'Getting old is like climbing a mountain; you get a little out of breath, but the view is much better!'

'When you're climbing Mount Everest, nothing is easy. You just take one step at a time, never look back and always keep your eyes glued to the top.'

- Author Jacqueline Susann (1918-1974)

'Fear of life closes off more opportunities for us than fear of death ever does.'

- Actress Agnes Moorehead (1900–1974)

'It takes a lot of courage to be happy, but I've got courage, so I think I will be happy again.'

- Actress Florence Henderson (1934–2016)

Ten writers and thinkers on what growing older actually requires of us

The Marginalian's Maria Popova curates a collection arguing our culture has learned to dread aging while forgetting it is a privilege, and that the antidote is sustaining passions strong enough to keep us from turning inward. Voices include Simone de Beauvoir, Joan Didion, Pablo Casals, and Kahlil Gibran.

'I love quotations because it is a joy to find thoughts one might have, beautifully expressed with much authority by someone recognized wiser than oneself.'

- Actress and singer Marlene Dietrich (1901-1992)

'All that is gold does not glitter, not all those who wander are lost; the old that is strong does not wither, deep roots are not reached by the frost.'

- "The Lord of the Rings" author JRR Tolkien (1892-1973)

'Don’t try to be young. Just open your mind. Stay interested in stuff. There are so many things I won’t live long enough to find out about, but I’m still curious about them.'

- Actress Betty White (1922-2021)

'Sometimes opportunities float right past your nose. Work hard, apply yourself, and be ready. When an opportunity comes you can grab it.'

- Actress Julie Andrews (1935 - present)

'You will never be happier than you expect. To change your happiness, change your expectation.'

- Hollywood legend Bette Davis (1908 - 1989)

'The man who views the world at 50 the same as he did at 20 has wasted 30 years of his life.'

- Boxing champion Muhammad Ali (1942-2016)

A 94-year-old stumbles upon a photo of herself from 1947 at an airport

Earlier this year, Gwendolyn Bruhn, who worked for Hawaiian Airlines in the 1940s, spotted herself in a photo blown up on an airport wall. Here's her story.

Marina Abramović continues to shock audiences in her 70s

Growing older did not limit Abramović from continuing to work or stir controversy. Reenactments of her older performances continue to generate strong responses from viewers, especially in a cultural atmosphere that she views as increasingly hostile and regulated. (This resource contains some artistic nudity.)

'The best way to make a dream come true is to wake up.'

- Fashion icon Anna Wintour (1949 – present)

Simone de Beauvoir was a serious hiker

The existentialist icon began hiking as a young school teacher in Marseilles. Eventually, she would plan out long trips that covered up to 18 miles and took her around 12 hours to complete. She would later write that the hikes saved her “from boredom, regret, and several sorts of depression.”

'Practice, which some regard as a chore, should be approached as just about the most pleasant recreation ever devised.'

- Legendary athlete Mildred "Babe" Didrikson Zaharias (1911-1956)

'You only go around once, but if you play your cards right, once is enough.'

- Frank Sinatra (1915–1998)

Martha Stewart lands Sports Illustrated Swimsuit cover at 81

At 81, lifestyle icon Martha Stewart appeared on the front cover of Sports Illustrated's Swimsuit edition, marking the oldest woman to do so in the magazine's 59-year history. The magazine described the photo shoot as an embrace of changing beauty...

Meet a 90-year-old who built his own hobbit-inspired house

A retired carpenter built himself a kind-of Hobbit house, and is living comfortably off the grid at 90 years old, tourists notwithstanding. Learn how he did it with this video.

'I don't know what you can say about a day when you see four beautiful sunsets.'

- Astronaut John Glenn (1921–2016)

'Adults ask questions as a child does. When you stop wondering, you might as well put your rocker on the front porch and call it a day.'

- Comedian and late night host Johnny Carson (1925–2005)

'If you can't do it with feeling, don't.'

-Singer Patsy Cline (1932-1963)

Friedrich's perspective draws in viewers

Friedrich produced several works, including "Wanderer," portraying figures with their back to the viewer. The effect—called Rückenfigur, or ”figure from the back”—can create complex emotions of longing, immersion, or awe.

