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After his Swiss-born father died, leaving a pile of old documents in German that nobody in the American family could read, a man fed them into ChatGPT and asked for English translations that kept the original tone. It let him learn more about his father's story while grieving and share it straight away with his mother.
I'm going to share some old family documents written in [LANGUAGE], from around [DECADE OR PERIOD]. Please translate each one into natural English, keeping the original tone and any formal or old-fashioned phrasing. Then add a short note explaining any names, places, customs or historical references a modern reader might not understand. Mark anything you can't read or aren't sure about rather than guessing.
Replace the [PLACEHOLDERS] with your own details before you send it.
How to try it
- Photograph or scan each document clearly, one page at a time.
- Upload them to ChatGPT with the prompt and ask it to flag words it can’t make out.
- Keep the originals safe and, for anything important or legal, ask a fluent speaker or professional translator to check the translation.
More home & family use cases
Sort out your junk drawer with Gemini Live’s camera
A MakeUseOf writer hands the mental load of a hopeless junk drawer to Gemini Live: with the camera on, Gemini suggests emptying it and grouping things by category, then advises on how to use the trays and bags you already have, or which organisers are worth buying.
I'm going to show you my [JUNK DRAWER / CUPBOARD / SHELF] through the camera. Help me sort it out step by step: tell me what to take out first, how to group what you can see into categories, what I could probably throw away or donate, and how to arrange it using [ORGANISERS I ALREADY HAVE, E.G. TWO SMALL TRAYS AND SOME ZIP BAGS].
Get honest style advice on a room from a photo with Claude
One user uploaded a photo of their living room and asked Claude for style advice. Its first suggestion was, more or less, to try putting their stuff away first, which they admitted was fair.
Here's a photo of my [ROOM]. I'd like it to feel more [E.G. CALM, COSY, SPACIOUS] on a budget of [BUDGET]. Be honest: what are the three changes that would make the biggest difference, starting with free ones like decluttering or rearranging furniture?
Check a lease from the landlord’s side with Claude
One renter found AI kept agreeing with their own reading of a lease, so they asked Claude to play the landlord and list every clause that could cost the tenant money. It surfaced a clause letting the landlord take any 'damage' found within 30 days from the deposit, no photos needed.
Act as the landlord who wrote this lease. You wrote it to protect yourself. Show me every clause that could cost the tenant money or limit their rights, and explain exactly how you would use each one. Then, separately, rate each clause as standard, unusual or worth negotiating. Lease: [PASTE THE LEASE TEXT].
Reference: X @jakeottiger