As regular readers know, sometimes we're overtaken by hyperbole. For example, we once wrote that no Jews would want to move to Iowa.

Not true! Once upon a time, mundane, monotonous Iowa had a vibrant Jewish population. Alright, "vibrant" might not be the right word. Let's not get hyperbolic.

In any case, there were a number of Jews that made Iowa home a century ago. One such family was the Kovals, immigrants from Russia. The father, Abram, was a carpenter. The mother raised three children, including George, the subject of this profile.

Did the Kovals love Iowa? Did they ever! They loved it so much that they moved back to Russia, settling in the Jewish Autonomous Region. You'd think that Iowa would be more preferable than an empty wasteland in the Far East, and yet...

George didn't stay in the Soviet Union long. He actually made his way back to America, where he (wait for it!) became a spy. For the Russians, that is. Koval infiltrated the Manhattan Project and was directly responsible for stealing America's atomic secrets and giving them to the Soviets. He then departed on a European vacation, came to Russia, and never returned.

You see what an upbringing in mundane, monotonous Iowa can do to a man? But let's not succumb to hyperbole...