Private conversations with Albert Einstein published as book
The records by Johanna Fantova, considered to be Einstein's last close female friend, describe events from the last year and a half before the scientist's death at the age of 76.
Einstein (1879-1955), who fled Nazi Germany for the United States in 1933, reportedly shared his daily experiences in US exile with Fantova over the phone. Fantova, who first met Einstein in Germany but also moved to the US, transcribed his statements with his consent, the publisher said.
The 62-page typescript in German was discovered by chance in 2004 at the Firestone Library of Princeton University, where Fantova once worked as a curator. The materials lay unprocessed in the archive for a long time.
The diary entries are now set to be published for the first time in an annotated edition with additional findings on September 24. The title of the book by Peter von Becker is: "I am a Magnet for All the Maniacs. The Einstein Transcripts – His Life, His Last Love, His Legacy."
In the diary, Einstein - who revolutionized physics with his Theory of Relativity - shares his thoughts on politics, science, everyday life and love.
For instance, he criticized the arms race of the superpowers and the rearmament of Germany, and commented on the conflict between Israelis and Palestinians, according to the publisher.
Solve the daily Crossword
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Why we need to talk about periods, breasts and injuries in women's sport
The Euros are reaching their conclusion in a massive summer across women's sport. But away from the drama and excitement on the pitch, there is also a scientific revolution taking place. Teams of scientists are researching the unique ways that elite sport affects the female body – how breasts alter the way you run, but the right sports bra could give you the edge; how the menstrual cycle could impact performance and what role period trackers could play; and why is there a higher risk of some injuries, and what can be done to avoid them? It's a far cry from the era when professional female athletes told me they were thought of simply as "mini-men". Breast biomechanics Cast your mind back to the iconic scene from the final of the last European Championships in 2022. It was extra time at Wembley and Lioness Chloe Kelly scored the winning goal against Germany. In the ensuing euphoria, she whipped off her England shirt showing the world her sports bra. It was fitted by Prof Joanna Wakefield-Scurr, from the University of Portsmouth, who proudly goes by the nickname the Bra Professor. Here are her breast facts: Breasts can bounce an average of 11,000 times in a football match An average bounce is 8cm (3in) without appropriate support They move with up to 5G of force (five times the force of gravity), comparable to the experience of a Formula 1 driver Laboratory experiments – using motion sensors on the chest – have revealed how a shifting mass of breast tissue alters the movement of the rest of the body, and in turn, sporting performance. "For some women, their breasts can be really quite heavy and if that weight moves, it can change the movement of your torso, it can even change the amount of force that you exert on the ground," Prof Wakefield-Scurr tells me. Compensating for bouncing breasts by restricting the movement of your upper body alters the positioning of the pelvis and shortens the length of each stride. That's why sports bras are not just for comfort or fashion, but a piece of performance gear. "We actually saw that low breast support meant a reduction in stride length of four centimetres," Prof Wakefield-Scurr explains. "If you lost four centimetres every step in a marathon, it adds up to a mile." Sports bras also protect the delicate structures inside the breast, "if we stretch them, that's permanent," the professor says, so "it's about prevention rather than cure". The menstrual cycle and its effect on performance The menstrual cycle has a clear impact on the body – it can affect emotions, mood and sleep as well as cause fatigue, headache and cramps. But Calli Hauger-Thackery, a distance runner who has represented Team GB at the Olympics, says talking about its sporting impact is "still so taboo and it shouldn't be, because we're struggling with it". Calli says she always notices the difference in her body in the lead up to her period. "I'm feeling really fatigued, heavy legs, I [feel like I'm] almost running through mud sometimes, everything's more strained than it should be," she says. Calli finds she "lives" by her menstruation tracker, as being on her period is a source of anxiety "especially when I've got big races coming up". One of those big races was in April – the Boston Marathon – and Calli's period was due. She finished in sixth place, and recalls that she "luckily got through" - but says she can't help wondering if she could have done even better. Can elite sport damage women's fertility? Football boot issues