1

Texas

Image: Joshua J. Cotten

Also known as the Lone Star, Texas’ flag features a single star on a vertical blue stripe, representing the state’s strong independent spirit. The red stripe represents courage, while the white stripe stands for purity.

In fact, the current design was adopted in 1839 during the Republic of Texas, echoing the state's history as an independent republic before joining the Union in 1845.

2

California

Image: Lesli Whitecotton

California's flag features a grizzly bear, a symbol of strength and independence. The star represents California's status as a republic in 1846 during the Bear Flag Revolt, and the red stripe signifies courage.

Interestingly, the bear depicted on the 1911 version of the flag is said to have been inspired by the last California grizzly bear held in captivity.

3

Arizona

Image: Denisse Leon

Arizona’s flag features a golden star surrounded by red and gold rays, symbolizing both the state’s arid landscape and copper mining industry. The blue and red colors are the same shade used on the flag of the United States.

The star commemorates Arizona’s statehood, achieved in 1912, while the thirteen rays symbolize the original Thirteen Colonies.

4

Colorado

Image: Courtney Cook

Colorado’s flag features blue, white, red, and yellow with a bold "C" encircling a golden disk. The blue symbolizes the sky, gold represents the state’s abundant sunshine, white the snowcapped Rockies, and red the "ruddy" earth.

The gold and white elements also honor Colorado’s gold and silver mining industries. Officially adopted in 1911, the flag stands as a tribute to the state’s natural beauty and pioneering heritage.

5

Florida

Image: Karl Callwood

Florida’s flag features a red cross with the state seal at the intersection. The cross represents the state's Spanish heritage, as it was originally founded by Spanish explorers.

The seal depicts a shoreline where a Seminole woman spreads flowers. While some suggest the woman represents the historical heroine Milly Francis, there is no evidence to support this theory. A Sabal palm and a steamboat complete the scene, reflecting Florida's vibrant scenery.

6

Maryland

Image: Gary Cole

Maryland’s flag stands out with its bold black and gold pattern, divided into quarters. The design incorporates elements from the family crest of the Calverts, the state’s founding family.

During the colonial era, Maryland used only the gold and black Calvert arms. The colors fell out of use after American independence but were reintroduced in 1854.

7

South Carolina

Image: Kelly

South Carolina’s flag features a white palmetto tree on a blue field, with a crescent moon beside it. The roots of this design have existed in some form since 1775, being based on one of the first American Revolutionary War flags.

An early version of this flag, known as the Moultrie Flag, was famously flown during the defense of a fortress on Sullivan's Island against the British fleet. The palmetto tree was later added as a symbol of the island’s successful defense.

8

Tennessee

Image: Brandon Hooper

Tennessee’s flag features three stars arranged in a triangular pattern, symbolizing the three regions of the state —East, Middle, and West Tennessee. The red, white, and blue colors align with the state’s commitment to unity and its place in the Union.

The current version, designed by Colonel Le Roy Reeves, was adopted in 1905. However, an earlier version already aimed to represent the state's three distinct regions with three slanted bars of red, white, and blue.

9

Hawaii

Image: little plant

Hawaii’s flag is unique among U.S. state flags. It features a Union Jack in the upper left corner, reflecting the historical ties between Britain and the Hawaiian Kingdom. It was first adopted in the early 19th century by the Kingdom of Hawaii and retained when the state joined the U.S. in 1959.

The eight horizontal stripes represent the eight main islands of Hawaii: Hawaiʻi, Maui, Kahoʻolawe, Lānaʻi, Molokaʻi, Oʻahu, Kauaʻi, and Niʻihau.

10

Indiana

Image: Lucas Beck

Indiana’s flag features a large gold torch, with 19 smaller stars surrounding it, representing Indiana's status as the 19th state to join the Union. The torch symbolizes enlightenment and the path to progress.

Adopted in 1917, the flag’s design was chosen through a contest offering a cash prize. The winning design, created by Paul Hadley of Mooresville, Indiana, was selected as the official flag with only minor modifications.

11

Maine

Image: Aubrey Odom

Maine’s flag features a shield with a pine tree at its center, flanked by a farmer and a sailor, representing the state’s agricultural and maritime heritage. The North Star above the shield symbolizes guidance and Maine’s motto, "Dirigo," meaning "I Lead."

The pine tree is a nod to Maine’s nickname as the Pine Tree State. Adopted in 1909, the flag’s design emphasizes Maine’s strong connection to its natural resources.

1

12 years of all tweets

Image: Marten Bjork

If you were an active and public Twitter user between the years 2006 and 2017, guess what? Your words are preserved in the Library of Congress .

