George Gamow and two of his students, Ralph Alpher and Robert Herman, were the first to take the first half hour of the Universe seriously. In a mostly overlooked paper published in 1948, they made truly remarkable cosmological predictions. They correctly calculated the abundances of hydrogen and helium after the first half hour (75% H and 25% He) and predicted that radiation from the big bang should still be present and have an apparent temperature of about 5 K. In Gamow's own words, the Universe's supply of hydrogen and helium was created very quickly, "in less time than it takes to cook a dish of duck and roast potatoes." The comment is characteristic of this interesting physicist, who is known as much for his explanation of alpha decay and theories of cosmology as for his delightful popular books, his cartoons, and his wonderful sense of humor.