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Apr 5, 2023 7 tweets 5 min read Read on X
It may be 40 more years until #StarTrek #FirstContactDay 🖖 but our collections contain a rich history of human interest in space travel, UFOs & extraterrestrial communication. There's lots to see in this 🧵, from a 17th century moon mission to a current Library/@NASA team-up! International Space Station...
Advances in earthly science tend to boost curiosity about extraterrestrial matters. As such, on the heels of Galileo’s telescopic moon observations came Francis Godwin’s "The Man in the Moone" (1638), a tale of a man's space travel in a bird-powered craft. go.loc.gov/zzyq50NB8wV Illustration from the Frenc...
As telescope quality improved & astronomers were able observe the geography of Mars, they took what they saw as evidence of civilizations. By the 1830s, many believed Mars & other planets were inhabited. Take a look at this page from an 1831 textbook. go.loc.gov/CwPQ50NB8wT "The Young Astronomer&...
Later, as radio took off, so did stories of communication with extraterrestrials. This 1920 article documents Italian scientist Guglielmo Marconi's belief that he was receiving signals from intelligent life in outer space. go.loc.gov/S52w50NB8wS March 1920 edition of "...
The Cold War era was rife with anxiety about atomic weapons & communism, which manifested visions of flying saucers & worries that alien enemies might be hidden among us. These concerns were well-illustrated in the pop culture of the time. go.loc.gov/fFGi50NB8wU Poster for movie starring H...
The @NASAVoyager crafts — now 12+ billion miles from Earth — carry golden records loaded with earthly greetings, should they ever encounter life. The Library has a copy of the record & holds the papers of beloved American astronomer Carl Sagan, who helped curate its contents. A photo of the Library's co...A March 1978 Library of Con...
We can't end this thread about humanity's interest in other worlds without mentioning that the Library & U.S. Poet Laureate @adalimon are embarking on a mission with @NASAJPL to send a poem to space in 2024. Watch out for more details, coming soon.
go.loc.gov/vYo050NB8wR U.S. Poet Laureate Ada Limó...

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More from @librarycongress

Dec 16, 2022
If you read/listen to one thing today, make it this 🧵, the story of what may be the best beer 🍺 run in history. The Battle of the Bulge, a last-ditch German effort to turn the tide of WWII, began #OTD in 1944. Enter our protagonist: PFC Vince Speranza of the 101st Airborne. A black and white photo of PFC Vincent Speranza of the 101st
Sound up. 🔊 Here, in a Veterans History Project interview in 2014, Speranza tells the first part of his story, about him tracking down beer in a bombed-out Belgian town & figuring out a way to get it back to his injured friends.
Part II 🔊: Speranza visits Belgium in 2010 for the first time since the war. He tells the beer story while lunching with locals, only to find out they already know it. "That was you?!" they ask. Turns out, the beer helmet G.I. is a beloved Bastogne legend. Not only that...
Read 5 tweets
Oct 10, 2022
Christopher Columbus' 1492 voyage is what he is best known for, but he lead more expeditions to the Caribbean, as well. After his third, he was charged with maladministration of Hispaniola. He was brought back to Spain in disgrace, and in chains, in 1500. 🧵 Engraving of Columbus returning to Spain in chains on board
When he pleaded his case before Queen Isabella & King Fernando of Spain, they promised restitution of the rights & offices that Columbus had negotiated with them ahead of his first expedition. But months passed without redress. This is where the "Book of Privileges" comes in. Print showing Christopher Columbus before Queen Isabella I a
To try to prevent his promised positions & entitlements from being questioned, Columbus gathered all the documentation of his agreements with the Spanish monarchs from years earlier and hired scribes to make copies. The Library has one of these copies of the "Book of Privileges." A page of Columbus' "Book of Privileges"
Read 7 tweets
Sep 29, 2022
Many of you following along with #LizzoAtLOC were surprised that the Library has a flute vault. We are the largest Library in the world & home to more than 173 million objects, so there are many more surprises like that in our collections. Enjoy this thread of just a few of them. Lizzo and Librarian of Cong...The flute vault at the Libr...
First: More instruments! @YoYo_Ma has played our 1699 Stradivari cello. We also have George Gershwin's piano, which has been played by #GershwinPrize winners @LionelRichie & @smokeyrobinson. More on instruments: go.loc.gov/WjQO50KXi0V
Follow @Events_LOC for news about concerts! Gershwin Prize for Popular ...World-renowned cellist Yo-Y...Librarian of Congress Carla...
Among many other treasures, the Library's Rare Book and Special Collections Division has the contents of President Abraham Lincoln's pockets when he was assassinated. We also hold the papers of 23 presidents, from Washington to Coolidge, all digitized. go.loc.gov/mcq950KXbSi When Abraham Lincoln was sh...
Read 8 tweets
Sep 28, 2022
You didn't think @lizzo played that antique flute on stage without practicing first, did you? She visited the Library Monday & played several of the flutes in our collection, which is the largest in the world. #LizzoAtLOC

See & hear more from her visit: blogs.loc.gov/loc/2022/09/it… Lizzo laughs while holding ...
A flute @lizzo played in the Main Reading Room Monday (with permission from some lucky researchers who were there!) looks similar to the crystal one she had at her concert, but is actually plexiglass. It is also very rare & was manufactured when the material was first invented.🔊
Lizzo also practiced this part of her on-stage performance in the Library's Great Hall on Monday. Wait for it... #LizzoAtLOC

newsroom.loc.gov/news/lizzo-pla…
Read 4 tweets
Sep 26, 2022
You probably know the Wright brothers (whose papers are held at the Library, see🔗) were the inventors of the first successful airplane. But aviation history, from its beginnings in 18th century France, boasts a remarkable number of sibling team-ups. 🧵loc.gov/collections/wi… Photograph shows the first ...
The first public, unmanned balloon flights were the work of French brothers Joseph and Étienne Montgolfier. On September 19, 1783, at the palace of Versailles, they launched a balloon carrying a sheep, a rooster & a duck. King Louis XVI and Queen Marie Antoinette were onlookers. Illustration shows the ball...
The Montgolfiers used fire & hot air to power their balloons. Another pair of French brothers, Anne-Jean & Marie-Noël Robert, used hydrogen. Their first unmanned balloon was destroyed by terrified villagers. Months later, in December 1783, their first manned flight was a success. Illustration shows the unma...
Read 6 tweets
Apr 26, 2018
Thanks, Eric! Next up is Amanda May of the Preservation Reformatting Division (PRD). Amanda will present “Digital Forensics: Preserving Born-Digital Archival Materials from Obsolete Media.” #PresTC
The Preservation Reformatting Division processes archival collections with born-digital materials, which may include CDs, DVDs, 5.25” and 3.5” floppies, Zip disks, computers, or more obscure formats. #PresTC
Recovering the data from each type of media requires different equipment: Forensic Recovery of Evidence Devices (FRED), hardware write blockers, an FC5025, a KryoFlux, specialized software, and cables. So. Many. Cables. #PresTC Forensic Recovery of Evidence Devices (FRED)
Read 8 tweets

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