Hardy Dutch swimmers brave the icy North Sea on January 1, 2012 in Scheveningen, Netherlands. A record number of 10,000 people took the plunge in this year's traditional New Year's dip. The high turnout was attributed to the mild weather with a sea temperature of 8 degrees compared to 4 degrees last year. (Photo by Jasper Juinen/Getty Images)

Duncan Fenton from the Society of William Wallace stands next to a 700-year-old letter believed to have been in the possession of William Wallace, which has returned to National Records of Scotland on January 12, 2012 in Edinburgh, Scotland. (Photo by Jeff J. Mitchell/Getty Images)

People will spout about impermanence of digital records, but books are really fragile, too. Alexis Arnold from San Francisco wanted to illustrate that with her project The Crystallized Book: collecting books and growing Borax crystals on them. Books range from literature classics to magazines, and there’s even a mysterious and arcane tome called “Linux: The Complete Manual”.

Tim Klingender, Director of Aboriginal Art at Sotheby's hangs the painting “Emu Corroboree Man” by Clifford Possum Tjapaltjarri before a record auction of Aboriginal Art July 14, 2005 in Sydney, Australia. The painting is expected to fetch AUD 150,000 – 250,000 (USD 120,000 – 200,000). Sotheby's unveiled a selection of Aboriginal art and artifacts after a tour of New York and London, which will go to auction in Melbourne July 25 2005. The total pre-sales estimate of the collection is AUD 6 million – 8.5 million (USD 5 million – 7 million). (Photo by Ian Waldie/Getty Images)

WOOTTON, UNITED KINGDOM - APRIL 07: Hot air balloons prepare to depart from Lydden Hill race circuit near Canterbury to take part in mass crossing of the Channel on April 7, 2011 in Wootton, England. 51 balloonists of various nationalities from across Europe took off from Kent making for Calais, France at about 7am. It is the first time a Guinness World Record bid has been made for "the largest group of hot air balloons to make the Channel crossing". (Photo by Oli Scarff/Getty Images)

Israeli magician Hezi Dean stands atop of a tower where he intends to remain for 35 hours, at Rabin square on May 18, 2011 in Tel Aviv, Israel. Dean started his most recent stunt Wednesday in an attempt to break the record of American illusionist and endurance artist David Blaine. Dean was raised on the 27-meters high tower Wednesday morning and aims to remain there with no food until Thursday evening, for a total of 35-hours. (Photo by Uriel Sinai/Getty images)

A man wearing a Guy Fawkes mask enjoys a ride on a 350-meter (1148 feet) long water slide during 2015 City Silde Festa in central Seoul, South Korea, July 19, 2015. A 350 meter-long waterslide has been installed in downtown of Seoul, the longest waterslide to be recorded in Korea, according to local media. (Photo by Kim Hong-Ji/Reuters)

Crowds cheer during a parade before the 23rd annual Wing Bowl at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania January 30, 2015. Professional competitive eater from Chicago Patrick “Deep Dish” Bertoletti downed 444 chicken wings in 30 minutes at the 23rd annual Wing Bowl in Philadelphia, narrowly edging out his nearest rival and shattering the record of 363 wings set a year earlier. (Photo by Mark Makela/Reuters)