'I ought to be jealous of the tower. She is more famous than I am.'

- Gustave Eiffel (1832–1923)

Moving your body every day is key to longevity

In an era of biohacking, where millionaires subject themselves to draconian routines and tests to de-age themselves, one study suggests a super simple key predictor of mortality: more than any other trait, how much subjects moved determined how long they'd live. Movement mattered even more than age in predicting overall life longevity. Researchers suggest this means we should all simply get outside a bit more. Read more about the study here.

'Old people' smell is real—it's a chemical buildup when fatty acids on the skin oxidize

The chemical composition of body odor seems to change with age. Later in life, we harbor higher concentrations of a chemical compound called 2-nonenal that forms when omega-7 fatty acids on the skin oxidize, and the skin's natural antioxidant defenses weaken. Commonly called "nonenal", it's the smell widely associated with aging, and it's often described as a grassy or greasy odor.

Existentialist writer Jean-Paul Sartre coined the famous phrase 'Hell is—other people' in his play 'No Exit'

Dorothy's famous entrance into Oz in 'The Wizard of Oz' relied on analog tricks, including a body double and sepia-toned paint, as much as it did on technology

One of the most famous portraits ever taken is 'Afghan Girl' (1984) by Steve McCurry, yet the subject Sharbat Gula went much of her life without being identified or benefitting from the image's success.

The boiling temperature of water decreases with increasing elevation because the molecules need less energy to overcome the lower atmospheric pressure associated with thinner air.

A researcher recently discovered an interview from 1967 between groundbreaking journalist Joan Didion and the Grateful Dead, years before the band became an institution.

American dance legend Martha Graham, sometimes called 'the Picasso of dance,' refused to perform at the 1936 Olympics in Berlin and conceived the piece 'Chronicle' in response to the experience.

Frank Lloyd Wright's houses are historically hard to sell because they're old, subject to local landmark commissions, and often unfashionable

Apeirophobia is an overwhelming fear of living forever, perhaps stemming from the brain's inability to conceptualize an infinite life.

Comedy legend Catherine O'Hara, star of 'Schitt's Creek' and 'Home Alone,' quit 'Saturday Night Live' after just one week to return to her old job.

Alzheimer's can lead to brain shrinkage, with an average of around 2% of volume reduction per year

For centuries, Niagara Falls has been a magnet for daredevils seeking to conquer one of nature's most powerful wonders, with its 200-foot drop and water rushing at 32 feet per second with 280 tons of force.

In 1939, baseball star Lou Gehrig delivered his inspirational 'Luckiest Man' speech after retiring due to the health condition that now bears his name.

Netflix profits when you're not watching, and its movies are designed that way—read a detail-rich critical essay exposing lesser-known Netflix takes

Salvador Dalí believed he was his own dead brother, who had died nine months before he was born

See photos of Meteora, a mountainous site in central Greece, home to 14th-century monasteries perched atop soaring outcroppings.

Explore our favorite visualization of the immense scale of space, from an astronaut to the size of the observable universe

Studies suggest when you sleep is as important as how much you get, and syncing with your circadian rhythms may lead to less fatigue and improved long-term health outcomes

The most expensive ad of all time was for Chanel No. 5 perfume and cost roughly $33M to produce in 2004—about $57M in today's dollars.

A Yale student wrote a profound essay about the consulting industry's influence on elite college students that was published in a book of her writing after she died in a post-graduation car accident.

American short story writer Flannery O'Connor raised 40 peacocks, which became potent symbols for her fiction's elegant violence

The 19th-century painters of the Hudson River School were among the first American romantics, with portraits that displayed the natural beauty of the young country.

Poison ivy will likely become both larger and more resilient due to climate change.

The original copy of the Declaration of Independence is not a pristine document, and even features a smudged anonymous handprint in the bottom left corner.

The word 'jazz' evolved from 'jasm,' 19th-century American slang for 'energy'

See a ranking of the best (and worst) Federal Reserve Chairs since 1914 out of the 16 men and women who have held the office since.