Some people are followers while few other chose to be the pioneers. And when those pioneers revolutionize the way things are generalized, the world stands and applauds in a state of awe. One such unparalleled, levelheaded, greatest scientists of all time was the legendary Sir Albert Einstein. I sometimes wonder what would have been the status of the modern day science if this physicist wouldn’t have been born! The father of Atom bomb, the man with the relativity theories and what not! Every single person on earth would probably claim that he or she knows the distinguished scientist! But are you sure you know Albert Einstein? Here are the top 10 facts about the great Albert Einstein that would question your confidence of knowing him!

10. The Holy Brain!

Apparently Einstein’s brain that boasted of making him have an intelligent quotient of 160 has a peculiar story of its own. After his death in 1955, his brain was removed by the pathologist named Thomas Harvey who conducted an autopsy on him. This was illegal since he hadn’t taken the permission of his family and eventually he was fired from his job. He refused to relinquish the organ and after many years with the permission from Einstein’s eldest son Hans Albert, sent slices of his brain to different scientists of the world. Many of them deduced that Einstein’s brain had extra glial cells, lacked the Sylvian fissure, had larger inferior parietal lobe, all pointing to the fact that Einstein was an extraordinary genius! After all those research, finally Harvey gave the famous brain away to Einstein’s granddaughter

9. The Casanova!

Yeah you read that right! Ever imagined the great Albert Einstein engaged in flirtatious flings? Well it is something that cannot be denied that Albert had many secret love affairs which were later revealed from his letter. It is believed that Einstein divorced his first wife Mileva out of infidelity and soon married his own cousin Elsa Lowenthal. He even considered marrying Elsa’s daughter Ilse, but she was never into Einstein and regarded him as a father. He even had an illegitimate girl child with her first wife Mary born out of the lust during the college days. Now that’s what we call a smart player!

8. No socks please!

It’s ironical that an intelligent scientist who was perpetually involved in secret love affairs all throughout his life was a man of simplicity as well. The frowzled appearance added to his charm. He would never comb his hair which later became his trademark style. The other peculiar fact about him is that he hated wearing socks. According to him it was an unnecessary pain to wear the pair of socks which had possibilities of getting holes. he went for a formal dinner to the White House without wearing socks!

7. The love for Violin!

Einstein from his very childhood was interested in doing creative stuffs like creating houses of cards. His mother, Pauline was a highly skilled pianist and urged him to learn violin but Einstein was least concerned. At the age of 13, when he heard the music of Mozart he had a sudden evolvement to a music lover. With the growing passion of playing he continued playing violin till his very last years both socially and at his time of solitude.

6. Compass directed the way!

When Einstein was just a kid of five and sick in bed, his father showed him a simple compass to cheer his mood up. The little kid was mesmerized beyond limits about what invisible force acted as the compulsion to make the needle point at the single direction. It is believed that this was the starting of Einstein’s analytical reasoning and fascination for science as he kept searching for the probable principles on the working of compass. So, in a way the simple compass directed Einstein to his way towards science!

5. The chain smoker!

Einstein was an obsessed smoker!  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.

4. Failed his University Exam!

In 1895, at the age of 17, Albert Einstein applied for early admission into the Swiss Federal Polytechnic School (Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule or ETH). He passed the math and science sections of the entrance exam, but failed the rest (history, languages, geography, etc.)! Einstein had to go to a trade school before he retook the exam and was finally admitted to ETH a year later.

3. The President!

Its absolutely a lesser known fact that Albert Einstein was offered the presidency of Israel after the Zionist leader and first President of Israel, Chaim Weizmann died on November 9, 1952. Einstein who was 73 then, refused to be the second Israeli president stating that he lacked the natural aptitude and experience to deal with people and also he was getting old!

2. The unusual kid!

The kid was quite unusual! When Einstein was born, his mother Pauline thought that he is deformed as he had an unusually large head (who would have guessed about the potentials of that big head at that time!). Even as a child, Einstein would seldom talk.When he did, he spoke very slowly – indeed, he tried out entire sentences in his head (or muttered them under his breath) until he got them right before he spoke aloud. He did this till the age of 9!

1. Einstein urged America!

So the best fact for today’s list about Albert Einstein is that the war pacifist Einstein actually urged the then American president Franklin Roosevelt to build an atom bomb of their own! In 1939 alarmed by the rise of the Nazi Germany, Einstein anticipated the secret researches conducted by the Nazi government to build an atom bomb. With this he wrote a letter to the American president to build their own which is believed to have acted as the stepping stone for the initiation of the secret “Manhattan Project” although the attack on the Pearl Harbor is considered the major reason for it. Even though he was a great physicist, the army considered Einstein a security risk and (to Einstein’s relief) did not invite him to help in the project.

So, do u feel that you knew these facts about the great scientist?