Actually, it was Gamow's idea. Gamow and Alpher wrote a paper and Gamow, on an impish whim, put Bethe's name on it, with the affiliation "in absentia".
Many people at the time took the paper as a joke because of the names, but it wasn't: the paper was one of the most important of the 20th century, the first on Big Bang nucleosynthesis.
Many people at the time took the paper as a joke because of the names, but it wasn't: the paper was one of the most important of the 20th century, the first on Big Bang nucleosynthesis.
Very cool.
Thanks for filling in "the rest of the story!"