The platform’s first twelve years are contained in a digital collection meant as a historical record of a new communications channel. From 2018 onwards, the Library started acquiring only "particularly interesting" tweets.

2

Oddly specific movies, like "Shrek" or "Wall-E"

Image: Denise Jans

The Library preserves film culture through the National Film Registry and other collections.

Recent registry additions have included animated hits such as Shrek , while the Library’s preservation programs and official announcements explain why even mainstream animated features matter as cultural artifacts worth saving. The Registry also contains enduring classics such as Grease , Citizen Kane , and The Wizard of Oz .

3

Specific songs, like "Livin’ La Vida Loca"

Image: Bruno Guerrero

Music enters the Library’s life via the National Recording Registry and the Music Division. Ricky Martin’s "Livin’ La Vida Loca" is one of the recordings the Library has recognized for cultural impact; these entries help posterity understand what particular songs meant to listeners at the time.

Other anthems are also preserved in the collection, like Aretha Franklin’s " Respect " and Journey’s " Don’t Stop Believin. "

4

A moldy wedding cake

Image: gryzoon

A sliver of wedding cake from P.T. Barnum’s era spectacles survives in the Library of Congress’s Manuscript Division as a historical oddity. Donated in the 1950s, it now sits darkened with age and mold.

The cake came from the wedding of Charles Stratton, who was 25 years old and just 35 inches tall at the time. Stratton performed in Barnum’s shows under the name General Tom Thumb, delighting audiences with his song-and-dance routine.

5

A map of the Grand Canyon made of chocolate

Image: Steve Johnson

Yes, that is a real thing. The Geography and Map Division highlights a 1991 topographic map of the Grand Canyon molded in chocolate , made by the Chocolate Topographic Company.

6

What Lincoln was carrying when he died

Image: Engin Akyurt

The Library’s Treasures and related pages describe the modest, deeply human contents found on Abraham Lincoln after he was shot : a silk-lined wallet with newspaper clippings, a Confederate five-dollar bill kept as a curiosity, spectacles, a pocketknife, a handkerchief, and a watch fob, among other everyday items.

7

Locks of hair from Jefferson, Beethoven, and others

Image: benjamin lehman

Why not? The Library’s Manuscript and Music Divisions preserve numerous strands of hair attributed to notable figures : from presidents such as Thomas Jefferson to composers like Ludwig van Beethoven, as well as other cultural icons including Walt Whitman, Clara Barton, and George Washington!

8

Thomas Jefferson’s vanilla ice cream recipe

Image: Colin Fearing

Among Jefferson’s papers, which the Library and Monticello both reproduce and discuss, is his handwritten vanilla ice cream recipe : cream, egg yolks, sugar, and vanilla, frozen using ice and salt. A fundamental (and surprisingly delicious) document of history!

9

A precursor of the Monopoly Game (The Office Boy)

Image: Kathy Marsh

Monopoly’s genealogy includes several predecessors. Most famously, Elizabeth Magie’s 1904 The Landlord’s Game is the well-documented precursor.

Other commercial board games , such as Parker Brothers’ The Office Boy (an 1889 Horatio Alger–style career game), along with various moral and occupational boards, helped shape the emerging mass-market game industry that ultimately produced Monopoly .

1

Sean Connery, The Lord of the Rings

Image: Thomas Schweighofer

One of the actors who has turned down the most iconic roles in cinema history is probably Sean Connery. For example, he passed on to interpret the evil cannibal in "The Silence of the Lambs", which later earned Sir Anthony Hopkins an Academy Award for Best Actor.

But perhaps the most curious decision of his career was to refuse the role of Gandalf in the 2001 adaptation of "The Lord of the Rings". The producers went so far as to offer him up to ten million dollars and 15% of the film's profits, which would have amounted to around 400 million dollars. Years later the actor declared that he didn’t understand the script and that he didn’t find Tolkien's work attractive enough. Go figure!

2

Gwyneth Paltrow, Titanic

Image: David_Do

More than 25 years after its premiere, we can’t imagine any actress other than Kate Winslet playing the young socialite Rose Bukater in Titanic . However, the director's first choice for the role was American actress Gwyneth Paltrow . After reading the text, Paltrow told her agents that she found the story too corny and ended up turning down the role.

James Cameron's film was a box-office success and Winslet was nominated for an Oscar for her work . But there was another plot twist: a year later, in 1988, the British actress turned down the "Shakespeare in Love" project for which Paltrow won the golden statuette.

3

Al Pacino, Star Wars

Image: Saksham Gangwar

Al Pacino, who starred in great films such as "The Godfather" and "Scent of a Woman", admitted that he was offered the role of Han Solo in "Star Wars", but didn’t accept it because he didn’t understand George Lucas' script .

