By Stanley Tiger
SAN DIEGO — Although I rarely go to rummage sales, I love rummaging through the autobiographies of great physicists, not so much for the scientific formulas, which require more math than that possessed by us mere mortals, but for the nuggets of insight or comedy that can be unearthed.
In reading the autobiography of physicist Stan Ulam, I discovered a little gem. Ulam was a good friend of one of the most respected physicists of the 20th Century, John von Neumann (1903 – 1957), developer of game theory and computer systems, to name some of many important ideas. (See Wikipedia for his impressive bio.)
Born Neumann János Lajos, in Budapest, Hungary, he like so many other Jewish scientists, was forced to seek refuge from Nazism by emigrating to the U.S. Ulam reports he had a favorite joke that made him laugh every time he heard it. Its called “The Meteoric Rise of Moishe Vasserpiss.”
A poor little Jewish farm boy named Moishe Vasserpiss emigrated to Vienna and became a successful businessman. He then changed his name to Herr Wasserman. Going on to Berlin, he experienced even greater success and fortune, so he became Herr Vasserstrahl, then von Vasserstrahl.
Moving soon after to Paris and becoming fabulously prosperous, he is now received in the highest diplomatic circles as Baron Maurice de la Fontaine. In case you are not sure, fontaine is the French word for fountain or a natural spring.
As I said, there are some great nuggets in these autobiographies. Wishing all our San Diego Jewish World readers: A wonderful 2020!
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Stanley Tiger is a freelance writer based in San Diego.
That’s some story Stan!