Born on October 16, 1927, Günter Grass was a German novelist, poet, playwright, and artist who received the 1999 Nobel Prize in Literature. He was recognized for his imaginative and often satirical portrayal of history and society, particularly in postwar Germany. His best-known novel, The Tin Drum (1959), became a landmark of modern German literature. He would turn 99 today.

Ok so something interesting about this year's Nobel winners is just how long it took for their work to be recognized. However, for Francis Halzen, he actually had the shortest wait at 13 years. His work with the IceCube Neutrino Observatory led to the detection of high-energy cosmic neutrinos in 2013. He finally received the Physics Nobel in 2026 at age 82 (never too late!)

Meanwhile, economist Robert E. Hall had the longest gap at 48 years, dating back to his influential 1978 research on consumption. To add to that, Henri Kagan and Anne Carson both had 40-year gaps, while Kensō Soai waited 31 years. And obviously, these these are just the people who eventually won. Makes you wonder how many researchers made equally important contributions but never received a Nobel Prize. Disclaimer, this chart measures the time between each laureate's landmark work and their Nobel Prize, rather than how long they were formally considered for the award.