11 Things You May Not Know About Albert Einstein

1. Einstein failed his first college placement test.

It was clear from the beginning that Albert was rather different. He was considered to have a speech impediment that caused him to speak very slowly. He would rehearse full sentences in his head before he would speak them.

He was nine years old before he began to speak clearly; this speech impediment is now known as “Einstein Syndrome.”

His parents actually believed him to be exceptionally challenged, which we all know today was inaccurate. The real truth was that Einstein was capable of learning anything but he just learned things differently than most would consider "normal." Most would now consider this very similar to "Asburger Syndrome."

2. He was a visual learner.

While discovering and solving different equations and comparing gravitational reactions, he did the majority of his work through visualization. He was able to accurately imagine his experiments in his mind so that he could watch them play out. In turn, we can conclude that most of what he discovered, he discovered by looking within.

3. He did a lot of drugs.

He was known to smoke a lot of marijuana and it is said that he also enjoyed an array of hallucinogenic drugs. Dimethyl-triptimene, a drug also known as DMT, was found in his system during his autopsy. This in itself is profound because DMT is said to have extreme effects on the human consciousness.

Interestingly enough he and Nikola Tesla have said that their greatest discoveries and ideas showed themselves during meditative visions (possibly trips?). He was also a heavy user of cocaine, LSD, and meth.

4. He constructed the Theory of Relativity.

He realized that matter actually distorts the space-time around it resulting in what we know as gravity. Which led him to another question; what is gravity? Gravity is acceleration; one force moving against another. In the open universe, though, some of this force is unseen which would later become described as "dark matter."

Now through Einstein's theory, we are able to understand that we live in an ever-expanding universe, in constant acceleration at phenomenal speeds gravitating around more massive matter.

5. Albert's second wife was actually his first cousin.

They shared a maternal grandmother and to make matters more strange their fathers were also first cousins. I’m just as shocked as you are.

6. Einstein was actually quite the macho man.

He was known for having an impressive roster of mistresses. He married twice and had three children. This leaves one to wonder where in the world he found the time to do all of this? Discover universal laws, explain gravity, have a career, and court multiple women.. all in one lifetime? It’s now no surprise that his life’s goal was to time travel

7. He was a talented violin player.

Albert excelled in mathematics, physics, and music. He was even known to do large performances in concert. That is a lot of talent crammed into one man.

8. There is an element named in his honor.

It was discovered in the aftermath debris of the first hydrogen bomb detonation. After his death, it was decided that the element be called “Einsteinium.”

9. He was, personally, extremely anti-war.

He did not believe in violence and adamantly opposed war of any kind. He did not initially intend for his theories to be a stepping stone in the development of nuclear weapons.

10. His brain was stolen.

The pathologist who was directed to examine Einstein after his death, stole his brain and kept it in hiding for more than twenty years. His goal was to find the source of Einstein’s genius, but he was unsuccessful.

11. He was quite the humanitarian.

Although it was said that he was a poor family man, he advocated for many human rights movements. He involved himself with the United State’s civil rights movement fighting racism. Also, given that he was a Jew who fled Germany during the Nazi regime, he used his connections with other countries government leaders to influence them to accept Jewish- German scientist refugees fleeing the Nazi Regime. This saved thousands.

Einstein’s ideas and discoveries are priceless. The story of the man who looked inside himself to unlock mysteries of the universe is something that feels so similar to science fiction— nothing short of miraculous and amazing.