Recently, he said at an event: "They offered me so much money. I don't understand it.... So I said I couldn't do it. I gave Harrison Ford a career." Truth be told, other actors like Christopher Walken didn't trust the project either . Perhaps in the mid-1970s, no one could have imagined that this fantasy saga would become a multi-million franchise still widely revered by audiences to this day.

4

Marilyn Monroe, Breakfast at Tiffany’s

Image: pure julia

Starring an iconic Audrey Hepburn, "Breakfast at Tiffany’s" was released in 1961. That role marked a turning point in Hepburn’s career, consolidating her as a serious actress. However, Truman Capote, author of the original novel, was totally against her being the protagonist .

Apparently, he wrote the story with Marilyn Monroe as the carefree Holly Golightly in mind . As it turns out, Monroe's acting coach rejected the idea because she didn't want the actress to play "a lady of the night." Capote was never happy with the result and even said, "It is the most miscast film I've ever seen. It made me want to throw up."

5

Gary Cooper, Gone with the Wind

Image: Ian Wagg

Producer David O. Selznick's first choice for the role of Rhett Butler in "Gone With the Wind" was the great Gary Cooper. However, the actor from "The Virginian" didn't want it, and he showed it quite strongly. Cooper reportedly predicted that the film would be the biggest flop in Hollywood history . He allegedly said, "I'm just glad it'll be Clark Gable who's falling on his face and not Gary Cooper."

Of course, he couldn't have been more wrong. Not only is the film considered one of cinema's greatest masterpieces, but it also earned Clark Gable an Oscar nomination for Best Actor and made him one of the most iconic actors of the 20th century. Did Cooper regret it later?

6

Kim Basinger, Basic Instinct

Image: Vlad Deep

Sharon Stone's name will always be associated with the thriller "Basic Instinct" and that famous leg-crossing scene. Although it was the role that made her famous, she got it because other actresses such as Julia Roberts, Michelle Pfeiffer, Geena Davis, Kathleen Turner, and Meg Ryan had previously rejected it.

In the beginning, the film's leading man, Michael Douglas, had recommended Kim Basinger , who had already starred in the erotic romantic drama "9½ Weeks" in 1986. However, Basinger considered Paul Verhoeven's film too extreme for her and chose not to do it. In the end, "Basic Instinct" was one of the highest-grossing films of 1992, although not without controversy.

7

John Travolta, Forrest Gump

Image: Yosuke Ota

The producers' first choice to play the lead role in "Forrest Gump" was John Travolta . The "Grease" and "Saturday Night Fever" actor turned down the role that would later earn Tom Hanks his second Academy Award.

With hindsight, however, we know that Travolta did the right thing . Besides the fact that we couldn't imagine anyone else playing the tender, naïve Forrest, Travolta said no because he had another project in the works. That other film ended up giving him the best character of his entire career: Vince Vega in Pulp Fiction —probably also Quentin Tarantino's best film.

8

Molly Ringwald, Pretty Woman

Image: Look Studio

Vivian Ward's character in "Pretty Woman", which made Julia Roberts a star and for which she won a Golden Globe, had been previously offered to Molly Ringwald . At just twenty years old, Ringwald was already an icon and a reference for the girls of her generation and one of the most sought-after and best-positioned actresses in Hollywood. However, she decided to turn down the offer and go to Paris.

Around that time, she also didn't land roles in "The Silence of the Lambs" and "Working Girl". Those decisions cost her dearly and although she tried to resume her career in the United States years later, it was not easy for her to regain the star status she had had during the 80s.

9

Leonardo DiCaprio, Boogie Nights

Image: Regina Valetova

Leonardo DiCaprio as charismatic porn star Dirk Diggler? Believe it or not, it could have happened. However, at the time DiCaprio felt that director Paul Thomas Anderson didn't have much experience and turned down the lead role in "Boogie Nights" to make "Titanic".

Years later, Di Caprio said in an interview that the 1997 period drama was a film he would have loved to make. "Boogie Nights" is certainly both an audience and critics favorite and the one that catapulted Mark Wahlberg to fame. But if Di Caprio hadn't starred in "Titanic", would he have the career he has today? Luckily, we'll never know!

10

Bette Midler, Sister Act

Image: cottonbro studio

The lead character in "Sister Act" had originally been written for Bette Midler . However, the actress, singer, and comedian was hesitant because she was worried that her fans would not want to see her play a nun.

Producers pestered her for several weeks but Midler felt she could wear anything but a nun's costume and ended up not accepting it. The job eventually went to Oscar winner Whoopi Goldberg who, due to the film's huge success, returned for a sequel in 1992.