This is one of the most famous images on the Internet, used to create countless memes. But do you really know the story behind it?
When you think of Albert Einstein, what comes to mind first? The theory of relativity? The Nobel Prize? The side stories with Tesla? A scientist, a wealthy individual, or a person with a humorous face, like in the iconic photo of him sticking out his tongue while staring at the camera?
Einstein loved this photo and used it to attach to his personal greeting cards.
This photo was taken on March 14, 1951, on his 72nd birthday, and The Guardian called it “one of the most famous press photos of the 20th century”. At Princeton University, after a long night of “having to laugh” with dozens of photographers, Einstein wanted to leave the event and sat in the back seat of a car with Dr. Frank Aydelotte. According to accounts, he tried to shout “enough already”, but no one heard him; the crowd continued to gather around the car, so Einstein stuck out his tongue for a brief moment before leaving.
This moment was captured by Arthur Sasse from UPI (United Press International), and Einstein loved it. He requested UPI to provide nine prints and used them to attach to his personal greeting cards. The photo we see is not the original; it has been cropped to focus solely on his face, becoming the iconic image we know today. Among the prints, there is still one that he signed and gave to a reporter, which was auctioned off in 2017 for a staggering $125,000.
