Steve Jobs was one of the three founders of Apple Inc. He is widely recognized as the inventor of the personal computer revolution and for his influential career in the computer and consumer electronics fields, transforming “one industry after another, with his innovative technologies. Here are 10 odd things you should know about him. If you were surprised, share this blog on Facebook and Twitter.
10. He had 4 children, one of which was out of wedlock.
He had four children, one of whom was born out of wedlock. At first he denounced the child, but later claimed and went on to have a great relationship with and even named a computer after her. It took the mother, Chrisann Brennan, three days to find the courage to tell Steve Jobs she was pregnant with his child. When she did, his face’ turned ugly.’ He fixed her with a ‘fiery look.’ Then rushed out of the house without saying a word.
9. He was dyslexic.
Dyslexia can be defined as the difficulty to read fluently and with accurate comprehension, despite normal or above-average intelligence. It is the most common type of learning disability in primary school children. Some see dyslexia as distinct from reading difficulties resulting from other causes, such as a non-neurological deficiency with vision or hearing, or improper differentiated instruction.
8. His father’s name was Abdulfattah Jandali.
If you had to ask me what Steve Job’s father’s name was I would never have guessed it was a Muslim name. Steve Jobs biologically was half Syrian Muslim. For some unknown reason, I thought he was Jewish. Maybe its because I wanted to be him so I projected my own background onto him. His parents were two graduate students who weren’t ready to become parents, so they put him up for adoption and then a few years later had another child, Mona. The one requirement his biological parents had was that he be adopted by two college educated people. But the couple that adopted him lied at first and turned out not to be college educated (the mom was not a high school graduate) so the deal almost fell through until they promised to send Steve to college. A promise they weren’t able to keep.
7. He was a pescetarian.
This means that he ate fish, but not any other meat. And he ate anything else a vegetarian eats, such as dairy and eggs. Turns out if you compare pescetarians with regular meat-eaters you are 34% less likely to die from heart diseases. And if you compare vegetarians with meat eaters, you only have a 20% less chance of dying of heart disease. I think from now on I’m going to be a pescetarian, just because Steve Jobs was one. I’ll let you know in a month if my goals succeeded.
6. He was a college dropout.
After graduating from Homestead High School, he enrolled himself in Reed College. He only took one semester of classes, before dropping out because his parents could not afford his education. For the next 18 months, however, he continued to audit classes that interested him. It was during this time that he developed a love for technology.
5. He traveled to India for a spiritual enlightenment.
In the summer of 1974, he went to India with his roommate to visit Neem Karoli Baba, some Hindu guru. Upon arrival, they discovered that the guru had died within the year. Steve ended up traveling the country for a couple of months, after which he returned to the United States with a shaved head and wearing traditional Indian clothes. It helped him realize, ” Thomas Edison did a lot more to improve the world than Karl Marx and Neem Karoli Baba (the guru he was seeking, who died before they could meet) put together”. Lol! By the way, he was Buddhist.
4. He was offered a job in Hewlett-Packard when he was in Gr. 8:
As an eighth-grader, he called William Hewlett, co-founder of Hewlett-Packard, wanting a part missing from a frequency counter he was assembling. The company spoke with Jobs for about 20 minutes, then offered him a bag of parts and a summer internship. He accepted.
3. He drove without a license plate.
Jobs drove his 2007 Mercedes-Benz SL55 for years with no official license plate, just a barcode, according to USA Today. In California, you don’t have to get a license plate within the first six months of purchasing a car. When the six months was up, he would exchange the existing car for a new one. Why? Because obsessive Apple fans had a habit of taking pictures of Jobs’s license plate. But the weird part about it all is that it appears that Jobs didn’t bother to post the temporary tag, which is required by California state law, either. Uh oh!
2. Mona Simpson:
Steve’s biological sister, Mona Simpson, is the famous author who penned, “Anywhere But Here” — a novel about Simpson’s relationship with her folks.
Jobs, who looked for Mona in the ’90s, did not meet his sibling until he was an adult. Her eulogy during Jobs’ funeral was quite touching. See the eulogy here.
1. He let Bill Clinton use his mansion.
In 1998, Steve Jobs let Bill Clinton use his mansion in Woodside, California. The two were good friends and remained in touch until Jobs’ death. Upon Jobs’ death, Clinton spoke about having breakfast with Jobs four days before the first iPhones came on the market, and how Jobs gave Clinton a couple to keep. Clinton described Jobs as a kid with a new toy.