"When the parsimonious French Government asked the Curies what official decorations they would like to have, Madame Curie replied, 'I pray to thank the Minister and to tell him that I do not in the least feel the need of a decoration, but I do feel the greatest need for a laboratory.'"

["She has a sparky intelligence," Einstein once said of his colleague, "but is not attractive enough to be a danger to anybody."]