Did you know Albert Eistein wanted to make a fridge? Seriously. The greatest brain in modern physics dedicated a lot of time in trying to create a long lasting, energy efficient, environmentally friendly refrigerator.


Einstein took interest in building a better fridge as more people swapped their ice boxes for refrigerators. The problem was that fridges in those days could leak poisonous fumes such as methyl chloride, sulfor dioxide etc and kill people. Einstein wanted to avoid that and create a safer fridge.

Mental Floss explains that traditional fridges required a consistent seal to trap the toxic gases that cool the fridge. But the seal in refrigerators eventually wore out because of all the moving parts which could cause a dangerous situation. Einstein, and his buddy genius physicist Léo Szilàrd, wanted to do away with the moving parts. Mental Floss writes:


Over the course of their partnership, the two scientists took out 45 patents for refrigeration technology in six countries, eventually selling their key patents to appliance manufacturer AB Electro Lux.

Their fridge never ended up coming to market (as they were less efficient) but researchers at Oxford University have taken an interest to Einstein's idea of cooling—it only using pressurized gasses to cool and no moving parts. Einstein took advantage of the concept "that liquids boil at lower temperatures when the air pressure around them is lower." No freon, no greenhouse gasses needed. Maybe eventually we'll be cooling things because of Einstein. [Mental Floss]