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Archivists from around the world share their most unique finds—and some are super weird

Tiny books, presidential chairs, iconic dresses and more.

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The world is full of so many cool things.

This article originally appeared on 10.05.17

Ever wondered what goes on in a library's dark corners, where you aren't allowed to go?

Wonder no more, thanks to The Society of American Archivists' Ask an Archivist Day.

On Oct. 4, 2017, university, corporate, and museum archivists around the world dug out the coolest, rarest, and weirdest items in their collections, photographed them, and put the results on Twitter.

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Joy

Watch the heartwarming moment two BFFs who had only ever FaceTimed finally meet each other

"You ever see a hug that long? I gotta take off early and go sit in a park and contemplate life or something."

Photo by Womanizer Toys on Unsplash

Never miss out on a pinky swear :)

Goodness, have our views on the internet changed!

When I first got dial-up, I was 14, it was 1998, and AOL was all about taking over the world (if not with connectivity then at least with the 700 CDs they sent to your house each month). My parents had two rules: Don't tie up the phone lines (broken immediately), and never meet someone from online that you don't already know.

Years later, as an adult with a cable modem, their advice seems pretty dated. In fact, society's gone from never meeting strangers online to doing all our dating on Tinder and asking people we've never known to give us rides from one place to another. Our only requirements? That they be nearby and have at least a 4.7 driver rating. (This is only for adults, though! Don't let your kids meet strangers from Minecraft!)

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Pop Culture

Jimmy Fallon asked people to ruin a horror movie by adding a single word to its title

'A Nightmare on Elmo Street'

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Not so scary anymore.

Whether you’re a horror aficionado or your scary threshold is at a level 2, you’re bound to be familiar with at least a couple of iconic horror movies. The horror genre is a huge part of our culture, allowing us to explore the darkest depths of the human psyche within the safety and comfort of home—or a theater, if you dare.

As counterintuitive as it might sound, watching horror movies can be more than stimulating entertainment for some people. It can act as a form of exposure therapy, helping reduce anxiety levels. Of course, this is not the case for everyone, but it certainly helps explain why the genre is so well loved and continues gaining popularity. Even in 2020—arguably an anxiety-inducing year for everyone—horror movies were the only ones to actually see a surge in ticket sales. Sometimes it’s just more cathartic to see an actual monster wreaking havoc in a fictional world than it is to think about all real-world worries that haunt our imaginations.

Still, not everyone can shake off that scary feeling that a horror movie elicits, and therefore might not partake in watching. Nonetheless, they might enjoy seeing the edge taken off with a bit of lighthearted humor. After all, it’s often recommended to watch a little comedy after a horror flick to clean out the heebie jeebies.

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Joy

23 years ago he rescued a toddler from a burning building. Now he just met the grown man's son.

We don't always get to see what happens after a heroic deed.

Photo by Andrew Gaines on Unsplash

Firefighter Jeff Ohs resuscitated Xavier Dimples as a toddler.

We all know that Upworthy loves a good hero story. Suddenly humanity seems a little less dark after hearing about students coming to their teacher’s rescue, moms taking on entire swarms of bees to keep their kids safe or entire bank heists being thwarted by a single hug.

However, we rarely get a glimpse of what happens after those feel-good stories take place. It’s not often that we get to witness firsthand the lasting impact made from one good deed. That’s what makes this story so special.

Xavier Dimples was only 2 years old when his house caught fire, leaving him trapped inside. Without a firefighter named Jeff Ohs bravely entering the burning building to pull the toddler out of the wreckage and resuscitating him, Dimples would have perished.

Twenty-three years after the incident, Dimples was able to reunite with Ohs, introducing him to his son who was the exact same age as Dimples when Ohs rescued him.

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internet

Tiny books, presidential chairs, iconic dresses and more.

Ever wondered what goes on in a library's dark corners, where you aren't allowed to go?

1. Small items. Very small items. Like a Bible so tiny that it has a magnifying glass with it for reading.

2. And a barely-bigger-than-a-quarter book about birds, published during the deadliest year of the Civil War.

3. Or this one of three women in West Virginia, rocking the slickest hats of 1908.

4. A folding chair used by Barack Obama.

5. Dirt from the grave of a well-known American writer.

6. A Roman-era coin, depicting either a man in a helmet or a curious understanding of human anatomy.

7. A photo of a sailor whose ship vanished in the Bermuda Triangle in 1918.

8. And one of of other World War I sailors giddily posing on top of two ginormous battleship guns.

9. A child's sketch of a groundbreaking concept car — complete with a built-in kitchen and a 300 mph top speed.

10. A legal document drawn up in 14th century France.

11. A pioneering, ultra-glittery work of feminist art.

12. A photo of fashion designer Ann Lowe, the woman who designed Jackie Kennedy's wedding dress.

13. A script for a rarely heard "Empire Strikes Back" radio play.

14. An image of rows and rows of classic radiator shells waiting to be installed at a Depression-era Pontiac plant.

15. A handwritten letter from Sigmund Freud.

16. Ancient technology.

17. Proof that Queen Elizabeth II is apparently a secret football fan.

18. A memo warning campus police about an upcoming Ozzy Osborne concert, citing the singer's involvement with "abuse of animals" and "alleged satanic groups."

19. And why, if you want to see more, you'll have to visit a library or archive in person.

A few lessons from IT professionals about securing your personal data.

Here are just a few lessons from McGready — and some other IT professionals — about securing your personal data:

1. Know there is a LOT of data about you online.

2. Be aware that your friends may expose info about you — even if you're not on social media.

3. Pay attention so you can mitigate the risks (though probably not completely avoid them).

4. It's better to be proactive than wait until you're compromised.

5. Check the Facebook apps and third-party services that might have access to your account.

6. Take some time to get rid of those old accounts.

7. Don't feel bad if it happens to you. Even IT professionals fall for it!

8. Be smart, pay attention, and know what you're getting into with any website or service you sign up for.

9. Have a solid P@$w0rds plan.

10. Use a password manager.

11. Set up two-factor authentication (2FA) for added security.

12. Consider using a separate email address — with a separate strong password — for important accounts like banking.

13. Be sure to hover over links before you click them.

14. Always double-check the URL in the address bar. (But even that's not always safe.)

15. Secure your router.

16. Be wary: These days, the internet is in everything from lightbulbs to baby diapers. Which is super cool! And bad.

17. Exercise a little extra caution.

It's hard to solve a problem you can't see — which is why McGready is so passionate about teaching online safety.

Being able to tell truth from lies is more important than ever.

It's easy to be duped by online hoaxes — so we spoke with someone whose job it was to spot them every day.

Binkowski spoke with Upworthy about how to deal with increasingly sophisticated hoaxes we all encounter online (and gave us a few behind-the-scenes secrets about how the people at Snopes do what they do best).

The basic take-aways for the average person? Get your news from trusted sources, confirm it with a second source, check your own confirmation biases, and get familiar with reverse image search tools.

"You ever see a hug that long? I gotta take off early and go sit in a park and contemplate life or something."

Friendships have changed as well.

Want more (very adorable) proof? Here's a video of two lifelong friends who are meeting in person for the first time.

Never underestimate the power of friendship.

'A Nightmare on Elmo Street'

Barrymore called out news outlets that twisted her words to make it sound like she wished her mom was dead.

We don't always get to see what happens after a heroic deed.