When we think of people worthy of the title “genius,” we conjure images of Albert Einstein, Nikola Tesla, Jane Goodall, Marie Curie, Mozart, or Brian Wilson: people whose incredible talent, unique insights, and dogged work ethic opened our eyes to experiencing and understanding the world in ways no one had before. Their brilliance appears to exist in the stratosphere of human achievement, completely unattainable to the average person. However, according to philosophy expert Julian de Medeiros, with a slight change in how you approach your work, you can take the first steps toward being a genius. De Medeiros is popular on TikTok and Substack, where he shares his thoughts on philosophy, focusing on intelligence, relationships, and freedom. @julianphilosophy How to be a genius #philosophy #art #work #creativity #genius ♬ original sound – Julian de Medeiros First, de Medeiros outlines the common ideas of how people see genius, quoting Arthur Schopenhauer‘s definition of genius: “Talent hits a target no one else can hit. Genius hits a target no one else can see.” As Marcel Proust said, “A genius creates his own posterity,” meaning geniuses are often misunderstood in their lifetimes, but later appreciated for their achievements. Albert Einstein. Photo credit: Associated Press/Wikimedia Commons The type of genius we can find within ourselves For the second class of genius, de Medeiros believes they have a mindset we can all tap into, one discussed by the 17th-century Dutch-Jewish philosopher Baruch Spinoza. “To my mind, genius is therefore a form of the Spinozian idea of conceived necessity. Someone who does what they were born to do; they can’t do it otherwise,” de Medeiros said in a TikTok video. To put it simply, true genius exists in the deepest part of ourselves, compelling us to create something that no one else can. These ideas stem from the core of an individual and can’t be replicated by anyone else. But to bring them to light requires you to stop caring about how others judge your work. “Like Camus said, a genius, like, is someone who is so free that their very existence is a kind of rebellion,” de Medeiros said. “They do something without caring what other people think or how it will be received.” He adds that we should be suspicious of people who call themselves geniuses or use that label as an excuse for erratic behavior: “Whereas a true genius, and this is very important, doesn’t think of themselves as a genius. They don’t worry about that at all.” A woman painting. Photo credit: Canva Finding your inner genius No two people see the world in the same way. There is no one else who has had the same realizations, joys, sorrows, triumphs, and disappointments as you. Your inner voice and feelings are unique, and sharing them with the world is your first step on the path to genius. The key is creating without caring whether your work makes money, gets a lot of likes on social media, or fits the current fashion. Your unique ideas, mixed with passion and courage, are the formula that can put you on the narrow path that few have trod before. “A genius is someone who doesn’t even care about how their work is perceived,” de Medeiros said. “They live for their work. The work is its own reward. And in so doing, they can achieve something monumental. That is the mark of a true genius. And if you wanna be one, that’s how you should work.” The post Philosophy expert shares a simple way anyone can create like a genius appeared first on Upworthy.

America will celebrate its 250th anniversary on July 4, 2026. It’s all because the Declaration of Independence that represented the 13 American colonies was adopted by the Continental Congress on July 4, 1776. At that time, American colonists were fighting for their freedom from British rule during the Revolutionary War. Also known as the American Revolution, the War officially began on April 19, 1775, when the first shots were fired at Lexington and Concord in Massachusetts. What ensued was over eight years of battles, with over an estimated 230,000 Americans serving in the Continental Army for independence. On September 3, 1783, the signing of the Treaty of Paris officially ended the Revolutionary War. At that time, photography had not been invented yet. (The first permanent photograph was taken in 1826.) But in 1864, a pair of brothers would capture six Revolutionary War veterans to preserve an important part of American history. Photographing Revolutionary War veterans Nelson and Roswell Moore, two brothers living in Connecticut, decided to track down the alleged last six men who fought in the Revolutionary War. By that time, each man was about 100 years of age or older, according to the Library of Congress: William Hutchings, Daniel Waldo, Adam Link, Alexander Millener, Lemuel Cook, and Samuel Downing. After the Revolutionary War, veterans received a pension starting in the 1800s. Year after year, the brothers noticed the number of veterans collecting it was dwindling. Revolutionary War veteran Alexander Millener, pictured when he was 104 years old. Photo courtesy of the Library of Congress. The Moore brothers “captured their portraits as cartes de visite, small albumen prints mounted on cards intended for wide distribution.” They were taken in Hartford, Connecticut, at the district court’s clerk’s office. Although the Moore brothers only took the photographs, a clergyman named Rev. Elias Brewster Hillard interviewed each one for his book titled The last men of the revolution. A photograph of each from life, together with views of their homes printed in colors. Accompanied by brief biographical sketches of the men. Revolutionary War veteran William Hutchings was 100 years old when he was photographed in 1864. Photo courtesy the Library of Congress. In his book, Hillard wrote, “History lives only in the persons who created it. […] As we look upon their faces, as we learn the stories of their lives, it will live again before us, and we