Have you ever found yourself in a very Dilbert-eque situation?
When one of my former employers was in the middle of an esp. pointless reorg ("from horizontal to vertical silos!), I noticed that was the story line Dilbert was running at the time. Over a number of days. No doubt a coincidence, but you never know!
I believe a lot of great inventors from the past discover their discoveries by accident then by research isn't it? This strange phenomenon carries till today.