78 | March• 2019
BRILLIANT AND FUNNY
Hawking liked phys-
ical humour, too. He
reportedly enjoyed
wheeling his chair
over the feet of
people who annoyed
him, including Prince
Charles. “A malicious
rumour,” Hawking said.
“I’ll run over anyone who
repeats it.”
“He loved adventure and fun,”
says Mlodinow, who once took
Hawkingonapunt-boattripdown
the river Cam in Cambridge,
England, despite the obvious dan-
ger of the boat capsizing. “You know
aboutwhenhewentonthevomit
comet?It’saplanethatfliesinapar-
abolic path so you are weightless,
like you are in space. A lot of people
barf,buthelovedthatsortofthing.”
Andhewas65atthetime.
The cocktail party Hawking threw
in 2009 was probably his greatest
hit,humour-wise.Itwasa“welcome
reception for future time travellers,”
he said, so naturally he sent out the
invitationsthedayaftertheparty.No
one showed up – yet...
“Maybe one day someone living in
thefuturewillfindtheinformation
anduseawormholetimemachineto
come back to my party, proving that
time travel will one day be possible,”
Hawking explained. And if that hap-
pens,don’tbesurprisedifHawkingis
there, too. After all, he never missed
a chance to have fun.“Humour often relies
on looking at things
in different ways or
making odd or unex-
pected associations,”
says Mlodinow. “In
physics, the same
thing happens.”
Inasense,theele-
ment of the unexpected
was Hawking’s secret humour
weapon.Itwasn’tonlytheabsurd-
ityofaneggheadscientistshouting,
“Ifyouarelookingfortrouble,you
foundit!”beforepunchingaguy,
whichananimatedHawkingdid
onThe Simpsons.Itwasalsothat
Hawkingkeptsmilingeventhough
hespentmorethan50yearsina
wheelchair.
Hewasonly21whenhewas
diagnosedwiththedegenerative
motorneurondiseaseALS.For
mostpeople,theconditionwould
havebeenacalamity.ButHawking
rolledoveradversityasifitwerejust
apebbleunderhiswheelchair.“Life
wouldbetragic,”heoncesaid,“ifit
weren’t funny.”
Andsohecrackedjokes.There
was the time when talk show host
JohnOliveraskedhimaboutparal-
lel universes. “Does that mean there
isauniverseouttherewhereIam
smarter than you?” Oliver quipped.
Hawking’sdryreply(madeallthe
funnier by the affectless timbre of his
computer-generated voice): “Yes. And
also a universe where you’re funny.” PREVIOUS SPREAD, CLOCKWISE FROM TOP: JIM CAMPBELL/AERO-NEWS NETWORK. REX/SHUTTERSTOCK. COURTESY SONJA FLEMMING/CBS,2012 CBS BROADCASTING INC. SHUTTERSTOCK. COURTESY
THE SIMPSONS™ AND 2018 TCFFC, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.“IF YOU
ARELOOKING
FORTROUBLE,”
JOKED HAWKING ON
THE SIMPSONS,
“YOU FOUND
IT!”