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An intentional time capsule built into a wall of Georgia Tech's student center

A time capsule is a historic cache of goods and/or information, usually intended as a method of communication with people in the future. Time capsules are sometimes created and buried during celebrations such as a World Fair, cornerstone laying for a building or other event. They can also be unintended caches such as at Pompeii. The phrase "time capsule" has been in use since about 1937, but the idea is as old as the earliest human civilizations in Mesopotamia. Time capsule may refer to: Time capsule, sealed cache of goods for future opening. ... Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... Wiktionary (a portmanteau of wiki and dictionary) is a multilingual, Web-based project to create a free content dictionary, available in over 150 languages. ... Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 800 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (2592 × 1944 pixel, file size: 1. ... Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 800 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (2592 × 1944 pixel, file size: 1. ... The Georgia Institute of Technology, commonly known as Georgia Tech, is a public, coeducational research university, part of the University System of Georgia, and located in Atlanta, Georgia, USA, with satellite campuses in Savannah, Georgia, Metz, France and Singapore. ... Communication is a process that allows organisms to exchange information by several methods. ... Worlds Fair is the generic name for various large expositions held since the mid 19th century. ... Look up cornerstone in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... For other uses, see Pompeii (disambiguation). ... Year 1937 (MCMXXXVII) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Mesopotamia was a cradle of civilization geographically located between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, largely corresponding to modern-day Iraq. ...

Background

The Helium Centennial Time Columns Monument located in Amarillo (Texas) holds 4 time capsules in stainless steel, that should be opened after a duration of 25, 50, 100, and 1000 years after they were locked in 1968. [1]

Time capsules can be classified into two types: intentional and unintentional. Intentional time capsules are placed on purpose and are usually intended to be opened at a particular future date. Unintentional time capsules are usually archaeological in nature. Discoveries of cultural significance are often found in standard archaeological digs as well as those from volcanic eruptions such as Pompeii and Vesuvius. Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (600x800, 74 KB) File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Time capsule Don Harrington Discovery Center Metadata This file contains additional information, probably added from the digital camera... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (600x800, 74 KB) File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Time capsule Don Harrington Discovery Center Metadata This file contains additional information, probably added from the digital camera... Amarillo is a city located in Texas, USA and is part of the West Texas region. ... Official language(s) No official language See languages of Texas Capital Austin Largest city Houston Largest metro area Dallas–Fort Worth–Arlington Area  Ranked 2nd  - Total 261,797 sq mi (678,051 km²)  - Width 773 miles (1,244 km)  - Length 790 miles (1,270 km)  - % water 2. ... For other uses, see Pompeii (disambiguation). ... Mount Vesuvius (Italian: Monte Vesuvio) is a volcano east of Naples, Italy, located at 40°49′N 14°26′ E. It is the only active volcano on the European mainland, although it is not currently erupting. ...

The concept of time capsules is not recent. In the Epic of Gilgamesh, among humanity's earliest literary works, it began with instructions on how to find a box of copper inside a foundation stone in the great walls of Uruk, and in the box was Gilgamesh's tale, written on a lapis tablet. There were other time capsules 5,000 years ago as vaults of artifacts hidden inside the walls of Mesopotamian cities ^{[citation needed]}. The Epic of Gilgamesh is an epic poem from Babylonia and is among the earliest known literary works. ... Uruk (Sumerian Unug, Biblical Erech, Greek Orchoë and Arabic وركاء Warka), was an ancient city of Sumer and later Babylonia, situated east of the present bed of the Euphrates, on the line of the ancient Nil canal, in a region of marshes, about 140 miles (230 km) SSE from Baghdad. ...

The cover of a time capsule that was buried on the grounds of Nickelodeon Studios in 1992, scheduled to be opened on April 30, 2042 but was removed August 2006 due to the closing of the studio. The capsule held items that were important to kids at the time of placement, including a Nintendo Gameboy , Nickelodeon Magazine, and various other toys

What we now think of as a "time capsule" has more recent origins. In 1937, during preparations for the 1939 New York World's Fair, someone suggested burying a "time bomb" for 5,000 years (until 6939)—the less inflammatory name of "time capsule" was suggested, and the name has stuck since. The 1939 New York World's Fair time capsule was created by Westinghouse as part of their exhibit, measuring 90", 800 pounds, and had an interior diameter of 6.5 inches. Westinghouse named the copper, chromium and silver alloy "Cupaloy", claiming it had the same strength of mild steel. It contained everyday items such as a spool of thread and doll, a Book of Record, a vial of staple food crop seeds, a microscope and a 15-minute RKO Pathe Pictures newsreel. Microfilm spools condensed the contents of a Sears Roebuck catalog, dictionary, almanac, and other texts. This first modern time capsule was followed in 1965 by a second capsule at the same site, but 10 feet to the north of the original. Both capsules are buried 50 feet below Flushing Meadows Park, site of the Fair. Both the 1939 and 1965 capsules are meant to be opened the same year. More recently, in 1985, Westinghouse created a smaller, Plexiglas shell to be buried beneath the New York Marriott Marquis hotel, in the heart of New York's theater district. However, this time capsule was never put in place. Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (1280x960, 308 KB) The Nickelodeon Time Capsule. ... Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (1280x960, 308 KB) The Nickelodeon Time Capsule. ... Nickelodeon Studios (opened June 7, 1990 – is an attraction at Universal Studios Florida. ... The original Game Boys design set the standard for handheld gaming consoles. ... Trylon, Perisphere and Helicline photo by Sam Gottscho The 1939-40 New York Worlds Fair, located on the current site of Flushing Meadows-Corona Park (also the location of the 1964-1965 New York Worlds Fair), was one of the largest worlds fairs of all time. ... Year 1939 (MCMXXXIX) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1965 (MCMLXV) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display full calendar) of the 1965 Gregorian calendar. ... Flushing Meadows Park, also sometimes referred to as Flushing Meadows-Corona Park, is located in northern Queens, New York City, USA at the intersection of the Long Island Expressway and the Grand Central Parkway. ...

