1 00:00:02,320 --> 00:00:05,840 Speaker 1: Happy Saturday everyone. Our colleague Alex Williams has a brand 2 00:00:05,840 --> 00:00:10,000 Speaker 1: new podcast coming out called Ephemeral, and like its name suggests, 3 00:00:10,039 --> 00:00:14,320 Speaker 1: Ephemeral is all about things that are disappearing or have disappeared, 4 00:00:14,400 --> 00:00:17,720 Speaker 1: and forgotten people in places, and things that were barely 5 00:00:17,880 --> 00:00:21,720 Speaker 1: saved or not saved at all. So we've chosen today 6 00:00:21,800 --> 00:00:24,320 Speaker 1: Saturday Classic to go along with that theme. It is 7 00:00:24,360 --> 00:00:29,080 Speaker 1: our brief history of time Capsules from May. One thing 8 00:00:29,160 --> 00:00:31,360 Speaker 1: to note is that the mistakes that we make on 9 00:00:31,400 --> 00:00:34,760 Speaker 1: this podcast are not ephemeral at all. They last forever. 10 00:00:35,640 --> 00:00:37,560 Speaker 1: And in this episode, we made it sound like two 11 00:00:37,640 --> 00:00:41,320 Speaker 1: different time capsules came out of the old State House 12 00:00:41,360 --> 00:00:44,440 Speaker 1: in Boston, Massachusetts. We made it sound that way because 13 00:00:44,479 --> 00:00:46,360 Speaker 1: I thought that was how it happened. It did not. 14 00:00:46,920 --> 00:00:49,840 Speaker 1: The time capsule that was in a Lion's Head statue 15 00:00:49,880 --> 00:00:52,120 Speaker 1: was from the old State House, and then the one 16 00:00:52,120 --> 00:00:55,200 Speaker 1: associated with Paul Revere came from the current State House 17 00:00:55,240 --> 00:00:57,240 Speaker 1: on Beacon Hill. And stay tuned at the end of 18 00:00:57,240 --> 00:01:02,560 Speaker 1: the show for a little peak at Ephemeral. Welcome to 19 00:01:02,560 --> 00:01:05,120 Speaker 1: Stuff You Missed in History Class, a production of I 20 00:01:05,240 --> 00:01:13,240 Speaker 1: Heart Radios How Stuff Works. Hello, and welcome to the podcast. 21 00:01:13,280 --> 00:01:17,920 Speaker 1: And Tracy V. Wilson and I'm Holly fry So. Back 22 00:01:17,959 --> 00:01:22,479 Speaker 1: in October, a time capsule was removed from a lion 23 00:01:22,680 --> 00:01:25,199 Speaker 1: statue that normally is on top of the Old State 24 00:01:25,240 --> 00:01:29,320 Speaker 1: House in Boston, Massachusetts. The statue had been taken off 25 00:01:29,360 --> 00:01:32,120 Speaker 1: of the roof for restoration, and while they were at it, 26 00:01:32,400 --> 00:01:34,880 Speaker 1: restorers decided to check on rumors that there was a 27 00:01:34,920 --> 00:01:37,200 Speaker 1: time capsule in its head. This is something that had 28 00:01:37,200 --> 00:01:40,399 Speaker 1: been completely unknown until a couple of years before, and 29 00:01:40,440 --> 00:01:43,200 Speaker 1: they wanted to see if it was really there. It was. 30 00:01:43,560 --> 00:01:46,040 Speaker 1: They used to fiber optic camera to make sure that 31 00:01:46,080 --> 00:01:48,880 Speaker 1: it was really there, and then they very carefully removed 32 00:01:48,920 --> 00:01:53,320 Speaker 1: it and during a private opening, archivists lifted the lid 33 00:01:53,640 --> 00:01:55,840 Speaker 1: and immediately realized that what was in there was just 34 00:01:55,920 --> 00:01:59,120 Speaker 1: packed way too tightly to be taken out safely in 35 00:01:59,200 --> 00:02:02,680 Speaker 1: the studio where the statue was being restored, So they 36 00:02:02,720 --> 00:02:06,520 Speaker 1: took the time capsule to the Bostonian Society's Archives Center 37 00:02:06,880 --> 00:02:10,120 Speaker 1: where they could really take their time removing the contents 38 00:02:10,120 --> 00:02:14,079 Speaker 1: in a more controlled environment. Holly, do you remember this, Yes, 39 00:02:14,120 --> 00:02:17,000 Speaker 1: they do, right, because when we put this story on 40 00:02:17,000 --> 00:02:20,600 Speaker 1: our Facebook, people got so mad. They really did. There 41 00:02:20,600 --> 00:02:25,840 Speaker 1: were some very um you know, immediate response sort of 42 00:02:25,919 --> 00:02:30,200 Speaker 1: anger notes. Yeah, so this time capsule had been