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David Rothman was in his work clothes and Albert Einstein was dressed
for the beach when they posed on this rock at Horseshoe Cove in Nassau
Point in the summer of 1939. | |
Pictured here in September 1939, Einstein relaxes on the beach near his
Long Island summer home with friend and local department store owner
David Rothman. After some initial confusion in the store resulting from
Einstein’s thickly accented request for a pair of “sundahls,” which
Rothman interpreted as “sundial,” the scientist was able to successfully
purchase the white sandals on his feet for $1.35. He laughed off the
episode, blaming “mine atrocious accent!” The men remained close friends
thereafter, later forming a neighborhood string quartet together. The
original
black and white photograph.
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Einstein was legendary for going sockless. |
In 1939 Einstein rented this cottage on Nassau Point in Cutchogue so
he could put his sailboat in Horseshoe Cove. For Einstein Long Island
only meant a place where he could enjoy himself. The neighbors said the
two main activities Einstein did to occupy his time there were: sailing
and violin playing.
Einstein, who never learned to swim, had no
pretensions about his nautical prowess. He had named his glorified
rowboat the Tinef, which is supposedly Yiddish for junk. It was small,
maybe about 15 feet (4.5 meters) or so, and very unprepossessing.
Before that summer was over Einstein would sign a letter to President
Franklin Delano Roosevelt warning him that the United States couldn’t
afford to wait while Nazi Germany was possibly making a nuclear weapon.
Einstein was legendary for going sockless, and this occasion was no
exception. He did that because he had a problem with his feet throughout
his life, he had flat feet and varicose veins. When he went to
Switzerland he was summoned by the military officials for the medical
examination. At the medical examination Einstein was attested
varicosities, flat and sweaty feet. Thus he was declared “Unqualified A”
by the examination committee. The “A” means, that he could only be used
for “helpers’ services”. However, the Swiss Army never summoned
Einstein to perform these services. Sometimes he found other reasons for
not wearing socks. “When I was young, I found out that the big toe
always ends up making a hole in the sock,” he once said. “So I stopped
wearing socks.”
(Photo credit: Southold Historical Society.)