THE THREE PRINCES OF SERENDIP

ENTREP – S10

Roque, Rachelle Irene S.

It  is the English version of the Peregrinaggio di tre giovani figliuoli del re di Serendippo published by Michele Tramezzino in Venice in 1557

Serendip is the Persian and Urdu name for Sri Lanka

King Giaffer’s three sons moving-out of the kingdom; making new discoveries by accident and sagacity - things they were not even in quest of.

THE THREE PRINCES OF SERENDIP

THE THREE PRINCES & THE LOST CAMEL

Misfortune befalls the princes when a camel driver stops them on the road and asks them if they have seen one of his camels. Although they have not, they have noticed signs that suggest a camel has passed along the road. Ever ready to dazzle with their wit and sagacity, the princes mystify the camel driver by asking him if the lost camel is blind in one eye, missing a tooth and lame. The camel driver, impressed by the accuracy of the description, immediately hurries off in pursuit of the animal.

After a fruitless search, and feeling deceived, he returns to the princes, who reassure him by supplying further information. The camel, they say, carried a load of butter on one side and honey on the other, and was ridden by a pregnant woman. Concluding that the princes have stolen the camel, the driver has them imprisoned. It is only after the driver's neighbor finds the camel that they are released.

THE THREE PRINCES & THE LOST CAMEL

The princes are brought before Emperor Beramo, who asks them how they could give such an accurate description of a camel they had never seen. It is clear from the princes' reply that they had brilliantly interpreted the scant evidence observed along the road.

Blind in one eye - grass had been eaten on one side of the road

Missing tooth - there were lumps of chewed grass on the road

Lame - the tracks showed the prints of only three feet, the fourth being dragged

Honey and Butter - ants had been attracted to melted butter on one side of the road and flies to spilled honey on the other.

Pregnant woman - the tracks where the animal had knelt down, the imprint of foot was visible; handprints which were indicative that the woman, being pregnant, had helped herself up with her hands while urinating

Emperor Beramo is so astounded by the princes' sagacity in the matter of the missing camel that he invites them to be his guests.

THE THREE PRINCES & THE MERCHANT

The merchant, who built his palace on the banks of a river, has travelled through many kingdoms building great wealth and collecting the finest of treasures. Upon his return to his palace, he saw that the river has overrun its banks destroying his palace and stealing his treasures and most of his wealth.

But the Princes just told him: “You have been blessed. For if you seek the good in your misfortune you will find even greater fortune.”

After a few years, the three princes passed again by the merchant's river and they were welcomed by a servant who brought them to a beautiful palace on a cliff that overlooked the river. The merchant greeted them at the door and narrated that he pondered about what the three princes has told him until it dawned on him to build his palace on the cliff where he could have a wonderful view of the river.

THE THREE PRINCES & THE MERCHANT

While preparing the ground to build just a humble home, his servants came across a great field of gems of great wealth that enabled the merchant to build a magnificent palace.

The merchant has since then invited all that he knew from all the kingdoms that he travelled through, to partake of his hospitality. He told the three princes that “the greatest of treasures is their company and friendship for that is more precious than all the wealth in the kingdoms.” 

The merchant remarked that “I have been blessed beyond measure, for my youthful zest has been returned to me, and I have found that my family, my friends and my good health are my greatest of treasures for through my misfortune has flowed the greatest good, and I discovered my Greatest Blessings.”

INSIGHTS

Serendipity  a "happy accident" or "pleasant surprise; a fortunate

mistake the accident of finding something good or useful while

not specifically searching for it

Entrepreneur Travel around Talk to different people Find our ‘AHA’ Moment Act upon it If Plan A didn’t work, there’s Plan B

Potato Chips Chef George Crum reportedly created the salty snack in

1853 at Moon's Lake House near Saratoga Springs, New York. Fed up with a customer who continuously sent his fried potatoes back, complaining that they were soggy and not crunchy enough, Crum sliced the potatoes as thin as possible, fried them in hot grease, then doused them with salt.

DISCOVERY BY ACCIDENT

Pennicillin In 1928, a Scot named Alexander Fleming closed his lab and

left for a two-week vacation. In his haste, he left a petri dish smeared with Staphylococcus bacteria out on a lab bench. When he returned, he found the plate almost entirely covered in bacteria; almost entirely, that is, because a spore of penicillium mold from the lab downstairs had drifted onto his plate. 

DISCOVERY BY ACCIDENT

Velcro In the early 1950s, a Swiss fellow named George de Mestral

was talking a walk through his local countryside one day. When he got home, he was annoyed to find that his clothing was covered in what kids today call, “stickers” but are better known as cockleburs.

DISCOVERY BY ACCIDENT

Post-it The idea for the Post-it note was conceived in 1974 by

Arthur Fry as a way of holding bookmarks in his hymnal while singing in the church choir. He was aware of an adhesive accidentally developed in 1968 by fellow 3M employee Spencer Silver. No application for the lightly sticky stuff was apparent until Fry's idea.

DISCOVERY BY ACCIDENT

Microwave Open Percy Spencer was experimenting with a new vacuum tube

called a magnetron while doing research for the Raytheon Corporation. He was intrigued when the candy bar in his pocket began to melt, so he tried another experiment with popcorn. When it began to pop, Spencer immediately saw the potential in this revolutionary process. In 1947, Raytheon built the first microwave oven, the Radarange.

DISCOVERY BY ACCIDENT

REFERENCES: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Three_Princes_of_Seren

dip http://livingheritage.org/three_princes.htm http://

whatifthoughts-alena.blogspot.com/2012/03/serendipity-what-if-we-recognize.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serendipity http://

www.rdasia.com/10-inventions-discovered-by-accident?page=9

http://science.howstuffworks.com/innovation/scientific-experiments/9-things-invented-or-discovered-by-accident.htm