Most people know that Albert Einstein was a famous scientist who came up with the formula E=mc2. But do you know these ten things about this genius?

    10. Loved to Sail

    When Einstein attended college at the Polytechnic Institute in Zurich, Switzerland, he fell in love with sailing. He would often take a boat out onto a lake, pull out a notebook, relax, and think. Even though Einstein never learned to swim, he kept sailing as a hobby throughout his life.

    9. Einstein's Brain

    When Einstein died in 1955, his body was cremated and his ashes scattered, as was his wish. However, before his body was cremated, pathologist Thomas Harvey at Princeton Hospital conducted an autopsy in which he removed Einstein's brain. Rather than putting the brain back in the body, Harvey decided to keep it, ostensibly for study. Harvey did not have permission to keep Einstein's brain, but days later, he convinced Einstein's son that it would help science. Shortly thereafter, Harvey was fired from his position at Princeton because he refused to give up Einstein's brain.

    For the next four decades, Harvey kept Einstein's chopped-up brain （Harvey had it cut into over 200 pieces） in two mason jars with him as he moved around the country. Every once in a while, Harvey would slice off a piece and send it to a researcher. Finally, in 1998, Harvey returned Einstein's brain to the pathologist at Princeton Hospital.

    8. Einstein and the Violin

    Einstein's mother, Pauline, was an accomplished pianist and wanted her son to love music too, so she started him on violin lessons when he was six years old. Unfortunately, at first, Einstein hated playing the violin. He would much rather build houses of cards, which he was really good at （he once built one 14 stories high!）, or do just about anything else. When Einstein was 13-years old, he suddenly changed his mind about the violin when he heard the music of Mozart. With a new passion for playing, Einstein continued to play the violin until the last few years of his life. For nearly seven decades, Einstein would not only use the violin to relax when he became stuck in his thinking process, he would play socially at local recitals or join in impromptu groups such as Christmas carolers who stopped at his home.

    7. Presidency of Israel

    A few days after Zionist leader and first President of Israel Chaim Weizmann died on November 9, 1952, Einstein was asked if he would accept the position of being the second president of Israel. Einstein, age 73, declined the offer. In his official letter of refusal, Einstein stated that he not only lacked the "natural aptitude and the experience to deal properly with people," but also, he was getting old.

    6. No Socks

    Part of Einstein's charm was his disheveled look. In addition to his uncombed hair, one of Einstein's peculiar habits was to never wear socks. Whether it was while out sailing or to a formal dinner at the White House, Einstein went without socks everywhere. To Einstein, socks were a pain because they often would get holes in them. Plus, why wear both socks and shoes when one of them would do just fine?

    5. A Simple Compass

    When Albert Einstein was five years old and sick in bed, his father showed him a simple pocket compass. Einstein was mesmerized. What force exerted itself on the little needle to make it point in a single direction? This question haunted Einstein for many years and has been noted as the beginning of his fascination with science.

    4. Designed a Refrigerator

    Twenty-one years after writing his Special Theory of Relativity, Albert Einstein invented a refrigerator that operated on alcohol gas. The refrigerator was patented in 1926 but never went into production because new technology made it unnecessary. Einstein invented the refrigerator because he read about a family that was poisoned by a sulphur dioxide-emitting refrigerator.

    3. Obsessed Smoker

    Einstein loved to smoke. 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.

    2. Married His Cousin

    After Einstein divorced his first wife, Mileva Maric, in 1919, he married his cousin, Elsa Loewenthal （nee Einstein）. How closely were they related? Quite close. Elsa was actually related to Albert on both sides of his family. Albert's mother and Elsa's mother were sisters, plus Albert's father and Elsa's father were cousins. When they were both little, Elsa and Albert had played together; however, their romance only began once Elsa had married and divorced Max Loewenthal.

    1. An Illegitimate Daughter

    In 1901, before Albert Einstein and Mileva Maric were married, the college sweethearts took a romantic getaway to Lake Como in Italy. After the vacation, Mileva found herself pregnant. In that day and age, illegitimate children were not uncommon and yet they were also not accepted by society. Since Einstein did not have the money to marry Maric nor the ability to support a child, the two were not able to get married until Einstein got the patent job over a year later. So as not to besmirch Einstein's reputation, Maric went back to her family and had the baby girl, whom she named Lieserl.

    Although we know that Einstein knew about his daughter, we don't actually know what happened to her. There are but just a few references of her in Einstein's letters, with the last one in September 1903. It is believed that Lieserl either died after suffering from scarlet fever at an early age or she survived the scarlet fever and was given up for adoption. Both Albert and Mileva kept the existence of Lieserl so secret that Einstein scholars only discovered her existence in recent years.

