The Most Exclusive Party (That Nobody Attended)

The Ultimate RSVP Fail. On June 28, 2009, the world-renowned physicist Stephen Hawking hosted a party at the University of Cambridge that was truly ahead of its time. He set out a lavish spread of champagne and hors d'oeuvres, decorated the room with balloons, and even hung a banner that read: 'Welcome Time Travelers.' The catch? He didn't send out the invitations until after the party was already over! Hawking’s logic was brilliant: if time travel to the past were possible, someone from the future would eventually find the invitation and pop back to 2009 to enjoy a drink with one of history's greatest minds. Sadly, the physicist sat alone for the entire event, later joking that it was 'experimental evidence' that time travel into the past is impossible. So, if you ever feel like your party was a bust, just remember: even one of the smartest men to ever live spent an afternoon waiting for guests who didn't exist yet!