A bunch of loot selected from Stephen Hawking’s personal possessions is going up for auction at Christie’s in London this month. And by loot, I mean massively important documents that changed how we see our universe, like a copy of Hawking’s Ph.D. thesis that he signed and inscribed with the handwritten message, “This dissertation is my original work.” Other titles up for auction include “Spectrum of Wormholes,” “Black Hole Explosions?” and a copy of A Brief History of Time that bears Hawking’s thumbprint.
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And most importantly is a copy of The Simpsons script for Season 22 Episode One, “Elementary School Musical,” in which Hawking voiced himself rapping. It’s expected to go for $ 2,520 to $ 3,780, while the signed thesis could for as much as $ 189,000.
The auction is also giving bidders the chance to own the earliest surviving motorized wheelchair of Hawking’s. He used this one from the late ’80s to the mid-’90s after being diagnosed with ALS, before he lost control of his hands. You can bet he ran over some famous toes with it, as was his way. Proceeds from the wheelchair will go to the Stephen Hawking Foundation and the Motor Neuron Disease Association. The auction opens October 31 and lasts until November 8.
Christie’s
When Hawking died in March, he left behind punishingly complex quantum theories, the declaration that God does not exist in our universe, and some cool scientific artifacts from his life. You probably won’t master quantum theory or talk to God, but you can bid on his stuff.
