Professor Cuthbert Calculus. As you may have guessed, Calculus is a professor. He is also an inventor. He has a laboratory at Marlinspike. In there he does his research, experiments, and tests his inventions. He lives in the Marlinspike Hall mansion with Captain Haddock and Tintin. Tintin and the Captain are his closest friends.
Professor Calculus can�t hear very well. He needs 
a hearing aid, but he won�t wear one. That�s why he never understands what people are saying. Even if they yell at top of their lungs, he won�t get it right and will think they�ve said something else. Captain often gets frustrated over that. He�ll be telling the Professor something important, and he won�t hear the right thing! So Captain says it louder, and louder, and gets madder and madder; but still Cuthbert won�t understand the right thing. Even when Captain yells right at his face at the top of his lungs, Cuthbert still doesn�t hear the right thing! The only way for Cuthbert to hear things right, is for him to put a little thing that looks like a little trumpet to his ear. That acts like a little hearing aid.
Professor Calculus�s hearing problem causes him to never hear things right. That�s why it always seems like Cuthbert is in his own little world. And perhaps he is. He is always aloof from what is going on around him. He barely ever knows what�s going on. He was almost shot once, but the bullet went through the top of his hat, leaving a hole there. He didn�t even notice! Then Tintin noticed the hole through his hat and pointed it out to Captain, but Cuthbert, in his own little world, thought moths did it! He was kidnapped twice, and once he didn�t even know he was kidnapped!
The fact that Professor Calculus can�t hear right may trick someone into thinking he is not very intelligent. But that is not so. He is very intelligent. He invents superb things. Once one of his inventions was the reason he was kidnapped. A foreign government wanted it for use of a weapon. And don�t forget; Cuthbert was the one who built the rocket that went to the moon!
Tintin, Captain, Wolff, and Professor Calculus went to the moon in Calculus�s rocket. That was the only time Cuthbert wore a hearing aid. He had to be able to hear right or else there would be chaos!
Professor Calculus is quite the gentleman. He wears his suit all the time. He invented a type of rose for Bianca Castafiore. (He, in fact, is the only one of the group who likes her singing.) He is a very calm type of person. But sometimes he gets mad. He barely ever gets mad, but when he does, he gets really mad! He hates being said that he is �acting the goat�. Once, when Captain said that to him, and he was wearing his hearing aid, he got extremely upset. He was very angry with Captain. The Captain and Tintin were surprised how angry he was. Captain apologized for that, and from then on was careful not to say that.
Calculus is a very good person. He acts with such gentleness - most of the time! He is a funny character. He even succeeds in making �the millionaire who never laughs� laugh! Not once, but three times! He is very open-minded. He always wears a smile on his face; and puts one on others faces, too.
