Nikola Tesla wrote 278 patents that shaped our modern world.

Yet in 1943, he died alone, forgotten, and in crippling debt in room 3327 of the New Yorker Hotel

Here are 4 times Tesla predicted the future: 🧵
(#4 is most shocking)
Tesla was called insane when he described smartphones in 1926:

"We will be able to communicate with one another instantly, irrespective of distance... and the instruments will be small enough to be carried in our vest pocket."

In 1438, Inca engineers pulled off the greatest feat in ancient engineering history:

They built a 40,000 km mountain highway system 5,000 meters above sea level.

But what they created next nearly broke the laws of physics.

Here's the full story: 🧵 The Inca didn’t invent the wheel or use horses.

But they built one of the most advanced road networks in history.

This system connected 12 million people across the Andes—making the Inca Empire the largest in pre-Columbian America.

Most people don’t realize how dangerous the Apollo missions really were.

An explosion could’ve released the force of a nuclear bomb—wiping out everything for miles.

So, they built a hidden bunker designed for survival at all costs.

Here's the story... (THREAD) 🧵
Picture this:

A NASA engineer, 60 meters up, trying to fix a hydrogen leak hours before Apollo 11's launch.

He's standing next to a Saturn V carrying 2,500+ tonnes of propellant.

One spark and it would all be over...

Before Silicon Valley, there was Alexandria.

In the 3rd century BCE, it was the global hub of knowledge, home to the brightest geniuses in human history.

At its center? A library containing over 1,000 years of wisdom.

But one fatal decision changed everything... 🧵 Around 300 BCE, Egypt’s Pharaoh Ptolemy II launched one of the most ambitious projects of the ancient world:

A library that aimed to collect a copy of every book ever written...

Pythagoras built the weirdest cult in history.

Yes, I'm talking about the Pythagoras who created that Pythagorean theorem you studied in 6th grade.

Read this story, and you'll never see him nor a triangle the same again...🧵 Pythagoras is famous for his theorem on right triangles.

But his fascination with numbers started young.

As a teen, he traveled to Egypt and spent 22 years learning secret wisdom from priests.

He became convinced numbers were the key to understanding the universe.

Deep in a Texas mountain, Jeff Bezos' engineers are building humanity's most ambitious timepiece.

It will run for 10,000 years, outlasting our civilization.

Here's the $42 million clock and how it holds the key to the universe: 🧵 Inventor Danny Hillis had a bold vision:

He wanted to build a clock that would outlast civilizations.

Not just to tell time—but to remind humanity of the need for long-term thinking in a world focused on the short term.

In WWII, British engineers devised one of the most bizarre projects in military history:

A massive aircraft carrier MADE OF ICE.

Codenamed Project Habakkuk, it was designed to stop Nazi U-boats—and rewrite naval warfare forever.

Here’s the full story: 🧵 By 1942, the Atlantic was a graveyard.

Nazi U-boats were sinking over 1,000 Allied ships that year alone.

Vital supplies—food, fuel, weapons—were at constant risk.

Churchill called the U-boat menace the “only thing that really frightened me during the war.”

In 1976, a group of thieves pulled off one of the boldest heists in history.

They stole $30M from a bank vault—without triggering a single alarm or firing a single shot.

Here’s how they dug beneath the law and executed the perfect crime: 🧵 It all started with Albert Spaggiari, a photographer and part-time criminal with a vision.

He didn’t want just to steal money—he wanted to make history.

His target? The Société Générale Bank in Nice is one of the most secure banks in France.

The $7 trillion banking industry was disrupted 500 years ago by a German miner.

His secret? Exploiting ONE (sinister) lever to control any European kingdoms at will.

This is Jakob Fugger and how he amassed his $400B wealth and unlimited influence: Jakob was born in 1459 to a merchant family in Augsburg, Germany.

As a teenager, he learned the family business inside out.
By 18, he was running the company.

His plan? Expand from selling cloth to loaning money.

These sisters shared the same bed with England's king...

• One became Queen of England.
• One vanished into obscurity.

500 years later, both their bloodlines shaped British history in ways no one could've expected.

Here's the full story: 🧵 Born into a modest noble family around 1500, Mary and Anne Boleyn's early lives couldn't predict their extraordinary futures.

But their ambitious father had bigger plans...

In 1238, Granada's engineers pulled off the biggest feat in medieval history:

They built a self-sustaining water system 200 meters up a mountain.

But what they created next nearly destroyed physics forever.

Here's the full story: 🧵 While other medieval cities fell to Christian armies during the Reconquista, Granada remained unconquered for over 250 years.

The secret?

