"Einstein came over here and attended a scientific meeting and at the end of the meeting Pauling was to deliver a paper; Pauling was introduced and delivered a paper in flawless German! And after meeting him, Einstein congratulated him and asked him, 'Where did you learn to speak such flawless German?' And Pauling said, 'Oh, I spent a year in Germany' and Einstein said, 'You learned to speak German in a year like that? Why I've been here over two years and I can't speak English yet!'
W. K. Ferrier. Interviewed by Anthony Serafini for Linus Pauling: A Man and His Science. 1984.

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