Crystal Flutes and Human Hair: 8 Random Items Found in the Library of Congress

The world watched as, at the behest of the Library of Congress, singer, rapper and classically trained flutist Lizzo played a crystal flute once owned by President James Madison at a concert in Washington, D.C., Sept. 26, 2022. Some people then thought: "Wait a minute, I thought the Library of Congress held books and important papers, not things like crystal flutes."

Well, true enough, the Library of Congress (LOC) in Washington, D.C., is the largest library in the world and holds more than 51 million cataloged books and other print materials in 470 languages. The original library was housed in the U.S. Capitol building, but its 3,000 volumes were burned by British troops, along with pretty much every other government building in Washington, during the War of 1812. Three years later, the LOC bought Thomas Jefferson's collection of almost 6,500 books, and it's been growing ever since. The library has amassed over 173 million items, all stored on its 838 miles (1,349 kilometers) of shelves. Here is a sample of just eight of the fascinating objects to be found there.

1. The Contents of Abraham Lincoln's Pockets the Night He Was Killed

The night Abraham Lincoln was shot, April 14, 1865, he had gone to see a play at Ford's Theater. At some point in the day he had filled his pockets with a variety of objects, not knowing they would be on display in the LOC over 150 years later. His pockets contained two pairs of spectacles (one repaired with a piece of string), an embroidered linen handkerchief, a sleeve button and a brown leather wallet containing a Confederate $5 bill and eight recent newspaper clippings praising his campaign for reelection.

2. 4,000-Year-Old Cuneiform Receipts

The LOC's African and Middle Eastern Division holds a collection of cuneiform tablets from ancient Sumeria during the reign of Gudea of Lagash, from the 2100s B.C.E. Although very old, the authors weren't writing about very interesting topics: Receipts of payment for goods and services, records of religious offerings and school exercise tablets are among some of those to be seen.

3. 18 Glass Flutes

Claude Laurent was an early 19th-century flute maker who, in 1806, patented the first glass flute. At the time, flutes were generally made of wood or ivory, which could go off pitch when the temperature or humidity changed. Laurent's glass flutes became popular novelties with flutists, but were replaced by metal flutes after Laurent's death. Three of the LOC's flutes were owned by President James Madison — one of which singer, rapper and classically trained flutist Lizzo played onstage in 2022, at the behest of the LOC.

4. 25 New Films Each Year

Far too many films are made each year for the LOC to store them all, but since 1988 it has selected 25 American films each year from any time in the history of film that the National Film Preservation Board deems "culturally, historically or aesthetically" important enough to be archived in the Library. Some of the films you've probably heard of, while others are more obscure, and in 2021 the LOC decided to hold onto copies of "A Nightmare on Elm Street" (1984), John Waters' "Pink Flamingos" (1972) and "Jubilo" (1919).

5. Celebrity Palm Prints

The occult was very popular in the 1920s and 1930s, and Nellie Simmons Meier was one of the most famous palmists in the world.

She read the palms of Albert Einstein, Eleanor Roosevelt, George Gershwin and lots of other celebrities, and often took a palm print of their hands (along with an autograph) after doing a reading.

When Meier died, she donated a portion of these prints to the LOC, and one of the most visited is Amelia Earhart's, accompanied by a description of why her palm made it possible for her to make aviation history: "According to Meier's analysis, Earhart's palm revealed her passion for flying. The length and breadth of her palm indicated a love of physical activity and a strong will. Her long fingers not only showed her conscientious attention to detail and pursuit of perfection, but also revealed Earhart's ambitious yet rational nature. Her palm further reflected the reasoned and logistical manner of someone who considers all possibilities before making a decision."

6. Human Hair

Before photographs were a common way of capturing a person's portable essence, people traded locks of hair to remind them of loved ones who were far away or deceased. The LOC owns hair from all sorts of people, both famous and unknown. It houses a strand of George Washington's hair, as well as hair from the heads of Ludwig van Beethoven, Enda St. Vincent Millay, Ulysses S. Grant and a complicated knot of hair gifted by James Madison to a girlfriend, among others. The LOC also has anonymous hair given to President James Garfield with the note "My Compliments," which he kept in his diary. There are also many wisps of hair kept by parents of children who died young.

7. 1507 Waldseemüller World Map

German cartographer Martin Waldseemüller created the first map of the globe — or what was known of it in 1507 — that included the New World, based on the voyages of Amerigo Vespucci in 1501-1502. The LOC owns the only surviving copy of the map's original printing, which was produced from a woodcut on 12 separate sheets of paper. On the map, Waldseemüller called the New World "America," a Latinized version of Vespucci's first name. The Waldseemüller World Map is sometimes called "America's Birth Certificate."

8. Every Public Tweet Posted Between 2006-2018

In 2010, the social media app Twitter made a deal with the LOC: It would hand over each and every public tweet posted since its inception in 2006. But in 2018, the LOC decided they had gathered enough tweets, and now only archives the most notable ones. This decision was based on a few considerations, including how much space the data takes up, but also that the LOC deemed the documentation of the rise of the influential app complete. Held by the LOC is the first tweet posted by one of Twitter's founders, Jack Dorsey, March 21, 2006: