The Midgley Awards

For outstanding achievement in unintended consequences

The first Midgley Award

Thomas Midgley Jr., 1889 to 1944

In the 1920s he invented leaded gasoline and Freon. Both solved real engineering problems. Leaded gasoline spread lead pollution around the world, and Freon damaged the ozone layer. These awards are named after him, and he received the first one.

Read his story

What this is

A list of inventions and decisions that solved one problem and caused another. You vote on them, argue about them in the comments, and add your own.

What makes a good nominee

  • It worked. The idea was a clever, successful answer to a real problem.
  • It caused harm somewhere else. The damage landed on people or places the inventors weren't thinking about. Leaded gasoline made engines run better, and the lead ended up in children's blood.
  • Say what people knew. Could anyone have seen the harm coming at the time? Midgley's lead hazard was known. The ozone damage from Freon wasn't understood until 1974.
Read the community guidelines

The serious question behind the joke: what would qualify us for a Midgley thirty years from now? Mark a nominee Prospective to name a decision being made today, in transportation, housing, energy, AI or city-building, before it wins.

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Get the winners

One email when the year's Midgleys are announced. Nothing else.