Einstein

The U.S. Army wouldn’t let Einstein work on the making of the atomic bomb

Albert Einstein may have been one of the most intelligent humans that ever lived. His theory of relativity changed the world forever, and it was just one of his many contributions to science and humanity. As such, one would think that America would have wanted his help in creating the atomic bomb when he asked to be a part of it. However, this was not the case.

When Einstein found out that Nazi scientists were coming close to creating a nuclear atom bomb, he was frightened. While he was an ardent pacifist, Einstein did not believe it was a good idea for the Nazis to have the most powerful weapon known to man. He wrote a letter to President Roosevelt urging him and his scientists to invent the bomb before the Germans.

As he said, “I didn’t see any [other] way out.” However, despite this commitment to the U.S.’s success, the U.S. Army denied him the security clearance he would need to be part of the project (named the Manhattan Project). This was due to his left-wing political views. Instead, Einstein contribute in more indirect ways.

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Freddie Mercury would talk to his cats on the phone during tours!

Most people claim to be either cat lovers or dog lovers, and there’s a never-ending debate on which animal makes the better companion (let us know your pick in the comments below). This fact talks about cat lovers – people who admire felines’ independence and adore each whisker on their furry little faces. There have been many famous cat lovers in history: Albert Einstein, Marie Antoinette, Edgar Allen Poe, and even the Pope himself to name a few. One person in particular, Freddie Mercury of Queen, made his adoration of cats common knowledge.

While on tour, Mercury would frequently call his home in London to talk to his fur babies (our source doesn’t mention whether or not he talked to them in meows or English, however.) His song “Delilah” on Queen’s Album “Innuendo” was about his cat of the same name, and he even dedicated his first solo album “Mr. Bad Guy” to his fluffy little companions Tom, Jerry, Oscar, Tiffany, Delilah, Goliath, Miko, Romeo, and Lily.

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Einstein died the day after he refused life-saving surgery. He thought he had lived enough!

Albert Einstein, the father of modern physics, was born in Germany. He was the most influential physicist in the 20th century and is best known of his formula E = mc2. Einstein published over 300 scientific papers and 150 non-scientific papers. 

His work has made the name Einstein synonymous with genius. One if his great quotes is “If you can’t explain it simply, then you don’t understand it well enough.” In 1948, Einstein had surgery to reinforce his aorta. On April 17, 1955, he experienced internal bleeding caused by a rupture of an abdominal aortic aneurism. 

He refused further surgery, saying, “I want to go when I want. It is tasteless to prolong life artificially. I have done my share, it is time to go. I will do it elegantly.” The next day he passed away at the age of 76, having worked to the day he died. 

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Ever heard of the Philadelphia Experiment? It's a conspiracy theory that the navy once had an invisible ship!

It sounds like science-fiction, but there was actually a campaign called Project Rainbow with the goal of making a ship invisible to enemies. Project Rainbow is also known as the Philadelphia project, and, though denied by the government, is a popular conspiracy theory. 

Though the story of what happened is very detailed, contradictions make the likelihood of it actually occurring a bit sketchy. In theory, the project relies on science discovered by Albert Einstein about electromagnetic radiation and gravity. Those who believe the navy succeeding in turning a ship invisible think that electrical generators were used to bend light and cause the ship to disappear from sight! 

Carl Meredith Allen was the main promoter of the theory about invisibility. Some people later said that he had a long history of mental illness. However, his story got enough attention from US officials, which propagated the myth of the Philadelphia experiment even more. 

Many of those who forwarded the story and added to its popularity relied on his proof and research. For this reason, many experts discount the theory. They also state other physical laws that make the scientific evidence cited by promoters of the theory null. What do you think: could we really use physics to make an entire ship disappear?

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Lasers used to be measured by Gillette Razor Blades!

This sounds a little ridiculous, but the power of a laser when it was first being seriously developed in the 1950’s was measured in the number of Gillette razor blades it could penetrate! The term laser is an acronym for “Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation, and it is a tool that gives off light through the amplification of photons. 

The idea for a laser was first set forward by Albert Einstein in the early 1900’s and was later developed throughout the century. When the technology began to mature, the scientists developing the laser were unsure exactly how to measure it, and decided the best way to measure the strength was by the number of razor blades it could penetrate. 

