Time Capsules: What Would You Conceal For 100 Years?

This car was underground (and sometimes underwater)
for 50 years in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

A big story in the news this week has been the unearthing and opening of two "time capsules" that had been placed beneath a statue of General Robert E. Lee in Richmond, Virginia. The statue was being dismantled because it symbolized the oppression experienced by blacks under slavery.

But it was the time capsules that were the interesting feature of this story. They were 130 years old. What would they contain? In what condition were their contents?

I found the story intriguing because in 2007 I attended the opening of a time capsule in Tulsa, Oklahoma. A gold and white 1957 Plymouth Belvedere had been placed in a concrete vault that was to be opened in 2007. Boyd Coddington, an L.A. car-builder with a television show was on hand to help get the car started after its 50 year sleep. Inside the trunk were the "time capsule" contents.

Media gathered round to see what treasures might
be found in the trunk of this 1957 Belvedere 

The car and its contents had been buried as part of the 50th anniversary of Oklahoma statehood. It was to be opened on the state's 100th anniversary. 

One item in the time capsule was a list of guesses as regards what the population of Tulsa would be in 50 years. The winning guess would win the car. There was also some gasoline, to make sure the car would run if cars of the future did not use gas.

Needless to say, when the lid was pulled from the coffin -- I mean vault -- one could readily see from markings on the walls that the vault had been filled with water to varying depths numerous times over the years. If you know anything about cars, they have a lot of parts that can rust... like the frame, the body, the engine.

The late Boyd Coddington had a team of assistants who managed to pry the rusted hood up enough to see that the engine was a block of rust. They then made a gallant effort to open the trunk to retrieve the contents of the time capsule. This was achieved and 

You can read here my account of the Tulsarama celebration. And here's a related story: Entombed 50 Years, Miss Belvedere Still Turns Heads

As for the 130 artifacts concealed in the Robert E. Lee, coins and bullets from the Civil War were among the various items unearthed, along with an 1875 Almanac and some books. The backstory on this second box (the first was found a couple months ago) can be accessed here at the Wall Street Journal site.

Which leads us to the question: What would YOU place in a Time Capsule that would be opened in 100 years? 

What about the original lyrics of Bob Dylan's "Desolation Row"? Or an iPod filled with the entire Beatles catalog? How about a box of unused N95 Covid masks? Plus a copy of last Sunday's New York Times with my daughter's 10th crossword puzzle published there.

How about you?