reported by 82% of female players The menstrual cycle is orchestrated by the rhythmic fluctuations of two hormones – oestrogen and progesterone. But how big an impact can that have on athletic performance? "It's very individual and there's a lot of nuance here, it's not quite as simple as saying the menstrual cycle affects performance," says Prof Kirsty Elliott-Sale, who specialises in female endocrinology and exercise physiology at Manchester Metropolitan University. "Competitions, personal bests, world records, everything has been set, won and lost on every day of the menstrual cycle," she says. This famously includes Paula Radcliffe, who broke the marathon world record while running through period cramps in Chicago in 2002. Working out whether the menstrual cycle affects sporting ability requires an understanding of the physiological changes that hormones have throughout the body, the challenge of performing while experiencing symptoms, the psychological impact of the anxiety of competing during your period and perceptions about all of the above. Prof Elliott-Sale says there "isn't a phase where you're stronger or weaker", or where "you're going to win or you're going to lose", but in theory the hormones oestrogen and progesterone could alter parts of the body such as bone, muscle or heart. "What we don't yet understand is: Does that have a big enough effect to really impact performance?" she says. The professor adds that it is "a very sensible conclusion" that poor sleep, fatigue and cramping would have a knock-on effect on performance, and that dread and anxiety were an "absolutely tangible thing" for athletes on their period who are performing in front of large crowds. She has spoken to athletes who "sometimes even triple up with period pants" to avoid the risk of leaking and embarrassment, and "that's a heavy mental burden". Rugby union team, Sale Sharks Women have been working with Manchester Metropolitan University. I met Katy Daley-McLean, former England rugby captain and England all-time leading point scorer. The team are having open discussions around periods to help them understand the impact that menstruation can have, and how to plan for it. This includes taking ibuprofen three days before, rather than thinking: "I can't do anything about it," Daley-McLean says. "It's through that knowledge and that information that we can talk about this, we can put plans in place, and we can change our behaviour to make you a better rugby player," she says. How to avoid injuries One issue that has emerged as women's sport has been given more attention is a difference in the susceptibility to some injuries. Most of the attention has been around the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) – a part of the knee that attaches the upper and lower parts of the leg together. Injuries can be brutal and take a year to recover from. Not only is the risk three to eight times greater in women than men, depending on the sport, but they are becoming more common, says Dr Thomas Dos'Santos, a sports biomechanics researcher at Manchester Metropolitan University. However, there is "no simple answer" to explain the greater risk in women, he says. Partly it could be down to differences in anatomy. Bigger hips in women mean the top of the thigh bone starts from a wider position and this changes the angle it connects to the lower leg at the knee, potentially increasing risk. The ACL is also slightly smaller in women "so it's a little bit weaker, potentially", Dr Dos'Santos explains. ACL injuries can happen at all stages of the menstrual cycle, but hormonal changes are also being investigated, including a study sponsored by Fifa, the governing body for world football. High levels of oestrogen prior to ovulation could alter the properties of ligaments, making them a bit more stretchy so "there could be an increased risk of injury, theoretically," he says. But Dr Dos'Santos argues it's important to think beyond pure anatomy as women still do not get the same quality of support and strength training as men. He compares it to ballet, where dancers do receive good quality training. "The [difference in] incidence rates is basically trivial between men and women," Dr Dos'Santos says. There is research into whether it is possible to minimise the risk of ACL injuries, by training female athletes to move in subtly different ways. But there is a risk of lessening performance, and some techniques that put strain on the ACL – like dropping the shoulder to deceive a defender before bursting off in another direction – are the necessary moves in sports like football. "We can't wrap them up in cotton wool and say you should avoid playing sport," Dr Dos'Santos says. "What we need to do is make sure that they're strong enough to tolerate those loads, but it isn't just as simple as some people saying we can 100% eradicate ACL injuries, we can't." No longer 'mini-men' Even though there are still many unanswered question, it is still a world of