The Crypt of Civilization (1936) at Oglethorpe University, scheduled to be opened in 8113, is generally regarded to be the first successful implementation of a modern time capsule, although it was not called a time capsule at the time. According to the Guinness Book of World Records, the Crypt of Civilization is considered the first successful implementation of a time capsule. ... 1936 (MCMXXXVI) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar). ... Oglethorpe University is a private liberal arts college in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. ... (8th millennium – 9th millennium – 10th millennium – other millennia) The 9th millennium is a period of time which will begin on January 1, 8001 and will end on December 31, 9000. ...

Currently, two time capsules are "buried" in space. The Pioneer Plaque and the Voyager Golden Record have been attached to spacecraft for the benefit of spacefarers in the distant future. A third time capsule, the KEO satellite, will be launched in 2009 or 2010, carrying individual messages from Earth's inhabitants addressed to earthlings around the year 52,000, when KEO will return to Earth. The illustration on the Pioneer plaque The Pioneer plaques are a pair of aluminum plaques which were placed on board the Pioneer 10 and Pioneer 11 spacecraft, featuring a pictorial message from humanity, in case either Pioneer 10 or 11 are intercepted by extraterrestrial beings. ... The Voyager Golden Record. ... Part of KEOs logo at www. ... 2009 (MMIX) will be a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 2010 (MMX) will be a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

The International Time Capsule Society was created to maintain a global database of all existing time capsules. Insert non-formatted text hereInsert non-formatted text hereInsert non-formatted text hereInsert non-formatted text hereInsert non-formatted text hereThe International Time Capsule Society is an organization dedicated to tracking the worlds time capsules to ensure that those that are created are not lost. ...

Criticism

According to time capsule historian William Jarvis, most intentional time capsules usually do not provide much useful historical information. They are typically filled with "useless junk", new and pristine in condition, that tells little about the people of the time.^{[citation needed]} By comparison, Pompeii contains a wealth of material about daily life, such as graffiti on walls, food in hearths and the remains of people trapped under volcanic ash. Many time capsules today contain only artifacts of limited value to future historians. Historians suggest that items which describe the daily lives of the people who created them, such as personal notes, pictures, and documents, would greatly increase the value of the time capsule to future historians. For other uses, see Pompeii (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Graffiti (disambiguation). ...

If time capsules have a museum-like goal of preserving the culture of a particular time and place for study, they fulfill this goal very poorly in that they, by definition, are kept sealed for a particular length of time. Subsequent generations between the launch date and the target date will have no direct access to the artifacts and therefore these generations are prevented from learning from the contents directly. Therefore, time capsules can be seen, in respect to their usefulness to historians, as poorly implemented museums.

Historians also concede that there are many preservation issues surrounding the selection of the media to transmit this information to the future. Some of these issues include the obsolescence of technology and the deterioration of electronic and magnetic storage media, and possibly language problems if the capsule is dug up in the far future. Many buried time capsules are lost, as interest in them fades and the exact location is forgotten, or are destroyed within a few years by groundwater. Look up preservation in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

See also

References

• William Jarvis (2002). Time Capsules: A Cultural History. ISBN 0-7864-1261-5
• Janet Reinhold (1993, 2000). A Sampling of Time Capsule Contents. ISBN 1-891406-30-2

Internal links

• Builders' rites
• Shelby, Iowa
• KEO
• Crypt of Civilization
• Bracewell probe
• Yahoo! Time Capsule
• Message in a bottle
• White House Millennium Council

Builders rites are ceremonies attendant on the laying of foundation stones, whether ecclesiastical, masonic or otherwise, and other traditions connected with foundations or other aspects of construction. ... Shelby is a city in Iowa, United States. ... Part of KEOs logo at www. ... According to the Guinness Book of World Records, the Crypt of Civilization is considered the first successful implementation of a time capsule. ... A Bracewell probe is a hypothetical concept for an autonomous interstellar probe dispatched for the express purpose for communication with (an) alien civilization(s). ... A brainchild of Jonathan Harris, the Yahoo! Time Capsule is a time capsule project by Yahoo! Inc. ... A message in a bottle is a form of communication whereby a message is sealed in a container (archetypically a glass bottle, but could be plastic) and released into the sea or ocean. ... The White House Millennium Council was an American organization established in 1998 by President Bill Clinton to commemorate the millennium. ...

External links

• International Time Capsule Society at Oglethorpe University
• Capturing Time: The New York Times Capsule; an American Museum of Natural History exhibition
• The book of record of the time capsule of Cupaloy — New York World's fair 1939, scanned book via Internet Archive
• The future of the future - Seattle Weekly
• Project Keo
• Time Capsules from Tales of Futures Past
• Genesis Landing Site Monument Installation
• Andy Warhol's Time Capsule 21
• Time Netsule (circa July 2006)
• Time In A Capsule: Wilderness Time Capsule Adventures