William+A.+Mitchell

 William A. Mitchell

BORN: 1911 DECEASED: July 26, 2004 (92)

PERSONAL HISTORY: He was born and raised in Raymond, Minnesota in 1911. He was married and had a daughter and passed away on July 26, 2004, a sad loss for the science community and food industry and as well to the world. He spent his entire life around the food industry. As a child he worked for local farmers and as he got older (when he reached 18), Mitchell rented land from the American Beet Sugar Factory growing corn and tomatoes. After college, he got himself a research job with an Agricultural Experiment Station in Lincoln, Nebraska. In 1941, he started working as a chemist for General Foods, where he worked and created things such as pop rocks and cool whip. During his whole career Mitchell achieved over 70 patents.

INTERESTING FACTS: - accidentally invented Pop Rocks - was the creator of quick-set Jell-O and Cool Whip - during World War II, he came up with a tapioca substitute - created powdered egg whites - discovered a coffee substitute with health benefits, named Dacopa.

MAJOR EXPERIMENTS, CONTRIBUTIONS. DISCOVERIES: During World War II when the supplies were running low as they were coming from the far east, Mitchell created an alternative to tapioca. Then in 1956, while working for General Foods, William A. Mitchell was trying to make an instant carbonated drink. Instead, he created Pop Rocks candy. They became a huge sensation despite the few obstacles pop rocks had coming out (ex. it was nicknamed "exploding" candy and then the belief that people would explode if they mixed it with carbonated drinks, such as coke, arised). Mitchell also played a part in the invention of Tang, the sweet, orange flavoured, non-carbonated soft drink that was invented in 1957. As well, he suggested to his daughter that she should roast her inulin-rich tubers that then created a brown substance with a coffeelike taste that he named Dacopa. Throughout his whole career, William A. Mitchell achieved over 70 patents for his experiments, contributions to the world, and his discoveries.



REFERENCES: http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200411/steyn http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_A._Mitchell