Stephen Hawking, Gentleman Genius

The world lost one of the most intelligent individuals in modern history this week. Stephen Hawking himself would likely have been unwilling to brag in such a way.

He lived for 76 years, well beyond what doctors predicted when he was diagnosed with Lou Gehrig’s disease. In that time, despite the struggles that came with his illness, he became a prominent theoretical physicist and cosmologist. He was an accomplished author.

For all his knowledge, he admitted there was something about the world that remained a “complete mystery” to him: Women.

And like many gentlemen, he found their appeal difficult to resist, if not impossible. Stephen Hawking found love, marrying twice over the course of his life. And even after those relationships came to an end, the mystery and the appeal still remained.

Stephen Hawking, the Swinger?

While some publications are prone to exaggeration, there is some truth to one fact about Mr. Hawking: strip clubs were not off limits. As he’d always conducted himself through life, he wanted to be thought of as a person like any other. He had wants, needs, hopes, and dreams, just like the rest of us.

So, the strip clubs. The stories go that he made a number of trips to a California “sex club”, partaking in lap dances and partying with the girls. No matter how smart someone becomes, or no matter what difficulties they may endure, some things are as immutable as the physical laws of the universe. We like to think that Mr. Hawking would agree that sex appeal is one of those constants in life. Our visitors certainly seem to agree.

Without Limits

Stephen Hawking was not a man willing to be told what he could and could not do. As his disease initially progressed, it took his first wife much effort to convince him to even use a wheelchair.

In his youth, he’d deliberately cultivated an outgoing and adventurous image. That spirit never left him. From trips to gentlemens’ clubs in the UK and the US, to a zero-g flight in 2007, Dr. Hawking was adventurous outside of his calculations and theories. In his own words, “people need not be limited by physical handicaps as long as they are not disabled in spirit.”

He was a genius of the highest caliber, and a gentleman who appreciated the sexier side of life. It’s fun to think that one of the smartest individuals to have lived still thought that strip clubs were an important part of the human experience. If you’re at the Palomino Club tonight, or any other club, remember that even a genius took time to appreciate a jiggle joint or three.