My dear friend & incomparable author Dan Simmons died Saturday from a stroke at age 77. He defied literary norms, exploring historical fiction, horror, crime & other genres. His must-read titles include THE SONG OF KALI & HYPERION. He was one of a kind.
https://t.co/NcBFT4hBc6
When Albert Einstein moved to Princeton, his wild hair and simple clothes often made him look like an absent-minded worker rather than a world-famous scientist.
One day, he was even mistaken for an electrician. Someone asked him to fix a faulty light bulb socket.
With a playful smile, Einstein quietly repaired it and said nothing about who he really was.
Only after the job was done did he reveal his identity—leaving the staff red-faced and speechless.
But this was not the first time he enjoyed a good role reversal.
In the early days, when his theory of relativity had just begun to make headlines—especially after the 1919 solar eclipse proved him right—Einstein was invited to speak across the world. Yet few people knew what he looked like.
On one trip in the United States, he admitted to his driver that he was tired of repeating the same lecture again and again.
The driver, who looked a bit like him, joked, “I’ve heard your talk so many times, I could give it myself.”
Einstein laughed—and then agreed.
At the next conference, the driver went on stage as “Professor Einstein,” while the real Einstein sat quietly in the back.
The driver delivered the lecture perfectly. No one suspected a thing.
Then a proud professor in the audience stood up and asked a very difficult question.
Einstein prepared to step in and confess the trick. But before he could rise, the driver calmly replied, “Sir, your question is so simple that even my driver, sitting at the back, can answer it.”
All eyes turned. Einstein stood up, gave the correct answer, and saved the day. Later, the two men shared a hearty laugh.
Whether this story is true or just a charming legend—sometimes told about another great scientist, Max Planck—it carries a clever lesson.
Anyone can memorize a speech and repeat it smoothly. With practice, almost anyone can give a lecture that sounds impressive.
But that does not mean they truly understand the subject.
Psychologists call this “chauffeur knowledge.” It is the kind of knowledge that knows the words, but not the meaning.
It shines on the outside—but inside, it may be empty.
Einstein, of course, had the real thing.
Ernst Röhm, leader of Hitler's Brownshirts, showed how to build an authoritarian paramilitary: recruit men selected for their propensity for violence and absolute loyalty to a leader, then grant them legal immunity, a free hand to terrorize opponents, and pay far better than they could earn elsewhere.
This formula helped propel the Nazis to power. This is ICE.
In 1802 the condom was invented in New Zealand by using sheep's lower intestine.
Some years later Australians refined
the idea by first removing the intestine from the sheep.
A small church had a very attractive big-busted organist named Linda.
Her breasts were so large that they bounced and jiggled while she played the organ. Unfortunately, this distracted the congregation considerably.
The very proper church ladies were appalled. They said something had to be done about this or they would have to get another organist.
One of the women discreetly informed Linda and told her to mash up some green astringent persimmons and rub them on her nipples and over her breasts, which should cause them to shrink in size.
But she warned Linda not to taste any of the green persimmons because they’re so sour they’d make her mouth pucker up and she wouldn't be able to talk properly for a while.
The voluptuous organist reluctantly agreed to try it.
The following Sunday morning the pastor climbed into the pulpit and said, “Dew to thircumsthanthis bewond my contwol, we will not hab a thermon tewday.”