shall stand as witnesses of its great actions.” Stories of the Revolutionary War veterans The stories of the six veterans photographed by the Moore brothers made them celebrities when they were released. These are a few of their experiences: Lemuel Cook (aged 105): Cook “reported he was present at the 1781 surrender of Lord Cornwallis to General George Washington, a pivotal moment in the Revolution,” according to the Library of Congress. He was just 16 years old when he enlisted. Alexander Millener (aged 104): Millener, “recalled seeing Gen. Washington and his wife Martha while stationed at Valley Forge,” according to the Library of Congress. Samuel Downing (aged 102): Downing interacted with George Washington as well. He told Hillard, “We were right opposite Washington’s headquarters. I saw him every day,” adding “but you never got a smile out of him. He was a nice man. We loved him. They’d sell their lives for him.” Six Revolutionary War veterans captured by the Moore brothers in 1864. Photo courtesy of the Library of Congress. Daniel Waldo (aged 102): Waldo was just 16 years old when he enlisted during the Revolution in 1778. He was subsequently taken prisoner by the British in 1779. He was released in a prisoner exchange and went back to farm labor. William Hutchings (aged 100): Hutchings was 15 when he enlisted. Hillard wrote, “The only fighting that he saw was at the siege of Castine, where he was taken prisoner; but the British, declaring it a shame to hold as prisoner one so young, promptly released him.” Adam Link (aged 102): Link enlisted at the age of 16. He died shortly after having his photograph taken on August 15, 1864. The post In 1864, a photographer captured haunting photos of the last living soldiers from the Revolutionary War.  appeared first on Upworthy.

In January 2021, a 24-year-old videographer named Gunnar Michels (@danielleandgunnar) posted a TikTok with a genuinely unhinged proposition: he wanted to marry a complete stranger from the app. He’d fly her to Las Vegas to do it, and if it didn’t work out, he’d pay for the divorce. “I think people take life too seriously, and I’m just here to prove that it ain’t that deep,” he said in the video. “Life’s a game. Let’s break some norms.” The offer pulled in thousands of responses. The one that landed was from Danielle Elleinad (@daniiiellelele), also 24 and living five hours away, who had spent years telling her family that the only wedding she’d ever want was a deliberately ridiculous one. She filmed an audition video in a jumpsuit that looked like a wedding dress from the waist up. “I never wanted a traditional wedding, so when I saw this video I KNEW this opportunity was made for me,” she later wrote. @danielleandgunnar Reply to @gunnar.michels PLEASE DO THIS IF YOU’RE DOWN TO BE MY WIFE! #wheresmywife #marriage #couples ♬ original sound – Danielle & Gunnar When you know you know? A week of talking later, Gunnar drove to her hometown and proposed on camera. Her family handled it about as well as you’d expect. As the couple told SWNS, her mom asked what would happen if he kidnapped her, and her dad reportedly showed up to the first meeting carrying a shotgun. Two weeks after that, the two near-strangers drove across the country in the converted ambulance Danielle was living in and got married in front of the Las Vegas welcome sign on Valentine’s Day, streamed live on TikTok. @danielleandgunnar IM GETTING MARRIED! Meet my beautiful Fiancée @daniiiellelele #wheresmywife #marriage #couples ♬ original sound – Danielle & Gunnar The plan, fully and explicitly, was to divorce about a week later and probably never see each other again. The reason they didn’t is the least romantic and most relatable detail in the whole saga: divorce, it turns out, is a hassle. Per UNILAD, the couple explained to Truly once they looked into the cost and logistics of actually undoing the marriage, staying married platonically for a bit seemed easier. So, they kept traveling together and sleeping in the ambulance. Gunnar was relegated to the floor at first because he was still, technically, a stranger. @danielleandgunnar From our first home together to our next #homeowners #homerenovation #skoolie #couplegoals #renovations ♬ original sound – Danielle & Gunnar A bit more serious And then the thing everyone on TikTok had predicted started happening. They traveled as friends for roughly three months, fell in with a caravan of other van-lifers, and somewhere in there it stopped being a bit. “I do not think there was a specific moment where we knew we were meant to be,” Danielle wrote. “It was more of a slow burn.” @danielleandgunnar What if you could touch someone and see your future with them @daniiiellelele #vanlife #vanlifetravel #livefree inspo – @snejanajens ♬ original sound – Danielle & Gunnar The fun part is Danielle’s own theory. The marriage worked, she’s argued, precisely because neither of them expected it to. “We expected to get divorced after a week,” she said. “Having no pressure to make it work helped make it work.” A normal relationship arrives loaded with expectations, milestones, and the quiet terror of blowing it. Theirs started from the assumption that it was already over, which left nothing to protect and nothing to perform, just two people with weirdly compatible core values finding out they liked each other. Five years on, they’re still married, no longer platonically, and have traded the ambulance for an actual house in Pittsburgh. Their TikTok is now the standard fare of an established couple: foster kittens, road trips, the domestic small stuff. The divorce Gunnar promised to pay for remains the one item on the original itinerary nobody ever got around to. To keep up with their latest adventures, follow Gunnar Michels (@danielleandgunnar) and Danielle Elleinad (@daniiiellelele) on TikTok. The post He offered to marry a TikTok stranger and pay for the divorce. They never got it. appeared first on Upworthy.

