Thursday, April 23, 2009

Why did Einstein stick out his tongue to the photographer?


Albert Einstein and the Aydelottes were just returning from an event which had taken place in honour of Einstein. Einstein was, though already sitting in the car, still bullied by reporters and photographers. They didn’t let him be and he is said to have shouted: "That’s enough, that’s enough!" However, these words didn’t hinder the photographers from taking some more pictures of Einstein and his companions. And when he still was asked to pose for a birthday picture he really grew tired of the journalists and the photographers and as encouraging words didn’t help any more, he stuck out his tongue to his "prosecutors". The photographer Arthur Sasse pressed the button of his camera in just this moment.
Einstein liked the picture very much. He cut it into shape so only he can still be seen. Then he had made several copies of it and sent the thus "manipulated" picture as a greeting card to friends later on.

5 comments:

Annie said...

Wonderful! I've never seen this before, it's a great image. Go Einstein!

Sandra said...

I always wondered how that picture came to be so popular. Great story, Barb.

candi said...

Very interesting, Barb. And what a great photo! I always wondered about it.

nancyhol said...

I LOVE this photo, Barb! And thank you for sharing the story behind it.

Bobby Livingston said...

Barb, here is something cool about this iconic image.
RRAuction.com has an autographed copy of this photo that Einstein sent to Howard K. Smith. The German inscription translates to: "This gesture you will like, Because it is aimed at all of humanity. A civilian can afford to do what no diplomat would dare."

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