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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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   WINGSUIT BASE JUMPING
1st Place February 09 Since the beginning of time man has dreamed of human flight. Over the years little steps and innovations were made. However, base jumping with inadequate fabrics usually resulted in death. By the early 20th century some successes were being made in the field of aviation. Skydiving allowed men to explore horizontal movement. A group of pioneers known as 'The Birdmen' explored the wingsuit, but the materials available were not as advanced as their passion. 72 of the 75 original Birdmen died testing their wingsuits. Advances in wingsuit construction allow today's adrenaline junkies to push the limit of human flight. This video is the OFFICIAL Matchstick Productions wingsuit flying segment from 2007's feature film "Seven Sunny Days." Starring Loic Jean-Albert, Andreas Barkhall, Espen Fadnes, Shane McConkey, JT Holmes, and others. Go to www.skimovie.com to buy the film or learn more!
Nominated by Flori
Image Credits
Filename: wingsuit.jpgSource: screenshot from Matchstick Productions Wingsuit Base Jumping video
Video Source
Produced by:Matchstick Productions Posted by Youtube user: mspfilms
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B0tU3Hy7et8
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Wingsuit Base Jumping was voted MORE AWESOME than:
 Afros Afros  Chewbacca Moustache Balaclava Giant Nintendo Controller  Jesus Christ  The Krull Glaive Little Superstar Meat Suitcase  Sasquatch Venus Fly Traps Theo Jansen's Art General Lee 01  Ghost Riding da Whip Crop Circles  Mock Apple Pie  El Chupacabra BigDog Robot Roller Derby Freerunning Dwight K. Schrute  Mister Rogers doing The Wave Miracle On Ice  Don King President Obama  Velcro Shoes  Enclose by Bea Camacho The Hamburger Bed The Hamburger Bed  Mr. Snuffleupagus  ANTS  Batmobile  Blue Whale Bob Ross Bob Ross  Saber Toothed Deer Aurora Borealis Aurora Borealis  Shrunken Heads  Julie Moss at the 1982 Ironman  Leeroy Jenkins! Flying Spaghetti Monster Flying Spaghetti Monster Badass Mountain Men  Journey's Arnel Pineda  Toodle Shooting Grandma Beer Maids Rollerman  Paul Bunyan The Brick Testament Captain James T. Kirk The Man with No Name  Banksy Johnny Cash Literal Video Versions Chuck Norris vs. Bruce Lee  Gene Wilder's Willy Wonka Hunter S. Thompson Mark Twain Wingsuit Base Jumping was voted LESS AWESOME than: Robocop on a Unicorn Robocop on a Unicorn Badass Mountain Men Aurora Borealis  Major League Gaming  Hedgehogs Brawndo: The Thirst Mutilator Library of Congress  MST3K Extent of the Universe  Emperor Norton Walking on the Moon Walking on the Moon
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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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The more I watch the video for this, the more overcome I am by it's Awesomeness. I'm a pilot, and there really is no freedom like the freedom found in flight, but this is on a whole different level. I wanna do this! Bad!
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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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how do you land?
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They are wearing small parachutes. A big part of the adrenalin rush is to pull the shoot later and later. There are some videos of guys pulling the chute open within 100 feet of the ground.
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