Bopped on the Head

Sir Isaac Newton

For all his accomplishments, SIR ISAAC NEWTON is still best known for being conked on the head by an apple around the year 1665. According to legend, Newton was resting beneath a tree when a falling apple clobbered him, suddenly giving him new ideas about the theory of gravity -- in particular, that the force which affected the apple might also affect heavenly bodies like the moon. In point of fact, the original legend was that Newton merely saw the apple fall, rather than being hit by it -- and even so, there seems to be no firm proof that the incident ever occurred.