The Alhambra Palace - a fortress of such genius engineering that even modern NASA scientists study its systems.

Marcus Aurelius was a big believer in stoicism.

Not only Aurelius — but Tim Ferriss, Epictetus, Ryan Holiday... too.

Here's what it's and how it can transform your life: 🧵
In 300 BC, a wealthy trader named Zeno lost everything when his ship sank off the coast of Athens.

Most would be devastated, but not Zeno.

Zeno was a stoic.

Everyone talks about the same geniuses like:

Einstein, Tesla, or Hawking.

But for me, there's one woman who stands head and shoulder above all.

Sadly, her legacy was a heartbreaking tragedy. Here's her story... (thread) 🧵 In 1927, Marie Salomea Skłodowska (Marie Curie) was the ONLY woman among 29 top physicists at the prestigious Solvay Conference.

She was the:
• first woman to win a Nobel Prize
• first person to win Nobel Prizes in 2 fields
• pioneer of radioactivity, which saved millions of lives in WW1

But the tragic devil was following her...

In 2012, a cryptic image was posted on 4chan with a strange message:

"Hello. We are looking for highly intelligent individuals. To find them, we have devised a test..."

Today, this is the world's greatest and most mysterious puzzle on the internet. Here's the story: 🧵 Within minutes, a hidden string of text was discovered in the image file by user 3301.

It led to another image with a cipher that, once solved, pointed to a subreddit.

There, clues about an 18th-century book called "The Lady of the Fountain" were found...

Elon Musk is a big believer in Mental Models.

Not only Musk— Charlie Munger, Jeff Bezos, and Steve Jobs too.

I've collected 20 of the most powerful mental models from the greatest thinkers throughout history: 🧵 1/ The Bloom-Bilal Rule:

When bored and lacking ideas, keep walking until the day becomes interesting. (via @sahilbloom + @bzaidi)

I think Napoleon Bonaparte is the most misunderstood genius ever alive.

He conquered Europe and gave us over 2,000 legal codes that, 200+ years later, half of Europe still follows.

Here's his story and how history might have unfolded if he never existed: 🧵 The French Revolution began in 1789, overthrowing the monarchy and ushering in chaos.

Noble intentions quickly gave way to extremism:

- The King was executed
- 16,000 "enemies" were beheaded
- Churches were attacked

France was in turmoil.

In 2012, a cryptic image was posted on 4chan with a strange message:

"Hello. We are looking for highly intelligent individuals. To find them, we have devised a test..."

Today, it has become the world's greatest and most mysterious puzzle on the internet. Here's the story: 🧵 Within minutes, a hidden string of text was discovered in the image file by user 3301.

It led to another image with a cipher that, once solved, pointed to a subreddit.

There, clues about a 18th-century book called "The Lady of the Fountain" were found.

This man risked his life and save millions worldwide.

He was like the Nikola Tesla of medicine and one of the most important doctors in history.

But in 1865, he was locked up in an asylum and beaten for "mental health" issue.

Here's the tragic story of the forgotten genius: 🧵 Ignaz Semmelweis was a new doctor at the Vienna General Hospital, where childbed fever was rampant in the maternity wards.

He noticed something strange...

🚨 MIND-BENDING 🚨

This man was the genius behind the atomic bomb.

But after Hiroshima and Nagasaki, you would never believe how the US government treated him…

The story of how the Atomic Bomb killed J. Robert Oppenheimer... (thread) 🧵
Oppenheimer was a prodigy born in New York City in 1904 to wealthy German Jewish immigrants.

• He spoke 8 languages fluently.
• At Harvard, he graduated in just 3 years.
• He earned a PhD in physics at age 23.

These sisters shared the same king's bed.

- One became Queen of England.
- One vanished into obscurity.

500 years later, both their bloodlines shaped British history in ways no one could've imagined.

Here's the wild story of the Boleyn sisters: 🧵 Born into a modest noble family around 1500, Mary and Anne Boleyn's early lives couldn't predict their extraordinary futures.

But their ambitious father had bigger plans...

He secured young Anne a place at Europe's most prestigious finishing school - Margaret of Austria's court.

This is Peter Thiel.

He's worth $7.1 billion after founding & investing in $1B startups.

From creating the "PayPal mafia" to hiring Sam Altman, and Reid Hoffman, and partnering with Elon Musk...

He is also the greatest recruiter ever!

His 4 questions to spot future billionaire:
Thiel's 4 questions to spot future billionaires:

1. What important truth do very few people agree with you on?
2. How successful are you going to be?
3. Would you want to grab a beer with them after work?
4. Do you have Zen-like opposites?

Let me explain: