ln 1856, Perkin was trying to come up with artificial quinine, a drug that is used in malaria treatments. But his experiments resulted in a thick, cloudy liquid instead. Perkin didn't let his failed experiment stop him ; rather, he saw a beautiful color in the mess and found that he could use it to change the color of clothes permanently., He had produced the first-ever synthetic dye. Jhis dye was better than natural due to its bright color that didn't fade.