In 1895, Wilhelm Roentgen accidentally discovered that a cathode-ray tube could make a sheet of paper coated with barium platinocyanide glow, even when the tube and the paper were in separate rooms.
The team added barium sulfate, often used to make photo paper, and calcium carbonate, something you'd find in rocks or shells, to make an even whiter, even more reflective, even cooler surface.
It was a process that involves placing random objects, such as tacks, Combs, or coils of wire, directly onto light sensitive photographic paper and then exposing it to light.
Silver, which was once confined to just coins and spoons and later photographic paper, is currently used in solar panels, advanced batteries, and high-tech electronics.