Einstein

 or I Was Wondering

While Ward and I were waiting for a table at a restaurant this past weekend, I was looking at all of the pictures they had on the walls. It was an eclectic collection including the photo where Albert Einstein is sticking out his tongue. I've seen that picture many, many times and never thought about the circumstances under which it was taken--until then. When Ward, who is my expert on all things I don't know, didn't know either, it was time for a little googling when we got home.

Luckily, the first five sources I read agreed about the picture and the occasion when it was taken. So, I didn't have to do any guessing about what might have really happened. For those of you who also don't know about the picture and are very mildly curious about it, here's why Einstein stuck his tongue out.

Einstein was celebrating his 72nd birthday, March 14, 1951, at the Princeton Club, and the event was heavily covered by the press. At the end of the evening, a very tired Einstein was getting a ride home when he was asked by UPI photographer, Arthur Sasse, for one last picture. Einstein, who tired of the pictures, stuck his tongue out instead of smiling. Sasse was the only one who captured the now iconic pose. The original picture had Dr. and Mrs. Aydelotte (whose car he was in) in it, but they were later cropped out. As it turns out, Einstein really liked the photo and asked for nine personal copies of it. So there you have it. The mildly interesting story behind the most famous Einstein photo.

But Wait There's More: 

-- Did anyone happen to notice that Einstein was born on Pi Day (3.14)?

--There's a Facebook  page for the picture called That Picture of Albert Einstein Where He's Sticking Out His Tongue.

--More reading: http://iconicphotos.wordpress.com/2009/06/01/einstein-sticks-his-tongue-out/

                            http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albert_Einstein_in_popular_culture