    大多數人都知道， 愛因斯坦是一個著名科學家，他想出了著名公式e = mc2 .但是，有10件事也許你不知道。

    10.熱衷帆船

    當愛因斯坦還在瑞士的蘇黎世理工學院上學時，他就愛上了帆船運動。他常常會船到湖里泛舟，拿出一個筆記本，然后放松和思考。盡管愛因斯坦從來都沒有學會游泳，但帆船運動卻陪伴了他。

    9.愛因斯坦的大腦

    愛因斯坦在1955年去世，他的尸體被火化后，骨灰遵照遺囑被分散。然而，尸體火化前，普林斯頓醫院的病理學家托馬斯哈維對愛因斯坦進行了尸檢，并取走了他的大腦。最終哈維也沒有把大腦放回尸體里，而是保留下來以做研究之用。雖然哈維的這種做法是違法的，但幾天之后，他終于讓愛因斯坦的兒子相信這是對科學事業的貢獻。此后不久，哈維就被普林斯頓解雇了，因為他拒絕交出愛因斯坦的大腦。

    在接下來的40年中，哈維一直愛因斯坦的大腦切片（哈維把它切成200多片）在全美國游走。每隔一段時間，他就會將其中的一片送給某位學者研究。在1998年，哈維最終把愛因斯坦大腦給回了普林斯頓醫院。

    8.愛因斯坦與小提琴

    愛因斯坦的母親波琳是一個多才多藝的鋼琴家，也很希望自己的兒子能喜歡音樂，所以她在愛因斯坦6歲時就開始教他拉小提琴。不幸的是，愛因斯坦憎恨拉小提琴，他寧愿用卡片建個房子（他曾用卡片造了一個14層的房子）,對他來說，干什么事都比拉小提琴好。但當愛因斯坦是13歲時，他偶然聽到了莫扎特的音樂，從此改變了對小提琴的看法。打這之后，愛因斯坦一直保持著對小提琴的激情，直到生命的最后幾年。愛因斯坦演奏小提琴近七十年中，他不僅會用小提琴放松身心，還為當地區表演，或者加入即興樂隊，如圣誕節停在他家的唱詩班。

    7.以色列總統

    猶太復國主義領袖和以色列第一任總統魏茲曼于1952年11月9日死后的幾天里，愛因斯坦就被邀請擔任以色列第二任總統。但當時已73歲的愛因斯坦拒絕了這個提議。他在信中回絕說，自己不僅沒有"才智和經驗，無法妥善照顧人民",而且已經太老了。

    6.不穿襪子

    愛因斯坦衣冠不整的造型也迷倒了不少人。他除了頭發蓬亂，另一個特殊習慣就是從來不穿襪子。無論是劃船還是白宮的正式晚宴，愛因斯坦都是光腳穿鞋子。對他來說，襪子是一種痛苦，因為襪子上常常會破開一個一個的洞。另外，愛因斯坦還覺得襪子和鞋子的功能是一樣的，那還為什么要穿兩個呢？

    5.簡易指南針的啟發

    當阿爾伯特·愛因斯坦5歲時，他生了一次病，父親給病床上的他展示了一個簡單的袖珍指南針。愛因斯坦為此十分著迷。究竟是什么力量總是牽引著小小的指針朝著同一個方向？這個問題困擾了愛因斯坦很多年，現在人們也相信，就是這件事讓他走上了研究科學的道路。

    4.設計了一個冰箱

    在狹義相對論完成后的第二十一年，愛因斯坦發明了一個靠酒精氣體運作的冰箱。這個冰箱在1926年獲得了專利，但從未投入生產，因為他的這種設計其實已經很落伍了。愛因斯坦之所以發明這個冰箱，是有一次他看到有一家人因為冰箱排放的二氧化硫中毒而死。

    3.吸煙狂

    愛因斯坦喜歡抽煙。當他走在上班或回家的路上時，人們經常可以看到他身后跟著一溜煙霧。對人們來說，愛因斯坦的形象就是雜亂的頭發和寬松的衣服，可是誰知道衣服里面有著他從不離身的煙斗。在1950年，愛因斯坦曾說，"我認為，用煙斗吸煙有助于心情平靜和客觀地判斷事務，" 雖然他喜歡煙斗，但他也不介意吸一下雪茄或一支香煙。

    2.娶了自己的表妹

    當愛因斯坦和第一任妻子米列娃馬·里奇在1919年離婚后，他又娶了自己的表妹，艾爾莎·洛文塔爾·愛因斯坦。他們的血緣有多近呢？那是相當近。艾爾莎實際上和愛因斯坦父母兩邊都有關系。愛因斯坦的母親和的艾爾莎母親是姐妹，同時愛因斯坦的父親和艾爾莎的父親是堂兄弟。當艾爾莎和愛因斯坦還小的時候，他們兩個人常在一起玩。然而，他們的戀情是在艾爾莎和自己的原配丈夫馬克思·洛文塔爾離婚后才開始的。

    1.一個私生女

    1901年的時候，阿爾伯特·愛因斯坦和米列娃·馬里奇結婚還沒有正式結婚，但他們兩個還是在意大利科摩湖進行了一次浪漫之旅。這次度假后，米列娃發現自己懷孕了。在那個時代，非婚生子雖然并不少見，可也還是不被社會所接受。當時愛因斯坦即沒有錢結婚，也沒有錢養孩子，所以直到愛因斯坦一年后在專利局找到了一個工作之后他們才成為夫妻。為了不玷污愛因斯坦的聲譽，馬里奇又把生下的女嬰帶給了自己的父母，取名Lieserl.

    雖然我們知道愛因斯坦承認這個女兒，但這個女孩最后怎么樣卻無人知曉。愛因斯坦只是在自己的信中提起過她幾回，最后一次在1903年9月。據說，Lieserl在幼年時死于猩紅熱，也或許她挺過了那次疾病，被另一戶人領養。愛因斯坦和米列娃都都對Lieserl的存在守口如瓶，研究愛因斯坦的學者直到最近幾年才發現這個秘密。