales, thanks to passionate Gen Z fans on TikTok.