TORONTO – Whether world-class scientist Albert Einstein is
remembered more for his uncombed hair or for his mass-energy equivalence formula
E=mc 2 is still left open
for debate.
In honour of his 133rd birthday, we take a
look at five things you probably did not know about Einstein.
Einstein had an illegitimate child
Prior to their marriage, Einstein
and his first wife Mileva Maric had a daughter named Lieserl in 1902. While the
child’s fate is unknown, some speculate that Lieserl died shortly after or was
given up for adoption.
He smoked like a chimney
According to reports,
Einstein loved smoking so much he was a member of the Montreal Pipe Smokers
Club. Several sources quote him as saying: “Pipe smoking contributes to a
somewhat calm and objective judgment of human affairs.”
He liked his feet sock-free
Einstein mastered his disheveled look by refusing to wear
socks. “When I was young, I found out that the big toe always ends up
making a hole in the sock,” he reportedly once said. “So I stopped
wearing socks.”
He failed a university entrance
exam
In 1895, Einstein appeared for a
university entrance exam, only to fail in every subject except for math and
science.
His brain
was “stolen” during his autopsy
Several hours after
his death in 1955, without the permission of his family, Einstein’s brain was
removed by Thomas Harvey-a doctor working in the Princeton Hospital in New
Jersey. Harvey cut the brain into 240 pieces and allegedly kept it in jars at
his house for further study. Harvey was fired shortly after he refused to
relinquish the organs.
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