February 11, 2026
Lockpicks, Love, and Hoover
Who Smeared Feynman
Was Feynman’s fiercest critic his ex? Internet goes full detective
TLDR: A raging 9-page letter in Feynman’s FBI file accused him of deception; the internet suspects a close insider, with many pointing to his ex-wife while others blame Cold War paranoia. Commenters mix sleuthing with memes, turning lock-picking lore into gossip and debating how personal grudges shaped science history.
The internet is sleuthing again: a 9-page, venom-laced letter in Richard Feynman’s FBI file brands him a “master of deception”—and commenters are living for the drama. The file, released via FOIA (a law to request government records), shows Cold War interviews probing his “character and loyalty” while he was eyed for Eisenhower’s President’s Science Advisory Committee (PSAC). But the crowd wants one thing: the culprit behind the smear.
One camp swears it was his ex, with rurban flatly claiming it’s “his second wife from Boise, Idaho,” while crazygringo cackles that an ex writing the FBI months after a brutal two-year divorce is “kind of hilarious.” Commenters recall newspapers reported Mary Louise Bell’s allegations of “extreme cruelty”—again, allegations, not proof—fueling the “hell hath no fury” chorus from an0malous.
Others zoom out: FrankWilhoit notes Cold War heavyweights like Edward Teller accused “a lot of people,” hinting at paranoia as the real engine. mellosouls adds a modern twist: it’s now trendy to retro-mud men like Feynman.
Cue the memes: Feynman’s lock-picking tales morph into “master of filing cabinets,” and J. Edgar Hoover gets cast as the ultimate drama magnet. Verdict from the peanut gallery: history is messy, and the juiciest footnotes are personal.
Key Points
- •MuckRock’s March 2012 FOIA request released Richard Feynman’s FBI file to the public.
- •Most of the file dates to 1958, when Feynman was being considered for Eisenhower’s President’s Science Advisory Committee.
- •The file mainly contains standard character and loyalty interviews typical for security-cleared individuals.
- •A notable nine-page letter dated August 8, 1958 to J. Edgar Hoover accused Feynman of being pro-Communist and a security risk.
- •The article emphasizes that the accusatory letter reflects the correspondent’s opinion, not an official FBI assessment, and suggests the author knew Feynman well.