Imagine, if you will, Thomas Jefferson sitting down to pen (or quill) a rough draft of the Declaration of Independence early in 1776... you know, when the colonies that would become the United States of America formally explained their decision to become independent states, and thus not be a part of Great Britain any longer. Imagine him writing the words "our fellow citizens" -- but know that, thanks to hyperspectral imaging , the Library of Congress has confirmed that he originally wrote "our fellow subjects" -- but then scrubbed it out and replaced it with the word "citizens." Personally, we feel pretty happy with the knowledge that the founding fathers chose their words so carefully -- after all, "we hold this stuff to be super obvious 'cause all dudes are like, basically the same" just doesn't have the same ring to it, now does it? Hit up the Boing Boing source link for far more photos.