10 surprising day jobs of famous inventors and scientists

Famous inventors and scientists submission to the daily grind

Image source: Wikimedia Commons
  • Albert Einstein worked as a patent clerk for seven years.
  • In between painting and inventing, Leonardo da Vinci made war machines for the Duke of Milan.
  • Isaac Newton was almost forced to forget mathematics and become a farmer.
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Personal Growth

The Interstellar Object Passing By Is Not Like Anything We’ve Seen

For the first time, an object from outside our solar system is observed traveling through our neighborhood.

Artist’s concept of object (EUROPEAN SOUTHERN OBSERVATORY/M. KORNMESSER)

The Panoramic Survey Telescope and Rapid Response System (Pan-STARRS) telescope is located near the summit of the Haleakala volcano on Maui, and on October 19, 2017, post-doctoral researcher Rob Weryk noticed something odd moving west at an unusual 6.2° angle. Not sure what it was, he checked the observatory’s backlog and discovered an image of it from the night before. A team led by Karen Meech of University of Hawaii's Institute of Astronomy next examined October 22 imagery of the object captured by the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope (CFHT) on the big island at Maunakea. The object’s unique angle of trajectory signified that it had to come from outside our solar system.

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Technology & Innovation

Why Philosophy Is so Important in Science Education

Why do scientists look down on philosophers? And are they right to do so?

Both Bill Nye and Neil deGrasse Tyson are known to have dismissed philosophy as rather useless. Here, they're shown attending the premiere of 'Cosmos: A SpaceTime Odyssey' in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Jason Kempin/Getty Images)

Each semester, I teach courses on the philosophy of science to undergraduates at the University of New Hampshire. Most of the students take my courses to satisfy general education requirements, and most of them have never taken a philosophy class before. 

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Surprising Science

NASA Scientists Discover “Kittens” Within Saturn’s F Ring

NASA scientists are sifting through some of the last transmissions from Cassini. And what they’re finding are kittens. You read that right.

Saturn’s rings are iconic. But it’s far from the only planet to have them. Jupiter, Uranus, and Neptune all have rings. Theirs however aren’t as prominent, and thus they’re harder to see.

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Technology & Innovation

9 inventors who were killed by their inventions

Science gone horribly wrong. This infographic presents inventors where wiped out by their own creations. 

The deadly Hunley submarine (NAVSOURCE.ORG)

Yes, we know, “no pain, no gain,” but too much of a good thing…

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Technology & Innovation