Anne Elizabeth Maxwell Seiden                 George Plazak

On forgetfulness

Peter Mitchell received the Nobel Prize in Chemistry (1978) for his contribution to the understanding of biological energy transfer through the formulation of the chemiosmotic theory. Some 10 years after the divorce from his first wife, Eileen, Mitchell attended the wedding of their daughter, and he noticed a woman who looked familiar. He asked whether he knew her, and she replied "Yes, I was your first wife." Mitchell was keenly aware of his forgetfulness; he even coined the expression "forgetory", which is the opposite of memory.

Absentmindedness on a grand scale

Nevill Mott was a distinguished theoretical physicist best remembered for his contributions to solid-state physics for which he received the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1977. Mott was traveling on the Paddington to Bristol train when three thoughts occurred to him. First, he was no longer at the physics department in Bristol but Cavendish professor at Cambridge. Second, he had traveled to London earlier that day by car. And third, he had been accompanied by his wife.

Someday Louisiana is going to get good government, and they ain't gonna like it. – Earl K. Long