Who Knew? Dept: The Astrophysicist from Queen

You can't make this stuff up. From Very Short List: Science

Brian May, the bushy-haired guitarist for Queen, recently completed his astrophysics thesis, which he began in the early 1970s as a grad student at Imperial College in London. Although May was a promising young scientist, he decided to take a break from research in 1974 so he could go on tour with a little-known singer named Freddie Mercury. Within a few years, Queen would become one of the biggest rock bands in the world.In 2006, while rummaging through his attic, May, now 61, discovered his long-neglected thesis and decided to finish it. Despite the sci-fi-ish title, the research concerns a longstanding cosmological mystery that is firmly grounded in reality.

More at VSL Science, a new site where (full disclosure dept) I'm a (modestly) paid "advisor," meaning I toss them a few leads once a week. I can't take credit for this one, though.

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