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       LIBRARY OF CONGRESS
4th Place June 09 Olav wrote us this letter about the library of congress, as a recent visitor, and a Canadian, we think he makes as good a case for it as any text we could write about it: The Library of Congress is the world's largest library. More than 32 million books, 15 million periodicals, movies and 100 million other items add up to hundreds of miles of shelf space and several terabytes of information. What's awesome about that? It is an institution that is open to public use. That's right, not just the use of Congress, not just the use of Americans, but the use of anyone from any part of the globe. The world's largest repository of information is accessible to everyone. Considering the size of the collection, the labrynthine warren of tunnels in which the books are stored and the demands of the public, one would understand if it took the librarians several days to find any particular book. However, just about any book in the collection can be retrieved within an hour. Seriously! One hour! I was there last weekend doing some research and I requested New Computer Methods for Global Optimization an obscure book from 1988 that had a print run of less than 500 copies. They had it in my hands in 15 minutes! That's incredible. I'm going to go so far as to say that The Library of Congress isn't just awesome, it's one of the Wonders of the World. There are many great things about America, but I would list the Library of Congress as the single best. It is all of the greatest achievements of Western Civilization under one roof, at the fingertips of all those who seek knowledge. Seriously. I was awe-struck. I am awe-struck. I'm well-known as someone who is loquacious, and I can't even find the words to express how impressed I was with the Library of Congress.
Nominated by Olav Rokne
Image Credits
Filename: libraryofcongress.jpgSource: wiki commons author: Andreas Praefcke Url: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:LoC_Main_Reading_Room.jpg 
Filename: libraryofcongress_exterior.jpgSource: Public Domain Url: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:ThomasJeffersonBuildingLOC.jpg 
Filename: libraryofcongress_building.jpgSource: wiki commons author: Josh from Washington, D.C., USA Url: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Library_of_Congress_(1).jpg 
Filename: libraryofcongress_interior.jpgSource: wiki commons author: Diliff Url: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Library_of_Congress_Interior_Jan_2006.jpg 
Filename: libraryofcongress_1921.jpgSource: wiki commons author: Josh from Washington, D.C., USA Url: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Library_of_Congress_1921.jpg
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Library of Congress was voted MORE AWESOME than:
 Teddy Roosevelt  Moustache Balaclava  Shaved Ball Cap  Giant Nintendo Controller  Little Superstar  Meat Suitcase  Venus Fly Traps  Unibrow  Theo Jansen's Art  General Lee 01  Crop Circles  BigDog Robot  Roller Derby  Freerunning  Dwight K. Schrute  President Obama  The Hamburger Bed  Wingsuit Base Jumping  Bob Ross  Flying Spaghetti Monster  Badass Mountain Men  Beer Maids  Rollerman  Space Invader Invasion  The Brick Testament  Sir Ernest Henry Shackleton  The Man with No Name  The Stig  Queen of the Mist  Deja Vu  Ultra Slow Motion  Troy Hurtubise's Inventions  Gong  Keith Loutit's Little Sydney  Soccer* Hooligans  Reliant Robin Teddy Roosevelt  Choose Your Own Adventure Books  Tiesto  Rasputin  The Disintegrator: Rubber Band Minigun  Death Star  Mermaids  Male Emperor Penguins  Indy's Whip  Literal Video Versions  Chuck Norris vs. Bruce Lee  Hunter S. Thompson  Extent of the Universe  Mark Twain Library of Congress was voted LESS AWESOME than:  Nikola Tesla  Robocop on a Unicorn  Miracle On Ice  Aurora Borealis  Brawndo: The Thirst Mutilator  Captain James T. Kirk Captain James T. Kirk  Johnny Cash Teddy Roosevelt Death Star  James Earl Jones Counts to 10 James Earl Jones Counts to 10  Jesus Riding A Dinosaur  Walking on the Moon
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   ULTRA SLOW MOTION
Cameras are now capable of recording 1000x slower then normal. These ultra-slow motion video is giving man a new perspective of the world around us. From sneezing to bullets, balloons popping to face slapping....it's fun to watch and seems to go well with opera. There is a lot to see in the worlds of science and awe.
Nominated by Tiberius Rex
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Filename: ultraslowmotion_baloon.jpgSource: ecstaticist on flickr cc Url: http://www.flickr.com/photos/ecstaticist/2835671334/
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Ultra Slow Motion was voted MORE AWESOME than:
Unibrow  Octo-Stache The Stig Gong  Chindogu Choose Your Own Adventure Books Tiesto  Notorious B.I.G. Doll The Disintegrator: Rubber Band Minigun Mermaids Male Emperor Penguins Ultra Slow Motion was voted LESS AWESOME than: Troy Hurtubise's Inventions  The Viking Helmet Johnny Cash Teddy Roosevelt Library of Congress Rasputin James Earl Jones Counts to 10 Death Star Indy's Whip
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A) Books are awesome.
B) Large quantities of books are more awesome than lesser quantities. C) Democracy is awesome. D) Freedom of speech is awesome. E) Freedom of information is awesome. F) Thomas Jefferson is awesome. The Library of Congress combines the net awesomeness of that entire list, in an awesome building, with awesome organization, awesome people running it and awesome art on the walls. This should be in the Top 8. I am more in awe of this than the sum of all other nominees, even though all nominees this month are awesome in their own right. reply
Agreed.
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Just for clarification purposes, am I voting for Ultra Slow Motion in general or specifically Sneezing in Ultra Slow Motion? Because the former truly is awesome while the latter is pretty goddamn gross. But maybe a tiny bit awesome too.
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The Great Library of Alexandria was one of the 7 Wonders of the Ancient World...perhaps the Library of Congress should be considered one of the Wonders of the Modern World? THAT would be awesome!
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IMHO, the LoC is all seven wonders of the Modern World.
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For much of this clip one thing comes to mind: la petite mort? Then they photoshop in all the mucous and...I guess la petite mort is still appropriate...but not terribly awesome
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