ALBERT EINSTEIN'S HAPPINESS THEORY THAT WAS WRITTEN ON HOTEL STATIONERY, SOLD FOR ALMOST $2 MILLION
In 1922, Albert Einstein wrote two notes on hotel stationery that, nearly a century later, were worth almost $2 million. The piece of writing made observations about something far more enigmatic: the human condition, rather than the keys to the universe, as the scientist is renowned for.
According to legend, Einstein discovered he had received the 1921 Nobel Prize in Physics just before he left for Asia to start a lecture tour. However, he decided to stick to his plans and travel to Japan instead of going to the award ceremony in Stockholm. There was tremendous anticipation when Einstein came to Tokyo, and around 2,500 people paid to attend his talk.
The scientist and his spouse, Elsa, stayed at the Imperial Hotel in Tokyo. A courier arrived to deliver something to their room. It's unclear why, but either the courier declined a gratuity, or Einstein had no change. In any case, Einstein wanted to leave something for the messenger.
He pulled out the hotel stationery and on one sheet of paper wrote his theory of happiness. Einstein penned, “A calm and modest life brings more happiness than the pursuit of success combined with constant restlessness.” On the second sheet of paper, he wrote, “Where there's a will, there's a way.”
Einstein advised the courier to preserve the notes since they might be useful later. As it happens, he was correct.
When the documents were put up for auction in Jerusalem in 2017, the note on happiness brought in $1.56 million, while the second message brought around $240,000. This was far more than the $5,000–$8,000 anticipated sale. The Japanese bellboy's brother lived in Germany, and the vendor was supposedly his grandson.
