Alpher was the most junior of the three and Bethe was a big gun even at that time. Bethe went along with the joke when Gamow added his name to the paper. But t

Alpher was the most junior of the three and Bethe was a big gun even at that time. Bethe went along with the joke when Gamow added his name to the paper. But the actual loser in the deal was Alpher because most scientists, upon reading the author's names simply assumed that Bethe and Gamow had come up with the main ideas.