How scientists acquire wives

'When [Ludwig] Prandtl found himself nearing the age of forty, he decided he should get married but didn't know how to go about finding a wife, and finally hit upon the solution of writing to the wife of his former professor and asking for the hand of one of her daughters. He did not specify which one. The family decided that the older daughter, in her late twenties, would be the best match, and by all accounts it was a successful marriage'

- Stephen Budiansky, 'Air Power', 2004, on German aerodynamics pioneer Ludwig Prandtl