What Was Found Inside the Oldest American Time Capsule - Polidicks

[QUOTE][B][U]Historians in Boston have just cracked open a brass box originally buried in 1795 by Paul Revere and Samuel Adams[/U][/B][/QUOTE] [QUOTE]Back on July 4, 1795, none other than midnight-rider Paul Revere and Samuel Adams, who was then Massachusetts' governor, laid a time capsule in the Massachusetts State House in Boston. The event was a big to-do. Fifteen white horses (one for each state of the union) pulled the brass box to the ceremony, where a 15-gun salute accompanied its entombment within a cornerstone by Revere, Adams and fellow revolutionary William Scollay. In December 2014, the capsule was re-discovered by workers attempting to fix a water leak. Historians debated whether or not it should be removed, but the fact that water was seeping into that part of the building ultimately cinched it. To ensure preservation of its contents, it was decided that the time capsule would be opened. There was an initial fear that the capsule’s contents hadn’t survived the centuries, particularly because the whole thing had been opened once before—in 1855, while repairs were done to the State House. At the time, 19th century “preservationists” had reportedly washed most of the capsule’s items in acid. However, they also enclosed all of the materials in a brass box—a more reliable vessel for the collection than the two heavy sheets of lead originally used. To the delight of historians, an x-ray performed last month suggested that the enclosed materials—thought to include paper and coins—were intact.[/QUOTE] The 10-pound capsule was finally opened last night at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston in front of a crowd of press and history enthusiasts, after Pam Hatchfield, the museum's Head of Objects Conservation, spent about five hours delicately loosening the screws that held down the lid. Inside, conservators found a well-preserved collection of Revolutionary-era artifacts, as well as some dating to the first opening in 1855. [QUOTE][QUOTE][IMG]http://thumbs.media.smithsonianmag.com//filer/96/31/963122d1-d4a0-40d8-9b1a-e2f70b3d3430/capsule2_42-65830712.jpg__800x450_q85_crop_upscale.jpg[/IMG][/QUOTE] [I]A curator handles a silver plaque taken from the time capsule. (Rick Friedman/rickfriedman.com/Corbis)[/I][/QUOTE] [QUOTE]There were over a dozen coins, including a one-shilling piece from 1652, as well as a half-cent, a 3-cent, a dime, a “quar. dol” and a half-dollar coin. A Saturday morning paper and the Boston Traveler newspaper (priced at 2 cents) were discovered in readable condition. Also within: The title page of the first volume of the Massachusetts Colony Records, a paper impression of the Seal of the Commonwealth, a medal depicting George Washington and a silver plaque commemorating the erection of the State House. Conservationists will be hard at work over the coming months working to preserve the materials and record their details.[/QUOTE] [url]http://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/what-was-found-inside-oldest-american-time-capsule-180953820/[/url]

Haha, that's fucking cool. I'm surprised that they didn't degrade as badly as they could have, that's pretty impressive.

I wonder how long Revere wanted the time capsule sealed for

[URL="http://www.businessinsider.com/boston-time-capsule-opened-2015-1"]This article[/URL] features some neat pictures of the coins and the newspaper found in the time capsule.

[Obligatory Nicolas Cage joke here] [highlight](User was banned for this post ("Why reply?" - SteveUK))[/highlight]

I always wonder how much stupid shit people put in jars in bury in their backyards just for people to question it years later

This is the third time this capsule has been opened.

too bad they decided to not open up the newspapers, but i guess it makes sense to try protecting them from potential damage

Have they found anything laughably racist or ridiculous yet? That's my biggest fear with time capsules, that 300 years from now somebody will open one and think we were all complete shitheads.

[vid]http://www.puu.sh/edtR1/82434ab3bc.webm[/vid]

Let's make a time capsule and put a stack of reddit posts in there. It would be about as descriptive of our time as anything.

[QUOTE=cuteasafox;46878405]I always wonder how much stupid shit people put in jars in bury in their backyards just for people to question it years later[/QUOTE] Maybe in who knows how many years archeologists will find ikea dishes and stuff buried in the ground and think "hey look, more stuff from the ikea dynasty".

[QUOTE=kaine123;46877070]There were over a dozen coins, including a one-shilling piece from 1652, as well as a half-cent, a 3-cent, a dime, a “quar. dol” and a half-dollar coin. A Saturday morning paper and the Boston Traveler newspaper (priced at 2 cents) were discovered in readable condition.[/QUOTE] There was only $0.88 inside? Hardly seems worth it, better throw it back.

5 years to open a box. Do you think he ever thought about what he was doing with his life?

Where's the dickbutt?

[QUOTE=w00tf1zh;46878412]This is the third time this capsule has been opened.[/QUOTE] 2nd. Buried in the 1700's, opened once in 1855, then not again until 2015. [editline]8th January 2015[/editline] [QUOTE=kingdong;46881795]5 years to open a box. Do you think he ever thought about what he was doing with his life?[/QUOTE] the article says 5 hours, not years.