Most people know that Albert Einstein was a
famous scientist who came up with the formula
E=mc . But do you know these ten things about
this genius?
10. Loved to Sail
When Einstein attended college at the
Polytechnic Institute in Zurich, Switzerland, he
fell in love with sailing. He would often take a
boat out onto a lake, pull out a notebook, relax,
and think. Even though Einstein never learned to
swim, he kept sailing as a hobby throughout his
life.
9. Einstein's Brain
When Einstein died in 1955, his body was
cremated and his ashes scattered, as was his
wish. However, before his body was cremated,
pathologist Thomas Harvey at Princeton Hospital
conducted an autopsy in which he removed
Einstein's brain. Rather than putting the brain
back in the body, Harvey decided to keep it,
ostensibly for study. Harvey did not have
permission to keep Einstein's brain, but days
later, he convinced Einstein's son that it would
help science. Shortly thereafter, Harvey was
fired from his position at Princeton because he
refused to give up Einstein's brain.
For the next four decades, Harvey kept
Einstein's chopped-up brain (Harvey had it cut
into over 200 pieces) in two mason jars with him
as he moved around the country. Every once in a
while, Harvey would slice off a piece and send it
to a researcher. Finally, in 1998, Harvey
returned Einstein's brain to the pathologist at
Princeton Hospital.
8. Einstein and the Violin
Einstein's mother, Pauline, was an accomplished
pianist and wanted her son to love music too, so
she started him on violin lessons when he was six
years old. Unfortunately, at first, Einstein hated
playing the violin. He would much rather build
houses of cards, which he was really good at (he
once built one 14 stories high!), or do just about
anything else. When Einstein was 13-years old,
he suddenly changed his mind about the violin
when he heard the music of Mozart. With a new
passion for playing, Einstein continued to play
the violin until the last few years of his life. For
nearly seven decades, Einstein would not only use
the violin to relax when he became stuck in his
thinking process, he would play socially at local
recitals or join in impromptu groups such as
Christmas carolers who stopped at his home.
7. Presidency of Israel
A few days after Zionist leader and first
President of Israel Chaim Weizmann died on
November 9, 1952, Einstein was asked if he would
accept the position of being the second president
of Israel. Einstein, age 73, declined the offer. In
his official letter of refusal, Einstein stated
that he not only lacked the "natural aptitude
and the experience to deal properly with people,"
but also, he was getting old.
6. No Socks
Part of Einstein's charm was his disheveled look.
In addition to his uncombed hair, one of
Einstein's peculiar habits was to never wear
socks. Whether it was while out sailing or to a
formal dinner at the White House, Einstein went
without socks everywhere. To Einstein, socks were
a pain because they often would get holes in
them. Plus, why wear both socks and shoes when
one of them would do just fine?
5. A Simple Compass
When Albert Einstein was five years old and sick
in bed, his father showed him a simple pocket
compass. Einstein was mesmerized. What force
exerted itself on the little needle to make it
point in a single direction? This question haunted
Einstein for many years and has been noted as
the beginning of his fascination with science.
4. Designed a Refrigerator
Twenty-one years after writing his Special
Theory of Relativity, Albert Einstein invented a
refrigerator that operated on alcohol gas. The
refrigerator was patented in 1926 but never
went into production because new technology
made it unnecessary. Einstein invented the
refrigerator because he read about a family that
was poisoned by a sulphur dioxide-emitting
refrigerator.
3. Obsessed Smoker
Einstein loved to smoke. As he walked between
his house and his office at Princeton, one could
often see him followed by a trail of smoke.
Nearly as part of his image as his wild hair and
baggy clothes was Einstein clutching his trusty
briar pipe. In 1950, Einstein is noted as saying,
"I believe that pipe smoking contributes to a
somewhat calm and objective judgment in all
human affairs," Although he favored pipes,
Einstein was not one to turn down a cigar or even
a cigarette.
2. Married His Cousin
After Einstein divorced his first wife, Mileva
Maric, in 1919, he married his cousin, Elsa
Loewenthal (nee Einstein). How closely were they
related? Quite close. Elsa was actually related
to Albert on both sides of his family. Albert's
mother and Elsa's mother were sisters, plus
Albert's father and Elsa's father were cousins.
When they were both little, Elsa and Albert had
played together; however, their romance only
began once Elsa had married and divorced Max
Loewenthal.
1. An Illegitimate Daughter
In 1901, before Albert Einstein and Mileva Maric
were married, the college sweethearts took a
romantic getaway to Lake Como in Italy. After
the vacation, Mileva found herself pregnant. In
that day and age, illegitimate children were not
uncommon and yet they were also not accepted
by society. Since Einstein did not have the
money to marry Maric nor the ability to support a
child, the two were not able to get married until
Einstein got the patent job over a year later. So
as not to besmirch Einstein's reputation, Maric
went back to her family and had the baby girl,
whom she named Lieserl.
Although we know that Einstein knew about his
daughter, we don't actually know what happened
to her. There are but just a few references of
her in Einstein's letters, with the last one in
September 1903. It is believed that Lieserl
either died after suffering from scarlet fever
at an early age or she survived the scarlet fever
and was given up for adoption. Both Albert and
Mileva kept the existence of Lieserl so secret
that Einstein scholars only discovered her
existence in recent years.

http://history1900s.about.com/od/people/a/Einstein10.htm

nice info...

Change the topic, it should be "10 things you might not know about Albert Einstein", some of us already know some of these things, good info all the same.

Secret_Dreams: Change the topic, it should be "10 things you might not know about Albert Einstein", some of us already know some of these things, good info all the same.

Wow..u knew all these..i'm impressed.
so what's your field of study or profession

psalmdave: Wow..u knew all these..i'm impressed.
so what's your field of study or profession

still a medical student and by the way I knew some not all.

Nyc one @ op

Nice one. I was surprised when I read that he loved smoking.

jaryeh: Nice one. I was surprised when I read that he loved smoking.

Yeah.......They even said his last words before he died was in german and the nurse attending to him was english,I wonder what he said