For many Americans, a meal out has become a luxury. In just the handful of years since the pandemic, the cost of eating out has gone up 30 to 40%. So when we do go out, we really want to make it a great experience. Good food and the right atmosphere go a long way, but nothing makes or breaks a meal, or a drink, out with friends and family quite like your server. While a bad one can ruin the night, we might remember an especially good one for a long time—maybe even forever. A series of recent viral posts on Threads asked servers and bartenders to reveal some tricks of the trade—the little one-liners, bits, jokes, and gags they use to get their tables laughing and keep the mood light. Here are some of the best responses. If you love dad jokes, you’ll love these. When the restaurant is short-staffed “I apologize, we are a bit short-staffed this evening but I am trying to get taller.” View this post on Instagram When saying farewell “Hey everyone, if you enjoyed everything please remember my name is Alex, and if you didn’t my name is Mike!” When someone can’t finish their meal “Me: you wanna box for that? Them: yes please Me: *strikes old-timey boxing pose*” When the timing is bad “If you walk up as their mouths are full, [I say] ‘sorry they train us to do that'” @thesportsbar_ra Because sometimes, a dad joke just hits What are some of your favourite server jokes/bits? #serverlife #restaurantlife #workhumor ♬ original sound – thesportsbar_ra When the receipt is really long “My gfs favorite bit is if they end up with a really long receipt she’ll tell them ‘and you also get a free scarf'” When the server wants a drink “When they put in drinks I’d say ‘alright so 4 whatever’s for y’all and a margarita for me, I’ll be right back with those'” View this post on Instagram When they’re poring over the menu “My tables used to love when I’d pull up a seat, sit down with them and discuss the menu as if I were a late arriving guest.” When the plate is hot “This plate is super hot, be careful.. this one, not as hot, but she has a great personality” When it’s time for the table to go home “You have to be able to read a room on this one but a really dramatic ‘why does everyone always leave me’ when they ask for the check is one of my fav bits to keep in rotation” When people haven’t dined there before “One of my favorites is asking if people have dined with us before, if they haven’t, I answer with with ‘well I’d love to tell you about how we do things here; you tell me what you want to drink and eat off this list of food, and then I bring it to you, and you pay me'” When someone spills their drink “When someone spills their drink, I give them a replacement or their next round in a sippy cup. If it’s a beer, I saran wrap the top and put a straw in it like a sippy cup. Kills every time.” When they need a clever intro “I’m sure you’re all wondering why I’ve gathered you here today” When someone’s looking for the bathroom “I don’t know, I’ve been looking for it for years” These silly little jokes and bits tap into something we don’t always notice we’re craving. Surveys show our face-to-face, real-life interactions are down about 30% since the turn of the millennium. For young people, the drop is even more dramatic. It’s easy to think of service work as transactional and not a true human interaction. You order, they bring food, you pay, you leave. But the servers and bartenders who develop these little gags understand that hospitality isn’t really about the food at all. It’s about making people feel looked after, even just for the length of a meal. They’re small acts of care, human moments created in real-time, just for us. Even if they are canned or scripted after all, they certainly don’t feel that way in the moment. That’s also probably why we remember a great server long after the flavors of the meal have faded. Kudos to the hard-working people who make the magic happen. The post Bartenders and waiters share their best bits, gags, and jokes that never fail to get a laugh appeared first on Upworthy.

The world-famous Musée d’Orsay has opened the doors to a very unique gallery—its dream would be to get rid of all the paintings inside. That’s because it exhibits a rotating selection of 225 works that were stolen when the Nazis occupied Paris during the Second World War. Currently 12 paintings, including works by Renoir and […] The post Musée d’Orsay Opens Gallery Dedicated to Still-Unclaimed Artworks Stolen by Nazis in WWII appeared first on Good News Network.