inside 43 00:02:30,200 --> 00:02:32,760 Speaker 1: the statue for a hundred and thirteen years, but people 44 00:02:32,800 --> 00:02:35,520 Speaker 1: felt like that was not nearly long enough for it 45 00:02:35,600 --> 00:02:38,920 Speaker 1: to be opened. And then other people interpreted this decision 46 00:02:39,440 --> 00:02:41,800 Speaker 1: to take the box somewhere more controlled to do the 47 00:02:41,840 --> 00:02:44,360 Speaker 1: actual unpacking that they thought this was a sign that 48 00:02:44,480 --> 00:02:48,040 Speaker 1: incompetent amateurs had been trusted with this delicate task, which 49 00:02:48,080 --> 00:02:50,880 Speaker 1: was absolutely not true. It was somebody with a master 50 00:02:51,000 --> 00:02:55,840 Speaker 1: of library science and archives of management like that. People 51 00:02:55,880 --> 00:02:58,000 Speaker 1: also argued that they should have just had the whole 52 00:02:58,000 --> 00:03:02,760 Speaker 1: statue removed somewhere safer, or that there was a lot 53 00:03:02,800 --> 00:03:05,480 Speaker 1: of questions about why the time capsule needed to be 54 00:03:05,480 --> 00:03:07,720 Speaker 1: removed in the first place. A lot of people wanted 55 00:03:07,760 --> 00:03:09,840 Speaker 1: it and its contents to go back where it was. 56 00:03:10,919 --> 00:03:15,400 Speaker 1: So then another time capsule was removed from the old 57 00:03:15,440 --> 00:03:17,840 Speaker 1: State House a couple of months later, and this one 58 00:03:17,919 --> 00:03:21,160 Speaker 1: dated back to and it had been put behind the 59 00:03:21,240 --> 00:03:25,760 Speaker 1: corner stone by Paul Revere, then Governor of Massachusetts, Sam Adams, 60 00:03:26,040 --> 00:03:28,560 Speaker 1: and Colonel William Scully. And so, based on what had 61 00:03:28,600 --> 00:03:33,079 Speaker 1: happened with that first time capsule, we were really careful 62 00:03:33,120 --> 00:03:35,440 Speaker 1: about what details we included when we put it up 63 00:03:35,440 --> 00:03:37,840 Speaker 1: on our Facebook. We noted that it had been taken 64 00:03:37,880 --> 00:03:40,200 Speaker 1: out as part of a repair to a water leak 65 00:03:40,320 --> 00:03:45,560 Speaker 1: behind the cornerstone, and we specified that professional professional conservators 66 00:03:45,560 --> 00:03:47,080 Speaker 1: had removed it, and that it was going to be 67 00:03:47,240 --> 00:03:50,560 Speaker 1: x ray and open under controlled conditions, and that it 68 00:03:50,640 --> 00:03:53,080 Speaker 1: was going to be put back after its contents had 69 00:03:53,120 --> 00:03:55,160 Speaker 1: been displayed for the public for a while. Holly, do 70 00:03:55,200 --> 00:03:59,280 Speaker 1: you also remember this, yes, because people were still so mad. 71 00:04:00,400 --> 00:04:04,160 Speaker 1: They were there's a fascinating reaction I think that people 72 00:04:04,200 --> 00:04:08,320 Speaker 1: have with time capsules and it it's I couldn't break 73 00:04:08,320 --> 00:04:10,960 Speaker 1: down the psychology of it because it varies a lot, 74 00:04:11,000 --> 00:04:14,120 Speaker 1: but there were definitely some angry responses. Yeah, people were 75 00:04:14,160 --> 00:04:15,880 Speaker 1: still really mad this time. They were mad that the 76 00:04:16,120 --> 00:04:18,279 Speaker 1: times capsule was going to be put back, which was 77 00:04:18,279 --> 00:04:21,120 Speaker 1: what people had wanted to happen with the other time capsules. 78 00:04:21,120 --> 00:04:23,279 Speaker 1: So at this point I kind of never wanted to 79 00:04:23,320 --> 00:04:26,040 Speaker 1: mention time capsules in the context of the show again, 80 00:04:26,760 --> 00:04:29,440 Speaker 1: which is one of the reasons why neither time capsule 81 00:04:29,640 --> 00:04:34,479 Speaker 1: was in the unearthed in episodes. But then this April 82 00:04:34,760 --> 00:04:37,200 Speaker 1: I got the chance to actually see the contents of 83 00:04:37,240 --> 00:04:40,600 Speaker 1: that cornerstone time capsule while they were on display at 84 00:04:40,600 --> 00:04:44,080 Speaker 1: the Museum of Fine Arts Boston, and there was literally 