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Friday, June 10, 2011

Smithsonian Snapshots

I don't know about you, but I love oddities, obscurities and random paraphernalia. That might be why I've always dreamed of going to the Smithsonian. Well, not just going there, as a teen, I used to dream of working there... still do, really. I've just always been missing essential components for becoming a person that could do such things... I'll call it stick-to-it-ness, cause I like that word, also, an attention span longer than a fruit flies.

Seriously though, that place is a treasure trove for every single person, really. Well, I think so anyways. I mean, who wouldn't want to see a giant squid eye, or learn about the 7 new species of fish they discovered a bit ago (to be honest, they all pretty much look like they belong in my fish tank, but still, cool) or how about see Kathrine Hepburn's Oscars! Seriously, something for every one, and I haven't even mentioned the zoo...

So yesterday, they had a piece on their Newsdesk that captured the heart of a lot of crafters... gauging by the amount of posts I saw in my feed about it, that is, and I, never one to let myself be left out, am going to talk about it a bit too.

Parachute Wedding Dress, 1947

Did you do check the date? If you did, you already know that this is a WWII wedding dress. It was made from the parachute that saved the life of the groom after his plane's engine caught fire. Not only did it get him to safty, it also kept him comfy while he waited to be rescued. 

Now, this dress has left all us wives wondering why our husbands didn't almost die in a plane accident so that we could have a dress with a story like this. Topher, why didn't you? Huh?

But the dress isn't the only thing cool in the Smithsonian's Snapshot Series. The series is just a few photos of the 137 million items not on display at the Smithsonian, here are a few of my other favorites...

Space Tea, 1981

The year I was born, astronauts drank tea like this. I've spent quiet a bit of time imagining myself in space drinking this tea. It's the only time I've ever actually pictured myself in space, actually. Space has never really had any draw on me... but you all know I'd go for tea...
 

The size of a dinner plate. That thing's bigger than my head...



Mammoth Flesh

Turns out that mammoths didn't become extinct at the end of the last Ice Age... nope they lingered in Alaska and Russia until around 4000 years ago. 

Is it weird that I want a jar of mammoth flesh sitting on a shelf in my living room?


You should all spend some time perusing the Smithsonian site it's full of all kinds of thing that want to inspire you to create... something.



2 comments:

Kim said...

Very cool...I wanna go to!

Maya said...

Who's up for a field trip? ME!!!