Sir
I was delighted to see Carl Wunsch, in his News and Views item about the Moon and climate, endorsing the most aphoristic of Russian literary heroes, Kozma Prutkov (Nature 405, 743; 2000). However, referring to this ‘wise fool’ as a private (and adding the impressive Cossack-style drawing) is a mistake.
According to the biography accompanying his works — transcribed by a group of nineteenth-century satirists — he served as a Hussar corporal for three years. All his literary exercises are dated much later in his life, when he was in fact more of a science administrator, working in the State Assay Office responsible for analysing and hallmarking precious metals.
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Zharkov, D. Wise fool left Hussars for career in science admin. Nature 406, 560 (2000). https://doi.org/10.1038/35020749
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/35020749