85 00:04:44,200 --> 00:04:46,960 Speaker 1: a line all the way around the room to see it. 86 00:04:46,960 --> 00:04:50,280 Speaker 1: It stretched way out into adjoining galleries. Was just to 87 00:04:50,360 --> 00:04:52,320 Speaker 1: like in this little display case that was full of 88 00:04:52,360 --> 00:04:56,240 Speaker 1: coins and newspapers. Uh. Part of this is because the 89 00:04:56,279 --> 00:04:58,679 Speaker 1: time capsule was really small, so there was a little 90 00:04:58,720 --> 00:05:02,120 Speaker 1: display case people were waiting to see into. But part 91 00:05:02,120 --> 00:05:04,599 Speaker 1: of it is because people care apparently care a whole 92 00:05:04,680 --> 00:05:08,039 Speaker 1: lot about time capsules. Yeah, and I feel compelled to 93 00:05:08,040 --> 00:05:12,600 Speaker 1: mention that this sort of interesting um discussion that sometimes 94 00:05:12,600 --> 00:05:14,960 Speaker 1: got a little heated on our Facebook page, that is 95 00:05:15,000 --> 00:05:16,760 Speaker 1: not the only place that these were happening. If you 96 00:05:16,800 --> 00:05:19,360 Speaker 1: looked at news sites that were posting about it, their 97 00:05:19,400 --> 00:05:23,120 Speaker 1: comments sections were having very similar things play out. Yeah, 98 00:05:23,120 --> 00:05:26,760 Speaker 1: there was just angriness everywhere. So we're gonna talk about 99 00:05:26,839 --> 00:05:30,040 Speaker 1: time capsules today, maybe explore some of the reasons people 100 00:05:30,080 --> 00:05:33,479 Speaker 1: get so excited about them. Yes, and the tradition of 101 00:05:33,520 --> 00:05:36,080 Speaker 1: burying stuff really goes back almost to the beginning of 102 00:05:36,160 --> 00:05:39,960 Speaker 1: human history. The most obvious example is that most of 103 00:05:40,000 --> 00:05:44,360 Speaker 1: the world's cultures have at some point buried artifacts, letters, trinkets, 104 00:05:44,400 --> 00:05:48,320 Speaker 1: and other objects as parts of funeral rituals. People have 105 00:05:48,440 --> 00:05:53,680 Speaker 1: also been deliberately placing objects into building foundations and cornerstones 106 00:05:53,800 --> 00:05:57,520 Speaker 1: for thousands of years. For example, in Mesopotamia, a common 107 00:05:57,520 --> 00:06:00,960 Speaker 1: practice was to bury objects and building foundations for the 108 00:06:01,000 --> 00:06:04,880 Speaker 1: purpose of sanctifying the space and protecting it, or maybe 109 00:06:04,880 --> 00:06:07,760 Speaker 1: to commemorate something that was related to the building or 110 00:06:07,800 --> 00:06:10,960 Speaker 1: its builders or where it was being built. This practice 111 00:06:11,279 --> 00:06:14,600 Speaker 1: has continued throughout the ages and all over the world, 112 00:06:14,680 --> 00:06:18,320 Speaker 1: and it has also included embedding items of religious significance 113 00:06:18,400 --> 00:06:22,520 Speaker 1: in church corner stones, and the idea that these deposits 114 00:06:22,600 --> 00:06:25,240 Speaker 1: might one day be discovered again has also cropped up 115 00:06:25,240 --> 00:06:28,800 Speaker 1: at various times throughout history. For example, around the seventh 116 00:06:28,800 --> 00:06:32,880 Speaker 1: century b c, Assyrian king as her Hadn't had relics 117 00:06:32,880 --> 00:06:35,880 Speaker 1: and clay tablets put in the foundations of monuments, saying 118 00:06:35,880 --> 00:06:39,240 Speaker 1: that he quote deposited them in the foundations and left 119 00:06:39,279 --> 00:06:43,240 Speaker 1: them for future times. But all of these burials of 120 00:06:43,279 --> 00:06:45,760 Speaker 1: stuff are a little different from the idea of a 121 00:06:45,800 --> 00:06:49,640 Speaker 1: time capsule, although people of the past did sometimes think 122 00:06:49,839 --> 00:06:53,320 Speaker 1: or write about how future generations might someday stumble upon 123 00:06:53,480 --> 00:06:56,760 Speaker 1: their funerary deposits and their foundational deposits, which are what 124 00:06:56,839 --> 00:07:00,080 Speaker 1: those things are called. Uh, that was really secondary to 125 00:07:00,120 --> 