Today in 1897, Joseph J. Thomson announced an amazing discovery: he spotted something tinier than an atom. Today we know it to be an electron, but he called it a corpuscle. If it were discovered today, scientists would compare its size to Snooki’s sense of decorum.

In any case, the scientists of the day yelled, “Go on!” when they heard his announcement, because they couldn’t imagine anything smaller than the atom. This proves that even the best minds can sometimes be closed to new thoughts but those who try are the ones remembered on silly blogs centuries down the line.

Congrats J.J. As physicists go, you were dyn-o-mite!Tweet