The man who won two Nobel Prizes but was spectacularly wrong

Linus Pauling is hailed as one of the greatest scientists ever. When Pauling was 65 years old, he mentioned at a talk how much pleasure he took in reading about scientific discoveries and hoped he could live another 25 years.

A biochemist, Irwin Stone, who had been at the talk, wrote to Pauling that if he took 3,000 milligrams of vitamins C, he would probably live more than another 25 years. Pauling followed Stone's advice and began to feel livelier and healthier.

In 1970, Pauling published Vitamin C and the Common Cold, urging people to take 3,000 milligrams of Vit C daily.