September 28, 2026: A Mess That Became Medicine

Alexander Fleming almost threw the dish away.

On September 28, 1928, the London bacteriologist returned from a two week vacation to find a stray mold had wiped out the staph bacteria in one forgotten petri dish, the accidental discovery that would eventually become penicillin, the world's first antibiotic. Fleming published his findings the next year to almost no attention, and the discovery sat mostly dormant for a decade until Oxford researchers Howard Florey and Ernst Chain purified it into something usable, then hit a wall trying to produce it at scale. The breakthrough that solved that problem came from an unlikely source, a moldy cantaloupe found in a Peoria, Illinois market, which gave American pharmaceutical companies the strain they needed to mass produce penicillin in time for D-Day.

From bsnsHistory, the daily podcast about the moments when business quietly reshaped the world.

Written and hosted by Ron Trucks. Research and editing by Rodney Russ. Sound design by Angela Cahoy. Music by Cody Martin and Soundstripe.

For more daily business stories, visit www.bsnsDAILYpodcasts.com