File:Gold droplets on tungsten coil.jpg

English: If too much voltage is applied to gold covered tungsten coil while performing electrochemical cleaning the gold will melt locally and form droplets. This optical microscopy image was taken at the Institute of Technology University of Tartu during the research work of polypyrrole actuators. With optimal voltage the gold layer will remain intact. In science everything does not usually succeed in the first try. For every success story there are hundreds if not thousands of tries gone wrong. But once in a while an anomaly could be the source of a major breakthrough. Here is a compilation of anomalies that impress with interesting shapes and have inspired new methods.