+
Most Shared

See the jaw-dropping sketches The Human Camera draws from memory.

During the last week of October 2016, Stephen Wiltshire flew to Mexico City. From the instant he landed, the world-renowned artist drew a crowd.

Dozens of fans and reporters (and a few thousand fans on his live-stream) came to watch him sketch a panoramic view of the Mexico City skyline. The audience watched, mouths agape, while Wiltshire, dressed in a hoodie and headphones, sketched hundreds of buildings.

He captured details like roundabouts, windows, and trees. It would be a true feat for any local, but that's what makes Wiltshire so impressive: He's not from Mexico City. Or even Mexico. He's from London, and he drew all this from memory.


Photo by Yuri Cortez/AFP/Getty Images.

Since childhood, Wiltshire has used art to communicate and interact with the world around him.

He was mute as a child and diagnosed with autism when he was 3 years old. In elementary school, he discovered drawing and found not only a passion for it, but also a real talent.

As a kid, Wiltshire sketched animals, city buses, and buildings with great delight. When he spoke for the first time, two of his earliest words were paper and pencil.

Wiltshire's teachers noticed how talented he was, so they encouraged his gift.

One helped him enter local art competitions. Soon, the press came to see then 7-year-old Wiltshire and his incredible talent. And before long, he was appearing on game shows and signing an art book deal. At 8, he sold his first piece and received a commission from the British prime minister. Impressive accomplishments for anyone, especially considering Wiltshire didn't fully speak until he was 9. But Wiltshire never let the sudden fame go to his head; he was just doing what he loved.  

"I enjoy it because it makes me feel happy and lots of people enjoy looking at my work," Wiltshire said in a press brief. "It makes them smile ... I feel very proud."

Wiltshire puts the finishing touches on a drawing of the nearly completed Shard site. Photo by Dan Kitwood/Getty Images.

Today, Wiltshire travels the world as a professional artist.

He's been called The Human Camera because after seeing an aerial view a city for an hour or less, he's able to complete a perfectly scaled panoramic illustration.

"I can memorize any city I like, buildings or anything really," Wiltshire said in a press brief. "I can still remember buildings I saw when I was very young, like five or six years old."

Photo by Yuri Cortez/AFP/Getty Images.

He's been to Tokyo, Rome, Hong Kong, New York, Madrid, Houston, Singapore, and more to do live drawings.

For his achievement in art, the London native was named a Member of the Order of the British Empire by Queen Elizabeth II.

When he's not on the road, Wiltshire resides in London, where he opened his own permanent gallery.

"I feel proud of myself, lots of people come to visit my gallery from all over the world and buy my artwork, lots of school groups also come to visit," Wiltshire said in a press brief. "I come to my gallery twice a week and meet people and sign my autograph."

Photo by Lisa Maree Williams/Getty Images.

Wiltshire's work would be impressive with or without his autism diagnosis.

It's important to remember that his autism doesn't make his talent or finished sketches any more or less incredible. And it doesn't make him any more or less deserving of the accolades and honors he's received either.

But it does make him human, just like the rest of us.

Yes, Wiltshire has struggled to communicate, but his grit, talent, and passion (buoyed by a supportive family) got him where he is today. And that's something to cheer about, autism or not.

Photo by Yuri Cortez/AFP/Getty Images.

@penslucero/TikTok

Pency Lucero taking in the Northern Lights

Seeing the northern lights is a common bucket list adventure for many people. After all, it ticks a lot of boxes—being a dazzling light show, rich historical experience and scientific phenomenon all rolled into one. Plus there’s the uncertainty of it all, never quite knowing if you’ll witness a vivid streak of otherworldly colors dance across the sky…or simply see an oddly colored cloud. It’s nature’s slot machine, if you will.

Traveler and content creator Pency Lucero was willing to take that gamble. After thorough research, she stumbled upon an Airbnb in Rörbäck, Sweden with an actual picture of the northern lights shining above the cabin in the listing. With that kind of photo evidence, she felt good about her odds.