difference for Katy Daley-McLean at Sale Sharks Women. When she got her first cap in 2007, she remembers that all the assumptions around how her body would perform were based on the data from male rugby players. "We were literally treated as mini-men," Daley-McLean recalls. And now, she says, girls and women don't feel like the outsiders in sport, which is not only improving performance at the elite level but helping to keep more women in sport. "It's awesome, it's something to be celebrated because if you look at the stats, one of the biggest reasons young girls drop out of sport is body image, it's around periods and not having a correct sports bra, which is so easily sorted." Inside Health was produced by Gerry Holt More Weekend Picks by James Gallagher I found a bacteria-eating virus in my loo - could it save your life? Vitamin pills and icy swims: Can you really boost your immune system? How our noisy world is seriously damaging our health
Yahoo
4 hours ago
- Yahoo
Watch J Balvin & Gilberto Santa Rosa Bring Salsa Magic to ‘Tonight Show' With ‘Misterio'
A week after releasing his surprise album, Mixteip, J Balvin stopped by The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon to talk about his new project—and perform one of its standout tracks. On Thursday (July 24), the Colombian superstar sat down with Fallon to discuss the 10-track album, where he not only pays homage to the old-school reggaetón, but also delivers his signature progressive and experimental side. More from Billboard Tame Impala Previews New Era With Latest Single, 'End of Summer' Kneecap Banned From Hungary for Posing 'National Security Threat' Drake Reunites With Central Cee for 'Which One' Single: Stream It Now 'It's a mixtape, like the old days. You go to the streets and sell it,' he said of the set's concept during the late-night conversation. 'At least that was my first approach to mixtapes when I came to the United States. People selling the CDs in the streets, so I started doing the same when I was here hustling to make reggaetón big in the world. It gives me that nostalgia.' In addition, Balvin was joined by Puerto Rican icon Gilberto Santa Rosa for the TV debut performance of their collaboration, 'Misterio'—a seductive masterpiece that goes from a smooth reaggetón to an exhilarating salsa melody. 'What an honor to be with a legend,' Balvin expressed on Instagram when he announced the TV appearance earlier this week. 'El Caballero de la Salsa bringing generations together for the first time on Fallon Tonight. Colombia and Puerto Rico in the house!' Santa Rosa responded with: 'The privilege is mine, and I'm truly honored and grateful for your invitation, J Balvin. I wholeheartedly appreciate this opportunity. We'll be there with Mr. Jimmy Fallon, blending urbano and salsa, and bringing that Latin flavor!' Mixteip, which Balvin told fans on social media are 'songs I had on my iPod and now are going to your playlist,' follows the release of his sixth studio album, Rayo, released last August and which debuted on the Top Latin Albums chart at No. 13. Watch the interview and performance below: Best of Billboard Chart Rewind: In 1989, New Kids on the Block Were 'Hangin' Tough' at No. 1 Janet Jackson's Biggest Billboard Hot 100 Hits H.E.R. & Chris Brown 'Come Through' to No. 1 on Adult R&B Airplay Chart Solve the daily Crossword


Gizmodo
7 hours ago
- Gizmodo
The New ‘Long Walk' Trailer Promises a Grim, Nightmarish Stephen King Survival Tale
Author Stephen King and director Francis Lawrence are both known for deftly handling tales involving kids put through hell with no guarantee they'll survive. Think the Losers' Club in It for King and every young person to appear in a Hunger Games movie for Lawrence. So to combine their talents on The Long Walk, based on King's 1979 dystopian novel, feels rather ideal—not to mention nightmarish, as the film's brutal first trailer suggested. At San Diego Comic-Con, fans got a deeper look into the movie with stars David Jonsson, Tut Nyuot, Garrett Wareing, and Mark Hamill, as well as producer Roy Lee and screenwriter JT Mollner. That started off with a brand new trailer, which amps up the dread of the first, and gives us a bit more of Mark Hamill's chilling performance as the Major, the military leader who watches over the young men participating in the Long Walk… and acts as their angel of death as they're brutally picked off, one by one. The rest of the cast includes Cooper Hoffman, Judy Greer, Ben Wang, and Charlie Plummer. Here's the plot description, as chillingly simple as it gets: 'Set in a dystopian alternative version of the United States ruled by a totalitarian regime, the story follows 50 young men who sign up for the Long Walk, where they walk at a pace of three miles per hour until contestants are eliminated one by one and only one winner is left.' It hits theaters September 12. Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what's next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.