Caviar as Brain Food

In 1902, Albert Einstein and a couple of young intellectual friends dubbed themselves the “Olympia Academy,” lampooning the stuffiness of academia.

They named Einstein the president, and created a certificate for him that included his bust in profile beneath an impressive string of sausages.

After all, the nature of the universe was important, but so were sausages.

“Generally their dinners were frugal repasts of sausage, Gruyère cheese, fruit and tea. But for Einstein’s birthday, (Maurice) Solovine and (Conrad) Habicht decided to surprise him by putting three plates of caviar on the table.

“Einstein was engrossed in analyzing Galileo’s principle of inertia, and as he talked he took mouthful after mouthful of his caviar without seeming to notice. Habicht and Solovine exchanged furtive glances.

“’Do you realize what you’ve been eating?’ Solovine finally asked.

“’For goodness’ sake,’ Einstein exclaimed. ‘So that was the famous caviar!’ He paused for a moment, then added, ‘Well, if you offer gourmet food to peasants like me, you know they won’t appreciate it.’”

Source: “Einstein: His Life and Universe” by Walter Isaacson