Jimu news reporter Li Lili
For most people, the Nobel Prize is a glittering, unattainable dream, and some people will never be associated with this award for the rest of their lives. Most of the Scientists who won the Nobel Prize were woken up by the ringing of the telephone because the notification came in the middle of the night.
Most of their memories of winning awards are accompanied by not-so-pleasant bells that are woken up, some are extremely excited, some are never in touch, and some people roll their eyes.
Award Notice: Someone is excited, someone rolls their eyes
At five o'clock in the morning, Jim Peebles, an 86-year-old astrophysicist, was suddenly awakened by the ringing of the telephone. He recalled afterwards that usually the callers at this time were bad news.
However, the caller's opening remarks read: "The Nobel Committee voted to award you the Nobel Prize in Physics." Do you accept it? Peebles cried and laughed at the question, who would not accept the Nobel Prize?
Jim Peebles speaks at the 2019 Nobel Banquet.
For reasons that are well known, Nobel's committee is very mysterious, they strictly block their choices, including the list of nominees.
They don't inform the scientists themselves until minutes before announcing the winners to the public. In the eyes of many people, these tight-lipped words should bring exciting and huge surprises.
Benjamin Lister, co-winner of this year's Nobel Prize in Chemistry, was having coffee with his wife when he received the news. He ran excitedly from the coffee shop down the street..."You know, that's amazing! It was special and I will never forget it! ”
David McMillan, who shared the chemistry prize with Lister, was "miserable." When the call came, he was woken up by his wife's complaint: "My wife woke up and heard my phone buzzing. She yelled at me because my phone woke her up. "McMillan didn't answer the phone, he crawled back into bed and went back to sleep...
Sometimes, laureates aren't as excited as the Nobel committee thinks.
In 2007, when a reporter ran outside zimbabwean writer Doris Lessing's door to inform her of the Nobel Prize in Literature, she had just returned from the grocery store and got out of a taxi.
"Did you hear the news?" You won the Nobel Prize in Literature! An enthusiastic reporter told her. However, before the reporter could finish speaking, she rolled her eyes. The reporter desperately wanted her to give a response, but she didn't show a little enthusiasm: "Look, I've won all the awards in Europe, every one, damn it!" ”
"Should I be excited, or elated, or what?" She said.
Doris Lessing
In 2020, at 4:45 a.m. on October 5, 85-year-old American virologist Harvey Alter was woken up by a phone call, and he hung up in anger. 5 minutes later, the phone rang again and he hung up again. When the phone rang for the third time, he finally pressed the answer button. The other person told him: You have won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.
"It's a wonderful thing," said Reinhard Genzel, an astrophysicist who won the 2020 Nobel Prize in Physics, a few months after winning the prize, "but it's also a chore." ”
What it's like to win a Nobel Prize
Contrary to what one might think, the staff often can't reach the winners themselves, and it's too hard to notify them! They can only learn from the news, their families, and even their next-door neighbors that they have won the award.
After the economist Paul Milgrom won the award, the phone has not been available. The staff had to call his neighbor, Robert Wilson, who went to knock on his front door in the middle of the night and shouted over the intercom: "Hey, Paul! I'm Bob Wilson. You won the Nobel Prize! ”
A voice came from the intercom: "Me? wow! The doorbell camera caught Milgrom looking confused.
Either way, the scientists admit that as soon as the news of the award arrived, they quickly enjoyed the treatment of rock stars.
Genzel said: "Once announced, you will lose your identity in half an hour, and the phone keeps ringing. ”
Peebles had a similar experience, he went back to bed after answering the phone, his wife asked him what was going on, he replied: "Nobel Prize", she said: "Oh my God! A few minutes later, a photographer came running outside the couple's door.
Speaking at the 2019 Nobel Banquet, Peebles said: "I was treated like a rock star... I experienced something I expected a rock star to experience. It's a wonderful honor. ”
Next, however, he found himself with countless things to do, his email stowed with emails waiting to be replied, "I have to meet these influencers, I have to attend press conferences, we'll have dinner with some important people, and so on..."
Two years on, Peebles said, the most exciting part of winning the Nobel Prize is just getting people to talk about science and culture. Everything will return to calm.
"It's one thing for a Nobel Prize to catch an eye, it's another thing to experience it." Genzel said. He found his face suddenly on television around the world, and people suddenly focused their attention on the little-known scientists and their complex research.
Genzel poses with his medal
One day, Genzel suddenly found himself answering political questions on German television late at night, which even he was confused...
Genzel said: "It is necessary to tell the public at large that there is truth, there is absolute truth. ”
The Nobel Prize is, of course, unique, but now scientists want to go back to the lab.
(Image source: CNN)
For more exciting information, please download the "Jimu News" client in the application market, please do not reprint it without authorization, welcome to provide news clues, and pay as soon as you adopt it. 24-hour reporting hotline 027-86777777.