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{{trope}}
In [[Mad Scientist|mad science]], "malfunction" does not mean fried circuits and [[Going Critical|broken equipment]]. Well okay - [[Phlebotinum Breakdown|that too]]. But quite often it turns out that a malfunction has created something wondrous (rather than just,
This can be used as an [[Achievements in Ignorance|Achievement In Ignorance]] for the [[Bungling Inventor]] (most of whose works are created in this manner). It can also serve as an alternative explanation to why there are [[No Plans, No Prototype, No Backup]]: it's not that the technology was lost but rather, the individual sample was a result of a one-time event that cannot be recreated. Particularly good researchers might then learn to ''reverse'' engineer this piece to create more, but usually they will be just as dumbfounded about how it works as everyone else even if they themselves have created it. Surpringly such technology will usually be surprisingly stable and not at all prone to [[Phlebotinum Breakdown]], unless the plot suddenly calls for it [[Going Critical]]. Note, however, that because of the poorly understood nature of such technology it ''can'' unexpectedly become dangerous.
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(While there are real-world examples of inventors accidentally stumbling upon new things while researching something else, the fictional inventor will never need to bother with follow-up research: they will get the new tech from it ready-made.)
Sister trope to [[Freak Lab Accident]] which [[Superhero|gives people powers]] rather than creating and changing technological pieces. See also [[Instant AI, Just Add Water]]. Lightning is often a cause of [[Miraculous Malfunction]]s because, as we all know, [[Lightning Can Do Anything]].
{{examples}}
== [[Anime]] and [[Manga]] ==
* In ''[[Ghost in
== [[Comic Books]] ==
* The material that became [[Captain America (comics)]]'s circular shield was created accidentally during an experiment to merge vibranium and an iron alloy. An unknown catalyst entered the mixture while the scientist overseeing it was asleep.
== [[Film]] ==
* ''[[
* Happens in the 1984 film ''[[Electric Dreams]]'': the hero, Miles, spills champagne on his PC while it is plugged into his company's megacomputer, causing his computer (of course!) [[Instant AI, Just Add Water|to come to life]].
* ''[[Honey
== [[Literature]] ==
* ''[[Dirk
* [[Isaac Asimov]]'s stories have several examples of unusual robots coming into being via a Miraculous Malfunction:
** In the Lije Bailey series, the psychic robot, Giskard, is created this way.
** "Robot AL-76 Goes Astray" has the robot of the title managing to create a mountain destroying mining laser that runs on two D-batteries after being exposed to unexpected stimuli when lost on Earth.
** In "Liar!", a robot became psychic due to an error when they were building the brain. Nobody could figure out how it happened; the robot knew but couldn't tell because of the First Law: it would hurt the human engineers to know that a robot knew something they didn't.
** "Light Verse" has a malfunction makes a robot hopeless at housework, but somehow, able to create incredible art. {{spoiler|Until a well-intentioned visitor has it repaired, after which they can never get that talent back.}}
** "Lenny" begins when a small child is touring the factory where robots are built and plays with a keyboard a bit when they adults aren't looking.
*** Not a pure example, since the malfunction ''did'' screw up the robot and revert it to the intellectual level of an infant. The roboticists just realized this would be a good opportunity to study mental development in robots.
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== [[Tabletop Games]] ==
* ''[[
== [[Western Animation]] ==
* In ''[[Cloudy
* Invoked in an episode of ''[[The Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog]]'', where Robotnik explicitly says that the creation of his "Super-Genius Program" was a million-to-one shot - and after the program is stolen and he orders his computer to make it again, the computer has to remind him of exactly this fact (which he said himself not five minutes before!).
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[[Category:Speculative Fiction Tropes]]
[[Category:Miraculous Malfunction]]
[[Category:Alliterative Trope Titles]]
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