Ace-K was developed by rational investigation of sucrose derivatives, undermining it as an example of 'serendipity'. I looked at some of the sources linked on

Ace-K was developed by rational investigation of sucrose derivatives, undermining it as an example of 'serendipity'. I looked at some of the sources linked on Wikipedia for the other anecdotes. Ace-K: Newton, D. E. (2007). Food Chemistry (New Chemistry). Available on libgen. Also describes the other serendipitous discovery stories, but with no citation or evidence. For Ace-K, there are conflicting accounts of whether the chemist was licking his fingers to pick up a piece of paper or rubbing out a white spot on his sweater or shirt. Sucralose: Eurekas and Euphorias: The Oxford Book of Scientific Anecdotes. Available on libgen. Also describes the same anecdotes for other drugs. The only supporting evidence for any of them is is a direct quote from James Schlatter on the discovery of aspartame: "I was heating the aspartame in a flask with methanol when the mixture bumped [boiled abruptly] onto the outside of the flask. As a result some of the powder got onto my fingers. At a slightly later stage, when licking my fingers to pick up a piece of paper, I noticed a very strong, sweet taste. Initially, I thought that I must have had some sugar on my hands from earlier in the day. However, I quickly realised this could not be so, since I had washed my hands in the meantime. I therefore traced the powder on my hands back to the container into which I had placed the crystallised aspartylphenylalanine methyl ester. I felt that this dipeptide ester was not likely to be toxic and I therefore tasted a little of it and found that it was the substance which I had previously tasted on my finger." The book chalks up the 'test'/'taste' mixup with Ace-K to a language barrier (Phadnis's first name was Shashikant). Processed Foods and the Consumer claims that Schlatter licked his finger to 'provide friction before reaching for a thin piece of laboratory equipment.' The story about the discovery of saccharin is from The 100 Most Important Chemical Compounds: A Reference Guide, which also does not cite a source for the story. An American Chemical Society Molecule of the Week article also reports the "tasting his hand after dinner" story for the discovery of saccharin, but notes that "in another version of the story" he tasted it on his cigarette, just like in the cyclamate discovery story. Of course, the NY Times obit for Sveda, discoverer of cyclamates, is that "he brushed his lips without having washed his hands and found that his fingers tasted sweet," rather than that he put his cigarette into the chemical.