A 20th-century West German patent attorney who took the idea of the hollow earth doctrine (Holtweltlehre) and applied it, not to the Earth but to the Sun. According to him the very hot exterior of the Sun, the part we see, encloses a cool interior containing another sphere supporting vegetation and, presumably, other forms of life. It is, of course, hidden from us by the outer incandescent (6,000°C) shell; only occasionally do we get glimpses of the cool interior sphere through sunspots, short-lived holes in the shell. So convinced was he of the truth of his theory it is not clear what evidence, if any, he had for it that he offered a prize of 25,000 marks (about $6,000 then, the equivalent of about $100,000 today) to anyone who could dis¬ prove it. The German Astronomical Society took his offer seriously and demolished the theory very convincingly Bueren, not surprisingly, did not accept the society’s dis¬ proof and would not hand over the prize. The society took him to court, won their case, and obtained judgment for the prize plus interest and legal costs. The case evoked wide interest and was reported in an issue of Time magazine (February 23, 1953).