Love and lollipops

Six Little Scientists write to One Big Scientist

Sep 1, 2023

To brighten your day, I bring you what I humbly believe is the most charming of the thousands of letters sent to Albert Einstein by inquisitive children. In fact, it would be difficult to design a more endearing one. The fact that he responded with an amusingly brief letter of his own simply adds a cherry to the cake. Enjoy.

[1951]
Dear Proffesser,
We are six children who took an interest in Science. We are in sixth grade. In our class we are having an argument. The class took sides. We six are on one side and 21 on the other side. Our teacher is also on the other side so that makes 22. The argument is whether there would be living things on earth if the sun burnt out or if human beings would die. We are not going to say anything we don't believe. We are going to keep what we believe in until it is proved different. We believe there would be living things on the earth if the sun burnt out. Will you tell us what you think. We have some other questions we have been wondering about. If it wouldn't bother you too much could you please answer them? They are: Does the sun give off hydrogen? Are the stars bigger than the sun? Do we have a chance to become scientists?
We are:
Linda, age 11
Brenda, age 11
Ubain, age 11
Richard, age 11
Rosalie, age 11
Glenn, age 11
We would like you to join our Six Little Scientists, only now it would be Six Little Scientists and One Big Scientist. Please give us each your autograph so we can use them for club badges and also to help us remember how you helped us and showed us something if we are wrong. Probably there are many things misspelled or done wrong on here because we are not showing this to the teacher. Our teacher's name is Mrs. Smythe.
If you would join our club you must not tell any of our secrets and you would be our special friend and not a proffesser.
Love and lollipops,
Six Little Scientists
P.S. Linda wrote the letter
December 12, 1951
Dear Children:
The minority is sometimes right—but not in your case. Without sunlight there is: no wheat, no bread, no grass, no cattle, no meat, no milk, and everything would be frozen.
No LIFE.
A. Einstein

Last Month in Diaries

Some highlights from Diaries of Note in August:

5th August 1945: The last diary entry from 13-year-old Yoko Moriwaki, written the day before Hiroshima was obliterated
8th August 1969: The Beatles’ road manager, Mal Evans, sketches the iconic Abbey Road crossing
11th August 1836: 19-year-old Charlotte Brontë vents about the pupils she hates to teach
15th August 1945: The future Queen of the United Kingdom celebrates the end of World War II
23rd August 1976: Mid-production on Apocalypse Now, Eleanor Coppola on the struggle to balance work and family
25th August 1989: On the day scientists identify the gene responsible for cystic fibrosis, a young sufferer celebrates
29th August 1809: Five years after killing Alexander Hamilton in a duel, Aaron Burr accidentally sets himself on fire

Jennifer McGlincy’s diary, 25th August 1989

Letters between six children and Albert Einstein excerpted from the book, Dear Professor Einstein: Albert Einstein's Letters to and from Children, published by Prometheus in 2002.

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