Albert Einstein may be known for his contributions in theoretical physics; however, the man had few more tricks up his sleeve that we may not have even known much about. Along with the theory of relativity, he had also cracked the theory of living a happy life and after all these years it is making headlines. It is a heart-warming story, about how the greatest mind of 20th-century science gave a tip that just fetched over $1 million.
According to Walter Isaacson's biography "Einstein: His Life and Universe", the time was November 1922 and Einstein was on his way to Japan, in order to give a series of lectures, an exercise for which he was being paid a princely sum of 2,000 pounds.
During this journey from Europe, he learned that he has been bestowed the highest honour in his respective field, the highly coveted Nobel Prize in physics. The news, that the 43-year-old's contribution to theoretical physics has been recognized at the highest echelon, spread like wildfire throughout Japan and thousands rallied to catch a glimpse of him.
Einstein, being a humble man, was perturbed by this sudden publicity and popularity. He was aware of the magnitude of this award and was trying to jot down his musings while residing in his secluded hotel room. It was at this time when a messenger came in with a delivery for him at the Imperial Hotel, where he was staying in Tokyo, and the man, a Japanese, "refused to accept a tip, in line with local practice, or Einstein had no" other alternate available.
Therefore, Einstein gave the messenger two small paper notes scribbled in his own handwriting and said that if the messenger was lucky, these notes would one day fetch a considerable amount of money, informed the present day seller of letters.
These autographed memorabilia have the theoretical physicist jotting down his musings on how to live a content life. They were sold by the messenger's relative at a Jerusalem auction house on Tuesday. The notes fetched an astonishing sum of $1.8 million combined, reported The Washington Post.
Scribbled in Einstein's native tongue German, on the hotel's stationery paper, one of the notes reads, "A calm and modest life brings more happiness than the pursuit of success combined with constant restlessness." The other one, on the other hand, reads, "Where there's a will, there's a way."
The notes show how down-to-earth he was, the one who was described by the chairman of the Nobel Committee for Physics, while bestowing the award, "there is probably no physicist living today whose name has become so widely known as that of Albert Einstein."
