Buzz
Scientists are often thought of as quiet, methodical individuals who dedicate themselves to their research. You know the stereotype—lab coats, surrounded by chalkboards covered in complex equations, their minds working behind untidy hair. And sometimes, they end up changing the course of history.
But not every scientist conforms to this conventional image. Some have been known for their peculiar habits, earning them a place in history for all the wrong reasons. Here’s a list of ten scientists who made groundbreaking discoveries while being decidedly unusual.
10. Hennig Brand
Chemistry today is regarded as a precise and challenging field, but its early history was far more chaotic, rooted in the mystical practices of alchemy. Long before modern chemistry, alchemy reigned supreme, with its belief that base materials could be transformed into gold. In 1669, an alchemist named Hennig Brand became convinced that he could turn urine into gold. He gathered urine from his wife and her friends and set about boiling 5,700 liters (1,500 gal) of it in his basement.
Brand didn’t uncover the secret of gold creation, but the process did yield a curious result: the boiled urine glowed in the dark. After performing an alchemical procedure where the glowing, cold urine was left to sit and release gases, Brand eventually discovered a white substance, which we now know as phosphorus.
9. Fritz Zwicky
A brief glance at Fritz Zwicky’s work reveals a brilliant mind who observed supernovae and helped lay the foundation for the concept of dark matter. A deeper look, however, uncovers his unique personality. Originally from Bulgaria, Zwicky moved to Caltech in the 1920s, where he quickly earned the ire of his American colleagues. He famously referred to the astronomers at Mount Wilson Observatory as “spherical bastards.” In his words, “They were bastards, when looked at from any side.”
In fact, one of his colleagues, Walter Baade, was so uncomfortable with Zwicky that he refused to be left alone with him, as reported by Jesse Greenstein: “Zwicky called Baade a Nazi, which he wasn’t, and Baade said he was afraid Zwicky would kill him.” Fortunately, Zwicky never harmed anyone and continued his research and writing until his death at the age of 76.
8. William Beebe
A deep-sea explorer, occasional fabricator, and an all-around fascinating personality, William Beebe has often been mistakenly credited with inventing the bathysphere, a 2,300-kilogram (5,000 lb) metal sphere designed to carry two people. The real inventor was Otis Barton, but Beebe, with his more captivating persona, became the face of the invention.
Before diving into the depths of the ocean, Beebe was an ornithologist. He held a position at the New York Zoological Society but soon grew weary of museum work and took to exploring the field. Though married, Beebe was known for his travels across Asia and South America with attractive female assistants, whose roles were creatively described as “historian and technicist” or “assistant in fish problems.”
7. James Hutton
James Hutton was relatively more conventional compared to others, but his writing and speaking were quite difficult to follow. Often referred to as the father of geology, Hutton was the first person to use the scientific method to study and analyze rocks. Unfortunately, his groundbreaking ideas were lost on many due to his complex and unclear language. For example, this excerpt from A Theory of the Earth with Proofs and Illustrations:
The world which we inhabit is composed of the materials, not of the earth which was the immediate predecessor of the present, but of the earth which, in ascending from the present, we consider as the third, and which had preceded the land that was above the surface of the sea, while our present land was yet beneath the water of the ocean.
This sentence is as clear as Hutton’s work gets. In fact, five years after his death, his close friend John Playfair had to rewrite the entire book, simplifying it to make it more accessible to readers.
6. William Buckland
William Buckland was the first formally trained geology professor at Oxford and had an unusual passion for eating anything. While teaching at Oxford, he once dropped a large hyena skull onto a student's lap and asked, “What rules the world?” When the student remained silent, Buckland exclaimed, “The stomach, sir! [It’s the stomach that] rules the world. The great ones eat the less, the less the lesser still…,”
Guests at Buckland’s home were treated to this philosophy in full force. His dinner parties were known for offering bizarre delicacies: Crisp mice in golden batter. Panther chops. Rhino pie. Elephant trunk. Crocodile for breakfast. Sliced porpoise head. Horse’s tongue. Kangaroo ham. All of this was served while a live hyena and monkey roamed freely around the house. There is even a possibly exaggerated tale of Buckland eating King Louis XIV’s heart, where Buckland reportedly said, “I have eaten many strange things, but have never eaten the heart of a king before,” before promptly eating it. Delightful.
