【推荐2】Einstein’s $1.5 Million Tip to a Bellboy

In addition to being a scientist, a philosopher (哲学家), and somewhat of a funny guy, Albert Einstein was something even more admirable: a good tipper. We know this because a piece of paper the Nobel Prize winner gave a bellboy as a tip sold for more than $1.5 million at auction (拍卖).

As the story goes, Einstein was traveling to Japan to give a lecture series when he found out he’d been awarded the Nobel Prize in physics. News of the award spread quickly and Einstein, somewhat bothered by all of the attention, kept himself in his room at a hotel in Tokyo.

A bit embarrassed by all the publicity he was receiving, Einstein tried to write down his thoughts and feelings. Just then, a bellboy came to Einstein’s room to deliver a message. Not expecting him, Einstein didn’t have any small change to tip him, and instead gave the bellboy a pair of the writings he’d been working on. Aware that his fame in the world was rising, Einstein supposedly told the Japanese messenger the notes would turn out to be more valuable than a regular tip if he was lucky.

The two notes were both written in German and signed by Einstein himself. The first note offered the professor’s “theory for happiness” It read: “A calm and modest life brings more happiness than the pursuit of success combined with constant restlessness (不安).” The second one simply said, “Where there’s a will, there’s a way.”

Tested or not, the theory does appear to be at least somewhat correct. According to a study of the connection between the life success and well-being of more than 275,000 people, happiness creates personal and professional success more often than success in those areas leads to happiness.

Even if his philosophical thoughts contain no scientific value, the notes do shine a little light on Einstein’s private thoughts. “What we’re doing here is painting the picture of Einstein — the man, the scientist, his effect on the world--through his writings,” said Roni Grosz, who is in charge of the world’s largest Einstein collection at Hebrew University.

Whether the bellboy was able to benefit from Einstein’s happiness theory is unclear, but the notes did eventually bring some joy to one of his relatives when they were sold — the second note brought in $250,000, while the first one that lists Einstein’s happiness theory sold for $1.56 million.

【推荐1】Every day Zhao Dong goes around the city on a two-wheeled motorcycle running errands (差事) for its citizens for around eight hours. At night, the 26-year-old young man, taking off his helmet (头盔) and blue jacket, dives into small theaters where he is going to use stand-up comic sets inspired by his personal stories as a deliveryman to make people laugh.

In 2019, he found that running errands can bring him a good income. Then he moved from his hometown to Xi’an, and became a deliveryman. He turned all the hardships he has been going through these years into funny jokes, which brings a refreshing life. For him, the skill of humor is not something he was born with, but what he has been diligently (勤奋地) training with his sincerity and eagerness to get a better life.

On a freezing winter night, he stopped for a while in a bar after finishing the errands and heard rounds of cheers and laughs coming from the bar, and he was told that it was an open-mic event for stand-up comedy (脱口秀) . He was crazy with the joyous atmosphere into which he wanted to get himself integrated. The club owner later sent him a guidebook for stand-up comedy and gave him a chance to go on stage. His performance attracted wider attention and he received an invitation from the Shanghai-based comedy company Xiaoguo Culture to join a comic training camp last year. It was his first time to take a plane and get out from Shanxi province. He soon found that Shanghai offers more opportunities for stand-up comedy performers.

In October, he moved to the city. There, he still chose to be a deliveryman and put on comic performances for four or five times a week. For him, what’s special about the comic form is its inclusiveness (包容性). “It welcomes people from all walks of life and varied backgrounds to share stories and express opinions on the same stage,” he says.

【推荐3】Aron Lee Ralston was born in a middle class American household. His family moved to Colorado when Aron was 12 years old and this move laid the foundation for his love for hiking around the canyons (峡谷).

Aron’s life changed on April 26th, 2003, upon facing the event that threatened to take his life, and almost took it. He was hiking through the Blue John Canyon and he accidentally displaced a huge rock he was climbing down from. The rock caught his right hand in between itself and the canyon wall.

Aron had decided to go on the adventure alone and hadn’t informed anybody about it. So, when he was unable to free his right hand, he felt he would be stuck forever in there. He tried hard to get his hand out but failed, and screaming for help was of no use either. Moreover, he didn’t want to wear himself out as shouting for help would take a lot of energy, which was essential (重要) for surviving the unfortunate event for a long period of time.

After a couple of days, he knew it was impossible for him to set himself free from an 800-pound rock. He decided to cut off his right hand. He had a blunt (钝的) pocket knife with him,   which wasn’t sharp enough to cut through the bone. Some time passed and his water and food supply ended. He carved his name, date of birth and a possible date of death on the stone.

But luckily he got a strange idea that he could use the torque (扭转力) and his bones to separate his arm from his body. With the help of his very limited tool, he finally succeeded and walked out of the canyon, bleeding in large amounts. Fortunately, a holidaying family saw him and gave him food and water, and then took him to a hospital.

After the accident, Aron got a prosthetic limb (假肢) and continued mountain climbing,   considering the accident as a “turning point in his life”.

【推荐3】For over fifty years, most likely starting with the tour in America of young Welsh poet Dylan Thomas in the early 1950s, poetry enthusiasts have gathered together to share their interest in poetry by reading aloud their favorite poems. Some of these spoken word performances feature well-known poets, and all, professional and amateur alike, sincerely take the stage to communicate on a wide range of subjects. Most events take place on college campuses, in well-decorated coffee shops, and in local saloons.

To further their popularity, “poetry readings” have taken on a new dimension—the spirit of competition. This competition, named the “Poetry Slam”, began in 1986 in a Chicago, Illinois bar in America, when a construction worker and poet, Marc Smith, decided that he needed some help with his own poetry readings. He asked the audience to rate his poems from 1 to 10. With audience interaction and input, it became an instant success.

Poetry Slam is carried on today with five poets performing one poem each in three rounds. Five judges are selected from the audience, and these five give their scores to the “slam master” at the end of each reading. Scores are based upon whether the poets have set off emotions in the audience’s mind, requiring not only good poetry writing skills, but also the ability to speak and deliver the poem in a dramatic way. The lowest and highest scores are removed, and the three left over are added up. The winner is announced at the end of the rounds and may attend other competitions in other places with a higher standing than before. It is not uncommon for “slam poets” to go to other countries to compete. National and International contests are held in Asia, Africa, Europe, and North and South America.

Attending and participating in this sporty game of words and emotions has been shorten to the expression “slamming”. Slamming has become not only a world phenomenon but a sub-culture as well, being well received among young poets and those of diverse backgrounds. It provides a stage for them to express our fragile human condition in a very entertaining and artful way.