Ideas by accident!

In 1928 Alexander Fleming discovered Penicilin by accident, in 1945 Percy Spencer realized the potential for using microwaves for cooking food by accident, and in 1903 Edouard Benedictus made a discovery by accident that allowed him to invent safety glass. (For more infor on inventions by accident, try http://www.worldalmanacforkids.com/WAKI-ViewArticle.aspx?pin=wak-013003&...! ).

Ever looking for an easy and inexpensive way to make things for my model railway, I purchased some 210gsm white and printed off some photos of industrial windows I have on my computer. I then laminated them (it helps that we have a portable laminator). After cutting out the various bits and pieces to attach to a building, I was a little concerned that the laminating pouch and the thick card would make the windows too thick.

But I need not have worried. While trying to glue the first window down to the wall of the model I am building, I noticed that the end was loose. I put my finger nail under the loose edge and the laminate almost 'popped' off the cardboard. And the ink that was on the cardboard came off on the plastic laminate sheet!

So for the other windows on the building I peeled the laminate sheet of the cardboard and just glued the laminate sheet to the wall rather than the 2 layers of laminate plus the thick cardboard.

It turns out that the windows look a lot better than I thought they would, and I think part of that is that the laminate sheet is so thin it looks like it is really part of the wall.