5. Edward Drinker Cope
Edward Drinker Cope had a remarkable talent for uncovering dinosaur fossils, with 1,300 discoveries throughout his career. His fierce rivalry with Charles Marsh pushed him to achieve great feats, but it also led to massive confusion in the naming of species. Their bitter competition resulted in both scientists “discovering” the bones of an extinct mammal called Uintatherium anceps 22 times due to poor communication and flawed science.
This rivalry has since been dubbed the “Bone Wars” by historians. In their desperate bid to outdo each other, the scientists would go to extreme lengths: destroying small bones, employing spies, and even organizing stone-throwing brawls between their teams. Eventually, the rivalry fizzled out.
4. Carl Wilhelm Scheele
Carl Wilhelm Scheele is credited with the discovery of at least six different elements, but he never received recognition for any of them. Isaac Asimov, the scientist and author, referred to him as “hard-luck Scheele” due to his inability to publish his findings. His financial situation wasn’t much better, despite his keen insight into the commercial value of chlorine as bleach. However, he never pursued the idea and missed the chance to become wealthy.
Unfortunately for Scheele, his life was cut short at the age of 43. This was likely due to his habit of tasting and sniffing every compound he worked with. Scientists suspect that prolonged exposure to hazardous substances like mercury and arsenic contributed to his early death. At least he had an inkling of his fate; he referred to poor health as “the trouble of all apothecaries.”
3. Henry Cavendish
Famous for discovering hydrogen and calculating the Earth’s density, Henry Cavendish might have preferred if no one knew his name at all. A brilliant but incredibly introverted individual, Cavendish’s shyness was so extreme that it bordered on a disorder. This social anxiety was especially apparent when it came to women. To avoid direct contact with his female housekeeper, Cavendish even had a back staircase built into his house. Whenever he needed her assistance, he would leave a note on the staircase instead of speaking to her directly.
Cavendish did, however, make occasional appearances at the scientific gatherings hosted by naturalist Sir Joseph Banks. At these events, Banks would always instruct guests on the proper way to approach Cavendish. If a conversation with Cavendish was necessary, Sir Banks would advise, 'approach him as though by accident and speak as if you were talking to empty space.'
2. The Haldanes
The Haldanes played a crucial role in developing the first practical deep-water diving equipment, though they had their share of eccentricities. Like many scientists of the time, they tested their own ideas and inventions. It is believed that John Scott Haldane’s experiments with mercury may have contributed to his absent-mindedness. On one occasion, his wife asked him to change for a dinner party, but he never returned. When she found him asleep, he explained, 'I started to undress and thought it was bedtime.'
John’s inquisitive son, J.B.S., took after his father in more ways than one. By the time Jack was three, he was asking questions like, 'But is it oxyhaemoglobin or carboxyhaemoglobin?' As Jack grew older, he worked alongside his father, conducting experiments like testing various gases and timing how long it would take for each to make them pass out, as well as how fast they could recover after deep-sea dives.
At times, much like his father with mercury, J.B.S. would take his experiments to extreme levels. On one occasion, when asked about the damage to his eardrum after a deep dive, J.B.S. Haldane quipped, 'The drum generally heals, but if a hole remains, while one may be somewhat deaf, it does have its perks—one can blow tobacco smoke out of the ear in question, which is quite a social accomplishment.'
1. Ernest Rutherford
The father of nuclear physics. The pioneer who first split the atom. Ernest Rutherford was the visionary who made the theoretical creation of an atomic weapon possible. He was also known for his booming voice and imposing figure, always speaking as if on stage. When asked why he would use radio for a broadcast across the ocean, his colleague remarked, 'Why use radio?'
Rutherford not only had a loud voice, but 'he was always eager to speak on any topic under the sun, often without knowing much about it,' according to Chaim Weizmann. His personality was so overwhelming that some colleagues described him as such, and as James Chadwick noted, Rutherford wasn’t necessarily a great experimenter. What set him apart was his immense determination and tireless work ethic.
