Chemist James Schlatter licked powder off his finger in 1965, accidentally discovering aspartame.

Aspartame, the ubiquitous and controversial sugar substitute, was discovered by accident. Chemist James Schlatter was researching possible ulcer medications in 1965 when he accidentally tasted the compound he was working on.

According to Nautilus,

While testing compounds for this medication, he licked a white powder off of his finger as he picked up a pie…