We all know one Isaac Newton, the brilliant scientist whose theory of gravity revolutionized

our understanding of the universe.

But there are other Isaac Newton's as well, like the religious fanatic who is obsessed

with alchemy and who hunted through the Bible for secret codes about the apocalypse.

There was also the crime-fighting Isaac Newton, who spent 30 years working at the Royal

Mint, battling thieves and counterfeiters.

Newton's stint at the mint is also fascinating because it spurred Sir Isaac into his greatest

blunder, one that still baffles scholars today.

It involved the so-called trial of the picks, a test of gold and silver coins that was meant

to reassure the government that its currency was sound.

Instead, Newton's blunder did the opposite, threatened to imperil the nation.

This episode marks the first in a three-part series on legendary physicists and their dumbest

mistakes.

In the coming weeks, I'll be covering Albert Einstein and Stephen Hawke.

And at least with today's episode, I'm going to show you how to avoid a common mistake,

and therefore be smarter, at least a little bit, than Isaac Newton.

In the Science History Institute, this is Sam Keane and the Disappearing Spoon, a

Topsy, Turvy, Sciencey History Podcast, where footnotes become the real story.

Isaac Newton joined the Royal Mint in 1696.

He'd spent 30 years among the pedantic dawns at Cambridge and was, frankly, bored.

He wanted a more stimulating life in London, where the movers and shakers worked, people

like Robert Boyle and Christopher Wren.

...