After working seventy-hour weeks sifting through a malodorous array of decaying fruits, old cheeses, breads, meats, and clumps of dirt contributed by U.S. aircrews and scientists from around the globe, Raper had finally isolated the “super” mold he’d been searching for. Approximately fifty times more potent than anything previously tested, the strain eventually became the primogenitor for almost all of the world’s penicillin. And it was found, by chance, on an overripe cantaloupe purchased at a Peoria grocery store.
