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15 Interesting Facts About Albert Einstein

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Albert Einstein is arguably the most famous person in history, yet his contributions are often misunderstood. We know his name is synonymous with intelligence, but few can explain his mathematical formulas and scientific theorems. Born on March 14, 1879, in Ulm, Germany, Einstein's rise to worldwide fame was only a matter of time. Like many brilliant minds, his genius came with eccentricities that were just as unique as his intellect. A look at Einstein's life reveals a prototypical eccentric genius. While his work may be mysterious to most, his daily habits and quirks are strange to nearly everyone. Einstein's reputation as a free spirit stems partly from a famous photo of him sticking his tongue out, but this barely scratches the surface of his eccentric life.

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  • 1
    He Had An Abnormally Large Head And An Abnormally Shaped Brain

    Albert Einstein’s head was unique at birth, unrelated to intelligence. Einstein appeared misshapen, with a head too large and an abnormal shape. His mother worried, but Albert grew out of it in weeks.After his deathSeveral decades later, an autopsy showed his brain had an abnormal shape. Though smaller than average, Einstein's brain had oversized areas for math and reasoning.

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  • 2
    He Ate Grasshoppers To Gross Out His Friends

    Throughout his long, brilliant life, Albert Einstein showed impulse control issues. For a man who understood the universe and human actions, Einstein often made rash choices. For instance, Einstein did things likerandomly picking grasshopperspicking them up and eating them to freak out his friends.

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  • 3
    He Smoked Cigarette Butts He Picked Off The Street

    Many of Einstein’s odd habits fit a genius. Others fit a shady hobo. Picking cigarette butts off the street and smoking them fits the hobo type. Albert Einstein smoked constantly. He often spoke of tobacco's calming effects. Doctors made the old scientist quit smoking. Einstein then smoked stubs wherever he found them, even in front of his grandson, whorecountedthis “humorous” story years later.

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  • 4
    He Didn’t Wear Socks And Bragged About It

    Albert Einstein carried one thing with him his whole life: adisdain for socks. For some reason, he hated having his feet covered in fabric. Einstein avoided wearing socks whenever possible, stuffing his sweaty feet into any other shoes available. Einstein knew not wearing socks went against social norms. Later, he bragged to friends about avoiding socks while working in respected, cultured places.

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  • 5
    He Couldn’t Speak Until Age Four

    Einstein said wise things during his life; perhaps that speech made up for lost time. In a strange story, young Albert did not speak until age four. This usually signals major development problems. He showed intelligence through other means but could not form words until near school. This rare event in smart kids has been calledEinstein Syndromein his honor.

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  • 6
    He Enjoyed Crying And Playing The Violin While Birdwatching

    Albert Einstein could have been a great concert violinist because he was the smartest man on the planet. He started playing the instrument at age five and played it well right away. He kept a lifelong love for plucking strings and played his violin whenever he could. Later, he enjoyed walking around, playing, and watching birds. The music and nature combined often moved him to tears.He enjoyed crying and playing the violin while birdwatching.He enjoyed crying and playing the violin while birdwatching.

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  • 7
    He Visited Japan As A Mega-Celebrity

    After publishing and getting praise internationally for his work, Einstein became a world celebrity. He toured the globe, meeting world leaders and famous people. Everyone wanted a talk with the planet's brightest brain. One trip was to Japan.He visited Japan.There, he met the Emperor, a rare honor for a foreign civilian. People treated him like The Beatles when they arrived in America; screaming crowds tried to see the genius. Years later, his research created the nuclear weapons that destroyed the country.

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  • 8
    He Was Good Pals With Charlie Chaplin

    Albert Einstein and Charlie Chaplin shared a friendship unlike any other. Einstein fled Germany to fight Hitler; Chaplin mocked the dictator from afar. The two became friends when Einstein moved to America, and Chaplin threw parties to introduce Einstein to powerful U.S. figures.Chaplin once told Einstein, “They’re cheering us both. You because nobody understands you, and me because everybody understands me.”Chaplin reportedly told Einstein, “They’re cheering us both. You because nobody understands you, and me because everybody understands me,” to introduce the genius to the big movers and shakers of the United States.

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  • 9
    He Married His Cousin

    Albert Einstein had two marriages. His first was with Mileva Maric; it lasted 16 years and produced two kids. The marriage strained, and Einstein did not treat his wife well. He left her eventually to marry his own cousin.He married his own cousin.He married Elsa Lowenthal. Cousin-marrying was not a big social issue then, but people still thought Einstein, being a famous scientist, had other choices. His marriage with Elsa ended in 1936.As a famous scientist, he had options outside his family.His marriage to Elsa dissolved in 1936.

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  • 10
    He Had Ridiculous Rules For His Wives

    Mileva Maric was Albert Einstein's first wife, and this was not a good thing for her. Einstein treated his spouses cruelly; he often had open affairs without caring about his current wife's feelings. While his marriage to Maric was failing, Einstein tried to fix things.Einstein tried to fix the situation.He gave Maric a strange list of “rules” to save their marriage. The list required Maric to do all the housework but not expect her husband to interact with her outside of “social necessities.” Things did not work out.

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  • 11
    He Promised His Wife Nobel Prize Money In Divorce - Before He Had Even Won The Award

    While negotiating his divorce from Mileva Maric, Albert Einstein showed cockiness only brilliant people possess. He saw his part in the marriage ending and aimed to pay her back financially. He promised her future Nobel Prize money.This included his prize money.Einstein had not yet won the Nobel Prize. Still, he was certain and put it in the divorce papers. He eventually won one, and Maric got the money.

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  • 12
    He Had Really Poor Personal Hygiene

    Albert Einstein is known for wild, unruly hair. That was just the start of his issues.His hygiene problems followed.People close to the genius worried about how he kept himself. He did not clean often. He worked so much he started smelling terrible. Friends had to drag him into a shower for him to look presentable, but Einstein never felt the need.

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  • 13
    He Became A Sailor But Never Learned To Swim

    Not all of Albert Einstein’s habits were strange. On the surface, they were fine. Einstein later took to sailing, using the sea whenever time allowed. Operating a boat seems like a hobby for a man obsessed with physics, but Einstein put himself in danger every time he sailed. Despite spending much time on the water, Einstein lived his whole life without learning to swim.He never learned to swim.The film 'He Became A Sailor But Never Learned To Swim' appears in the list '15 Interesting Facts About Albert Einstein'.

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  • 14
    His Eyes Inspired Yoda And E.T.

    People familiar with Einstein only from his picture sticking his tongue out still know his famous features: wild hair, cool mustache, and crazy eyes. These features inspired two lasting fictional aliens.The designs for Yoda from Star Wars and E.T. featured large, expressive eyes.Yoda and E.T. designs both featured large, expressive eyes on Einstein's eyes.This works because Einstein was as wise as Yoda yet as weird as E.T.Einstein's eyes inspired Yoda and E.T. Einstein possessed Yoda's wisdom and E.T.'s weirdness.

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  • 15
    He Died After Refusing An Operation For Internal Bleeding

    Einstein's strangeness ended his life. Near the end, Einstein believed he lived well and should die when time came, rejecting medical help. A man who found space and time connected held firm on his decision. When an abdominal aortic aneurysm hit him in 1955, he refused surgery.He refused surgery to repair the internal bleeding.Einstein stated, “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.”

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