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Albert Einstein supported Civil Rights in the US years before the movement began!

Albert Einstein, one of the most brilliant men of all time, is famous for his contributions to science, but it is a little known fact that he was a huge proponent of civil rights in America even before World War II. Einstein, who fled to the United States in 1933 while the Nazis became increasingly more powerful in Germany, was extremely bothered by the anti-Semitism he witnessed in Europe. 

When he arrived in the United States he was also tremendously unsettled by the racism directed toward African Americans, and was worried racial tensions would transgress to the violence that was erupting in Europe. He became a champion of civil rights in the early 1930s, giving speeches warning about the dangers of racism. 

Although Einstein was ill and had a fear of speaking publicly, he made all the effort he could to spread the word of equality along with others such as W. E. B. DuBois and Paul Robeson. Einstein famously said, “There is, however, a somber point in the social outlook of Americans. Their sense of equality and human dignity is mainly limited to men of white skins.” He was later thanked by major civil rights advocates for his contributions.

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Albert Einstein charged between $1 and $5 for his autographs!

Einstein was a a scientist celebrity in his time. Whenever someone would ask for his autograph, he would charge them either $1 for a regular autograph or $5 for signing some memorabilia. 

However, it was not out of greed. All the proceeds from this, he gave to charity. He also donated his speaker fees for giving speeches. It's reported that in his time, he would earn almost $1000 per speech.

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Einstein’s eyes are currently sitting in a safe deposit box in NYC!

After Albert Einstein passed away over 50 years ago, Thomas Harvey, a doctor, removed his brain and kept it for the next 40 years. He wanted to know what made Einstein a genius. Before computers and technology the only way to understand the brain was to actually dissect it and examine it.

Harvey was on call when Einstein passed away and assumed it would be Okayed to have an autopsy and remove the brain for analysis. Something for which he didn't have authorization for. Harvey also removed Einstein’s eyeballs and gave them to Einstein’s eye doctor to study. Harvey was soon let go from his position as a pathologist and tenure at the hospital after the incident.

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Franklin D Roosevelt, Albert Einstein, Edgar Allen Poe, Thomas Jefferson, Johann Bach, Charles Darwin, and Rudy Giuliani all married their cousins.

Albert Einstein was born German, but when he was 15 he renounced his nationality, so he was officially not any nationality.nnSource:nhttp://www.gap-system.org/~history/Biographies/Einstein.html.

Albert Einstein was born German, but when he was 15 he renounced his nationality, so he was officially not any nationality.nnSource:nhttp://www.gap-system.org/~history/Biographies/Einstein.html.

There's a fifth state of matter where the atoms are colder than a solid, they stop moving and simultaneously exist everywhere at once.

There's a fifth state of matter where the atoms are colder than a solid, they stop moving and simultaneously exist everywhere at once. 


In addition to solids, liquids, gas, and plasma, there's a fifth state of matter called the Bose-Einstein condensate. In rare circumstances, a solid can be cooled to form a Bose-Einstein condensate. This occurs as the temperature approaches absolute zero. At the atomic level, the individual particles cease to behave like particles and start to behave like waves. 

Albert Einstein and Satyendra Nath Bose first predicted the existence of this fifth state of matter in 1924. The first Bose Einstein Condensate (BEC) ever produced in an experiment occurred much later, in 1995. 


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 Albert Einstein was born on Pi Day. 

Sadly, if you\'ve never heard of Pi Day (or if you forgot: We talked about it a long time ago) you have to wait another year for a chance to celebrate it. Pi Day is celebrated annually on March 14th (3.14...get it?), which was last Monday. Coincidentally, world-famous physicist and mathematician Albert Einstein was born on March 14, 1879! 

For the skeptics, let us remind you that Pi Day has existed for over two decades and was declared a national holiday by Congress in 2009! There are many ways to celebrate the holiday - pi recitations (I bet you can\'t name as many digits as this guythough!), discussions about how cool circles are...but my favorite way is by eating pie! This year, my girlfriend and I cooked our specialty, a delicious key lime pie. 

But it gets better - in four years, you will have the opportunity to commemorate the most epic Pi Day yet! Pi Day 2015 will be even more amazing because the date that year will correspond to the first FIVE digits of pi (3.1415 = 3/14/15)!