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.

大多数人都知道， 爱因斯坦是一个着名科学家，他想出了着名公式e = mc2 .但是，有10件事也许你不知道。

10.热衷帆船

当爱因斯坦还在瑞士的苏黎世理工学院上学时，他就爱上了帆船运动。他常常会船到湖里泛舟，拿出一个笔记本，然后放松和思考。尽管爱因斯坦从来都没有学会游泳，但帆船运动却陪伴了他。

9.爱因斯坦的大脑

爱因斯坦在1955年去世，他的尸体被火化后，骨灰遵照遗嘱被分散。然而，尸体火化前，普林斯顿医院的病理学家托马斯哈维对爱因斯坦进行了尸检，并取走了他的大脑。最终哈维也没有把大脑放回尸体里，而是保留下来以做研究之用。虽然哈维的这种做法是违法的，但几天之后，他终于让爱因斯坦的儿子相信这是对科学事业的贡献。此后不久，哈维就被普林斯顿解雇了，因为他拒绝交出爱因斯坦的大脑。

在接下来的40年中，哈维一直爱因斯坦的大脑切片（哈维把它切成200多片）在全美国游走。每隔一段时间，他就会将其中的一片送给某位学者研究。在1998年，哈维最终把爱因斯坦大脑给回了普林斯顿医院。

8.爱因斯坦与小提琴

爱因斯坦的母亲波琳是一个多才多艺的钢琴家，也很希望自己的儿子能喜欢音乐，所以她在爱因斯坦6岁时就开始教他拉小提琴。不幸的是，爱因斯坦憎恨拉小提琴，他宁愿用卡片建个房子（他曾用卡片造了一个14层的房子）,对他来说，干什么事都比拉小提琴好。但当爱因斯坦是13岁时，他偶然听到了莫扎特的音乐，从此改变了对小提琴的看法。打这之后，爱因斯坦一直保持着对小提琴的激情，直到生命的最后几年。爱因斯坦演奏小提琴近七十年中，他不仅会用小提琴放松身心，还为当地区表演，或者加入即兴乐队，如圣诞节停在他家的唱诗班。

7.以色列总统

犹太复国主义领袖和以色列第一任总统魏兹曼于1952年11月9日死后的几天里，爱因斯坦就被邀请担任以色列第二任总统。但当时已73岁的爱因斯坦拒绝了这个提议。他在信中回绝说，自己不仅没有"才智和经验，无法妥善照顾人民",而且已经太老了。

6.不穿袜子

爱因斯坦衣冠不整的造型也迷倒了不少人。他除了头发蓬乱，另一个特殊习惯就是从来不穿袜子。无论是划船还是白宫的正式晚宴，爱因斯坦都是光脚穿鞋子。对他来说，袜子是一种痛苦，因为袜子上常常会破开一个一个的洞。另外，爱因斯坦还觉得袜子和鞋子的功能是一样的，那还为什么要穿两个呢？

5.简易指南针的启发

当阿尔伯特·爱因斯坦5岁时，他生了一次病，父亲给病床上的他展示了一个简单的袖珍指南针。爱因斯坦为此十分着迷。究竟是什么力量总是牵引着小小的指针朝着同一个方向？这个问题困扰了爱因斯坦很多年，现在人们也相信，就是这件事让他走上了研究科学的道路。

4.设计了一个冰箱

在狭义相对论完成后的第二十一年，爱因斯坦发明了一个靠酒精气体运作的冰箱。这个冰箱在1926年获得了专利，但从未投入生产，因为他的这种设计其实已经很落伍了。爱因斯坦之所以发明这个冰箱，是有一次他看到有一家人因为冰箱排放的二氧化硫中毒而死。

3.吸烟狂

爱因斯坦喜欢抽烟。当他走在上班或回家的路上时，人们经常可以看到他身后跟着一溜烟雾。对人们来说，爱因斯坦的形象就是杂乱的头发和宽松的衣服，可是谁知道衣服里面有着他从不离身的烟斗。在1950年，爱因斯坦曾说，"我认为，用烟斗吸烟有助于心情平静和客观地判断事务，" 虽然他喜欢烟斗，但他也不介意吸一下雪茄或一支香烟。

2.娶了自己的表妹

当爱因斯坦和第一任妻子米列娃马·里奇在1919年离婚后，他又娶了自己的表妹，艾尔莎·洛文塔尔·爱因斯坦。他们的血缘有多近呢？那是相当近。艾尔莎实际上和爱因斯坦父母两边都有关系。爱因斯坦的母亲和的艾尔莎母亲是姐妹，同时爱因斯坦的父亲和艾尔莎的父亲是堂兄弟。当艾尔莎和爱因斯坦还小的时候，他们两个人常在一起玩。然而，他们的恋情是在艾尔莎和自己的原配丈夫马克思·洛文塔尔离婚后才开始的。

1.一个私生女

1901年的时候，阿尔伯特·爱因斯坦和米列娃·马里奇结婚还没有正式结婚，但他们两个还是在意大利科摩湖进行了一次浪漫之旅。这次度假后，米列娃发现自己怀孕了。在那个时代，非婚生子虽然并不少见，可也还是不被社会所接受。当时爱因斯坦即没有钱结婚，也没有钱养孩子，所以直到爱因斯坦一年后在专利局找到了一个工作之后他们才成为夫妻。为了不玷污爱因斯坦的声誉，马里奇又把生下的女婴带给了自己的父母，取名Lieserl.

虽然我们知道爱因斯坦承认这个女儿，但这个女孩最后怎么样却无人知晓。爱因斯坦只是在自己的信中提起过她几回，最后一次在1903年9月。据说，Lieserl在幼年时死于猩红热，也或许她挺过了那次疾病，被另一户人领养。爱因斯坦和米列娃都都对Lieserl的存在守口如瓶，研究爱因斯坦的学者直到最近几年才发现这个秘密。