Albert Einstein: March 1920
This man needs no introduction. Albert Einstein was just a year away from winning the Nobel Prize in Physics when we published this article on his newfangled theories. At the time, relativity was a controversial topic, hence the caption we bestowed beneath his picture. Like Galileo and Copernicus, Einstein championed ideas that could upset our understanding of the universe. For our readers' sake, we put the implications of his mind-boggling theories in simple terms: Straight lines don't exist, all motion is relative, light travels at a fixed speed, and gravity cannot exceed the velocity of light. Straight lines are components of a giant curve. If you move fast enough in a straight line, you will end up where you started. Madness! "All this seems like sheer nonsense," we said. "And yet, Einstein's statements have been proved to be true by experiments! You have been living in a dream world. Your conception of time and space are true only within limits." Read the full story in Once They Would Have Burned Him at the Stake. Popular Science
SHARE
Time Card for Albert Einstein
07/01/1933 - 06/30/1944
National Civilian Personnel Records Center
1 of 4
09126_2003_001

Albert Einstein’s Timecard

Time Card for Albert Einstein 07/01/1933 – 06/30/1944 National Civilian Personnel Records Center 1 of 4 09126_2003_001

Happy Post-Holiday-Weekend Monday! Perhaps you can take comfort in knowing you had something in common with fellow clock-puncher Albert Einstein, who took part-time pay from the government while working on Navy weapons during World War II. Here are his timecards from July 1943 to June 1944.

The cards are a little tough to decipher: it’s not clear how much Einstein earned for his expertise, or when exactly he worked (are those squiggly lines days worked?). But still, it’s a nifty artifact.

Now get back to work.

National Archives via Retronaut

Time Card for Albert Einstein
07/01/1933 - 06/30/1944
National Civilian Personnel Records Center
3 of 4
09126_2003_003

Albert Einstein’s Timecard

Time Card for Albert Einstein 07/01/1933 – 06/30/1944 National Civilian Personnel Records Center 3 of 4 09126_2003_003