While we may not always understand exactly what he’s talking about, though he does a wonderful job of dumbing things down for us, the name Neil deGrasse Tyson is synonymous with astrophysics, pop culture, encouraging people of all ages to get involved with STEM programs, and sexy astrophysicists? More on that later. Here are a few things you might not already know about Neil deGrasse Tyson.
(image via: ny times)
He made major changes in a big blockbuster film. Well, kinda. Remember the scene in Titanic where Rose is laying out in the ocean after the ship sunk and she’s gazing at the night sky? Well, what you might not have noticed is that it was the wrong night sky, as Tyson pointed out during a panel discussion. It was until Tyson met the director of the film James Cameron sometime later that and brought it up again. While Cameron didn’t seem super concerned at the time, Tyson eventually got the call from the post-production team who asked for the proper star alignment for the 2012 re-release.
He loves wine and gourmet cooking. Maybe years of watching The Big Bang Theory had us thinking that the greatest minds were surviving solely on takeout, but as it turns out, that is simply not the case. While we probably wouldn’t understand a single word spoken at a dinner with Tyson and his wife who has her Ph.D. in mathematical physics, we couldn’t find it in ourselves to turn down a dinner invite.
Tyson entertained the thought of becoming an exotic dancer. While in college studying big brain things, he also wrestled, rowed, and took ballroom dancing. Like most college students, Tyson was on the hunt for a side hustle to make a few extra bucks while in school. As fate would have it, some of his friends decided exotic dancing was for them and since Tyson was cut from wrestling and flexible from ballroom dancing he thought, ‘maybe?’ But after seeing exactly what went into the choreography and costume, or lack thereof, he decided that math tutoring was probably more his speed.
(image via: broward center)
Okay, okay, while we’re on the topic (kinda) the notorious NDT was named ‘Sexiest Astrophysicist Alive’ by People Magazine.
Were you upset when it was announced that Pluto didn’t share similar qualities to other planets, therefore it was no longer a planet? Well, Tyson had a lot to do with that, so you’ll have to take that up with him. The issue was revisited in 2014 when a panel of astrophysicists voted 2 to 1 that Pluto should constitute a planet, but we’re still waiting for the official nod.