We are all familiar with the improvements to everyday life that have come as a result of our desire to conquer space. Tang and Teflon are examples of mundane applications resulting from NASA's lofty pursuits. But there are also lofty applications that have come from mundane pursuits. Consider Michael Lefenfeld, who has created a chemistry breakthrough while pursuing a product his grandfather, a retired beer and soda distributor, had longed for: a breath mint to toss into smelly toilets. (login: poopreport password: poopreport)

Mr. Lefenfeld hasn't come up with the solution to the toilet problem yet, but in the process of trying he has managed to figure out how to lock up sodium and other explosive alkaline metals in a powdered form of silicon gel, making them much safer to handle. According to an article in Tuesday's New York Times, his technique could have important applications for pharmaceutical manufacturers, helping them sharply cut the cost of producing antibiotics and other types of drugs.

This makes me wonder. Had our rocket scientists focused initially on how to make a bad tasting orange drink and how to keep eggs from sticking to the frying pan, would we have by now landed a human on Mars? And what other exotic discoveries might result from trying to cure smelly and plugged toilets?