Albert Einstein said if he could do it all again, he would be a plumber.

If I could do it all again, I'd be a plumber.

In November 1954, Albert Einstein wrote a letter to a magazine in which he declared that, were he a young man again, he would not try to become a scientist: “I would rather choose to be a plumber or a peddler in the hope to find that modest degree of independence still available under present circumstances.”

Around the United States, plumbers responded. The famous physicist was offered membership in the Chicago plumbers union, and Stanley Murray, a New York plumber, wrote to him: “Since my ambition has always been to be a scholar and yours seems to be a plumber, I suggest that as a team we would be tremendously successful. We can then be possessed by both knowledge and independence. I am ready to change the name of my firm to read: Einstein and Stanley Plumbing Co.”

The owner decided to chance his company to Einstein & Stanley Plumbing

In addition, an Ohio tool manufacturer which specialize in production of fine plumbers pipe tools for over 50 years at that time, sent him a set of genuine "TOLEDO" plumbers pipe tools to help him get started with his career change. "They are so easy to operate that we are sure you will enjoy using them on any little piping jobs you may have about your home," wrote the company's vice president in what was a pretty tongue-and-cheek letter.

A letter from an Ohio tool manufacturer

Sources : Albert Einstein : A Biography, Einstein and the Generations of Science, Google News Archive Search, Google News Archive Search, Grapevine