h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Wasn't Teflon discovered by accident rather than invented? The story goes that Dr. Plunkett was working with a cylinder of the monomer, and found one day that no gas would come out despite it still weighing as much as a full cylinder. After checking all possible ways the gas could have escaped, he cut open the cylinder and found it lined with what we now call teflon.
I'm also at a loss as to how this is a 'space race' product, since it was discovered at Dupont, not Nasa. I can point out refrences to these facts if desired.
This is my first post here, but I'm fascinated with serendipity and synchronicity and would hate to see what I consider the most amazing thing about Teflon left untold.

It does say that is was the most famous substance never to have come out of the space race. The Researcher did say that right.

Not Space Race, but Atom bomb technology! Too expensive for everyday applications, it was developed for use because it resists corrosion by UF6 gas, which was part of the U-235 extraction method.
It has been used to coat space suits, wiring, nose cones and heat shields, but its A-bomb applications were first.