Inside the life of Franz Kafka: Surprising facts you may not know

Franz Kafka is famously associated with nightmarish bureaucracy, but behind the dark prose was a man of quirky habits, intense dualities, and a surprisingly dark sense of humour. These are some facts about the author you might not know about. (Source: Photo by wikimedia commons )

He cheated on a high school exam: He bribed his Greek professor's housekeeper to sneak into the professor's desk and steal a copy of the exam ahead of time. (Source: Photo by wikimedia commons )

He found his own stories hilarious: Despite the existential dread in his books, those who knew him said he was charming and would burst into fits of laughter when reading his own stories aloud. (Source: Photo by wikimedia commons )

He loved fringe diets: Kafka was a massive advocate of "Fletcherism", a dietary fad of his era that required chewing every single bite of food dozens of times until it was liquefied. (Source: Photo by wikimedia commons )

He proposed by writing a 25-page rejection of himself: While engaged to Felice Bauer, he wrote a massive letter effectively detailing all the reasons she absolutely should not marry him. They were engaged twice, but never married. (Source: Photo by wikimedia commons )

He was an insurance executive: Kafka wasn't a starving, reclusive artist; he was a highly respected lawyer who specialized in worker safety and accident prevention at the Workers' Accident Insurance Institute in Prague. He actually pioneered early safety reforms. (Source: Photo by wikimedia commons )