While this is interesting, it is hardly amazing. All forms of electromagnetic radiation transport energy and it is quite easy to imagine this energy being used to push tiny particles of negative charge free from the surface of a metal where they are not all that strongly confined in the first place. The era of modern physics is one of completely unexpected and inexplicable discoveries, however. Subsequent investigations into the photoelectric effect yielded results that did not fit with the classical theory of electromagnetic radiation. When it interacted with electrons, light just didn't behave like it was supposed to. Repairing this tear in theory required more than just a patch. It meant rebuilding a large portion of physics from the ground up.