They say that genius and eccentricity go together. Perhaps that’s why these creative geniuses required

• Rudyard Kipling would only write when he had black ink in his pen.
• Ludwig von Beethoven poured ice water over his head when he sat down to compose music, believing it stimulated his brain.
• Charles Dickens wrote (and slept) facing north, aligning himself with the poles of the earth.
• Gioachino Rossini covered himself with blankets when he composed.
• Valentin Proust worked in bed and only in a soundproof room.

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