penicillin, In praise of mess

Alexander Fleming discovered penicillin because he was notoriously untidy, and didn't clean a petri dish, thus allowing fungal spores to get to work on bacteria. On visiting a colleague's spotless lab he remarked wryly: “No danger of mould here”

In praise of mess

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ECONOMIST.COM

penicillin 

Pronunciation: /pɛnɪˈsɪlɪn/ 

NOUN  1929

[MASS NOUN]

1An antibiotic or group of antibiotics produced naturally by certain blue moulds, now usually prepared synthetically. Penicillin was discovered in 1928 and during the Second World War became the first antibiotic to be used by doctors:patients who are allergic to penicillin[COUNT NOUN]: penicillins and cephalosporins

More example sentences

2A blue mould of a type that produces penicillin.

• Genus Penicillium, subdivision Deuteromycotina.

Origin

From the modern Latin genus name Penicillium (see penicillium) + -in¹.