Einstein's Tip of Happiness

What may be a surprise to some, Albert Einstein, a man known for his scientific and mathematical genius, also had a quite valuable literary notion. Two notes simply written in 1922 recently sold for a combined $1.8 million this past Tuesday.

Both notes were taken during his travel "from Europe to Japan for a lecture series for which he was paid...by his Japanese publisher and hosts." Rightly so, news of his travel abroad caused quite a stir and brought many to see him speak. "Impressed but also embarrassed by the publicity, Einstein tried to write down his thoughts and feelings from his secluded room at the Imperial Hotel in Tokyo. A messenger [then] arrived with a delivery. [Rather than exchanging change], Einstein wrote two short notes and handed them to the messenger [saying,] 'If you are lucky, the notes themselves will someday be worth more than some spare change'."

Einstein was right: "A calm and modest life brings more happiness than the pursuit of success combined with constant relentlessness" and "When there's a will, there's a way" brought, indeed, much more than spare change.

Digging Up the Past

Sally Hemings is a name unknown to many, yet, her legacy during the time of our founding fathers is quite intriguing. Historians believe Ms. Hemings, an enslaved woman to Thomas Jefferson in his Monticello home, gave birth to six of his children. Recently, "historians studied a description provided long ago by a grandson of Jefferson who placed Hemings’ room in the home’s South Wing." As archaeologists began digging, they uncovered a 14x13' room adjacent to the Jefferson's bedroom with no windows and a dirt floor along with multiple artifacts; although it is still believed she lived a higher life than other enslaved people on the grounds. This discovery is part of a $35 million restoration of the grounds in an effort to retell the stories, both good and bad, that are still alive within the walls today.

40,000 Year Old Bracelet Uncovered

Such a neat discovery - a bracelet tracing back 40,000 years was found in the Denisova Cave in Siberia next to woolly mammoth and other animal remains dating back to 125,000 years. The cave is named after the Denisovan people - "a mysterious species of hominins from the Homo genus, who are genetically different from both Homo sapiens and Neanderthals". This is officially the oldest piece of jewelry ever discovered and its craftsmanship "shows a level of technique at least 30,000 years ahead of its time". Certain areas of the bracelet indicate the use of a type of tool similar to that of a "modern drill". It's also believed that this artifact belonged to an elite in the society. How incredible to think of life thousands of years ago and what this small, yet powerful piece of jewelry may have seen.

Incredible Dinosaur Remains Found in Canadian Oil Sands

Back in 2011, "an unsuspecting excavator operator uncovered [this] historic discovery while digging in an oil sands mine". Six years later and the nodosaur is now fully restored and making is display debut in the Royal Tyrrell Museum of Palaeontology in Alberta, Canada. Based on research, this new species is a guesstimated 110 million years old herbivore that "walked on four legs...covered in tank-like armor and dotted with spikes for protection". This discovery leads to the question - what else could be down there?

50,000 people evacuated in a German city because of the uncovering of 5 WWII bombs.

Little did the people of Hannover know that they were living atop five, live WWII bombs almost three-quarters of a century old. Although intriguing to discover the past and its correlation to the present, this might be a little too realistic representation of the past. Safe wishes to all those working to detonate these bombs.