However, as soon as she landed, snow began falling so hard that the entire sky was “barely visible,” she told Upworthy. Martin, the Airbnb host, was nonetheless determined to do everything he could to ensure his guests got to see the spectacle, even offering to wake Lucero up in the middle of the night if he saw anything.

Then one night, the knock came.

Keep ReadingShow less

Meteorologist Matt Laubham prays for the people in the path of a deadly tornado.

Broadcasters who have to report on tragedies as they are happening have a tough job. On the one hand, they have to maintain their professionalism and inform the public of what's happening in a factual way. On the other hand, they're still human and sometimes humanity trumps the traditional perception of what's "professional."

Such was the case for WTVA meteorologist Matt Laubhan, who found himself live on the air staring at a radar scan of a deadly tornado as it moved towards the small town of Amory, Mississippi. He, more than anyone, understood the severity of the situation, and he did his best to convey that to his viewers.

"This is a strong, life-threatening tornado that's going to move either extremely close to Amory or in through the northern part of the city of Amory."

He added, "Y'all trust me too much," explaining that people sometimes take his predictions of where the tornado will go as hard fact, but the reality is that tornados can change directions at any time. "So Amory, we need to be in our tornado safe place," he said.

Keep ReadingShow less
@thehalfdeaddad/TikTok

Dad on TikTok shared how he addressed his son's bullying.

What do you do when you find out your kid bullied someone? For many parents, the first step is forcing an apology. While this response is of course warranted, is it really effective? Some might argue that there are more constructive ways of handling the situation that teach a kid not only what they did wrong, but how to make things right again.

Single dadPatrick Forseth recently shared how he made a truly teachable moment out of his son, Lincoln, getting into trouble for bullying. Rather than forcing an apology, Forseth made sure his son was actively part of a solution.


The thought process behind his decision, which he explained in a now-viral TikTok video, is both simple and somewhat racial compared to how many parents have been encouraged to handle similar situations.
Keep ReadingShow less

Rick Astley rocking his Foo Fighters 'Everlong' cover.

Rick Astley has to be the luckiest '80s musician on the planet. The whole "Rickrolling" phenomenon has given his hit song "Never Gonna Give You Up" a reach far beyond its natural life span, and kept the guy a household name far longer than he probably would have been.

(For those who are unfamiliar, Rickrolling is when you make someone think they're being sent to a website, but the link goes to Rick Astley's "Never Gonna Give You Up" video instead as a joke. It's a silly viral bait-and-switch gag that's been going since 2006.)

But what people may not realize, because his most famous song has become an internet joke, is that Rick Astley is actually a really freaking great musician. The man can saaaang and it seems he's only gotten better with age.

Keep ReadingShow less
Photo via Canva, @WhattheADHD/Twitter

The 'bionic reading' font is designed to help keep you focused and read faster.

Reading is a fundamental tool of learning for most people, which is why it's one of the first things kids learn in school and why nations set literacy goals.

But even those of us who are able to read fluently might sometimes struggle with the act of reading itself. Perhaps we don't read as quickly as we wish we could or maybe our minds wander as our eyes move across the words. Sometimes we get to the end of a paragraph and realize we didn't retain anything we just read.

People with focus or attention issues can struggle with reading, despite having no actual reading disabilities. It can be extremely frustrating to want to read something and have no issues with understanding the material, yet be unable to keep your mind engaged with the text long enough to get "into" what you're reading.

Keep ReadingShow less
Family

Badass bikers show up for abused children, offering advocacy and protection

They become an abused child's "biker family," and they let the child—and everyone else—know that NO ONE messes with their family.

When you are a child who has been abused by people who are supposed to protect you, how do you feel safe?

That question is the heart of Bikers Against Child Abuse International (B.A.C.A.), an organization dedicated to creating "a safer environment for abused children." With specific training and extensive security checks, the frequently big and burly members of B.A.C.A. serve as protectors of chid abuse survivors, giving vulnerable children people to call on when they feel scared, and even showing up in court when a child asks them to.

Keep ReadingShow less