Sweeter Than Sugar

In 1879, a chemist by the name of Fahlberg was working on a synthesis problem in the lab. He accidentally spilled on his hand one of the new compounds he’d made, and he noticed that it tasted sweet. He called this new substance saccharin.  James Schlatter discovered the sweetness of aspartame while working on a compound used in ulcer research. He accidentally got a bit of one of the esters he’d made on his fingers. He noticed its sweetness when he licked his fingers while picking up a piece of paper.

saccharin