At the beginning of 1909, the University of Zürich invited Albert Einstein to an Associate Professorship, which he held for three semesters. His boss at the Patent Office had no idea what a great scientist he was harbouring within his walls, and when Einstein announced his resignation from his post his boss was greatly surprised and asked him for his reasons. Einstein told him that he had been offered the post of Professor at the University of Zürich. "Now Einstein", his boss answered, "don't make any foolish jokes. Nobody would believe such an absurdity". Yet the absurdity was true, and Einstein left Bern for Zürich.

Taken from C. Lanczos, The Einstein Decade (1905-1915), Academic Press Inc. (1974), 230 pp.