00:07:02,400 Speaker 1: their purpose. They were being buried for some other reason, 126 00:07:02,560 --> 00:07:04,840 Speaker 1: and the idea that somebody might come dig them up 127 00:07:04,920 --> 00:07:09,159 Speaker 1: later was secondary to that. But in a time capsule, 128 00:07:09,200 --> 00:07:12,680 Speaker 1: on the other hand, people intentionally gather and store objects 129 00:07:13,040 --> 00:07:15,960 Speaker 1: with the specific plan that someone else is going to 130 00:07:16,000 --> 00:07:19,560 Speaker 1: open them later, and usually there's a specified time frame 131 00:07:19,640 --> 00:07:23,360 Speaker 1: for what later means and for the For time capsule purists, 132 00:07:23,720 --> 00:07:26,560 Speaker 1: it's only a true time capsule if there's a specific 133 00:07:26,720 --> 00:07:29,400 Speaker 1: end date for the thing to be opened again. This 134 00:07:29,480 --> 00:07:31,280 Speaker 1: means that while a letter from a six year old 135 00:07:31,320 --> 00:07:33,240 Speaker 1: to his or her future self to be opened ten 136 00:07:33,320 --> 00:07:36,840 Speaker 1: years later is a time capsule according to this definition, 137 00:07:37,400 --> 00:07:39,840 Speaker 1: but a giant room of artifacts to be opened at 138 00:07:39,920 --> 00:07:43,720 Speaker 1: some undetermined time in the future technically isn't. Neither are 139 00:07:43,760 --> 00:07:46,440 Speaker 1: time capsules that include those same sorts of things but 140 00:07:46,480 --> 00:07:49,480 Speaker 1: are shot into space to be one day opened by aliens. 141 00:07:49,520 --> 00:07:52,360 Speaker 1: Maybe so basically, the end date is really like the 142 00:07:52,440 --> 00:07:56,080 Speaker 1: definer of what isn't isn't a time capsule. Another aspect 143 00:07:56,120 --> 00:07:59,680 Speaker 1: of time capsules is that they're preserving, usually a snapshot 144 00:07:59,720 --> 00:08:02,800 Speaker 1: of everyday life when they were sealed, and while there 145 00:08:02,840 --> 00:08:06,040 Speaker 1: are definitely time capsules that have a much grander scope 146 00:08:06,040 --> 00:08:11,640 Speaker 1: than that. They almost always also include things like coins, newspapers, photographs, 147 00:08:12,120 --> 00:08:15,800 Speaker 1: letters from notable people, and everyday items that are kind 148 00:08:15,800 --> 00:08:18,440 Speaker 1: of meant to give future generations a glimpse of what 149 00:08:18,560 --> 00:08:23,480 Speaker 1: life used to be like. This, including of everyday life snapshots, 150 00:08:23,520 --> 00:08:27,240 Speaker 1: is also why accidental preservations of everyday life, like say 151 00:08:27,280 --> 00:08:31,640 Speaker 1: the ruins of Pompeii, are sometimes described as time capsules. 152 00:08:32,840 --> 00:08:35,800 Speaker 1: And although there are time capsules buried all over the world, 153 00:08:36,400 --> 00:08:39,640 Speaker 1: the practice is largely a tradition that came from and 154 00:08:39,880 --> 00:08:42,440 Speaker 1: flourished in the United States, and there are a couple 155 00:08:42,480 --> 00:08:45,000 Speaker 1: of reasons for this. A big one is that the 156 00:08:45,040 --> 00:08:47,920 Speaker 1: first most famous examples of time capsules, which we're going 157 00:08:48,000 --> 00:08:50,560 Speaker 1: to talk about in just a bit, we're all developed 158 00:08:50,559 --> 00:08:55,679 Speaker 1: in the United States. But sociologists and psychologists also theorized 159 00:08:55,720 --> 00:08:58,280 Speaker 1: that another reason that the United States has been so 160 00:08:58,480 --> 00:09:01,600 Speaker 1: intent on encapsulating history to send it to the future 161 00:09:02,120 --> 00:09:04,840 Speaker 1: is that as a nation, the history of the United 162 00:09:04,880 --> 00:09:08,120 Speaker 1: States is pretty short. There were definitely people in North 163 00:09:08,160 --> 00:09:11,320 Speaker 1: America long before the United States was a thing, but 164 00:09:11,600 --> 00:09:14,160 Speaker 1: European presence in North America only goes back a few 165 00:09:14,240 --> 00:09:17,920 Speaker 1: hundred years. So the theory goes that people kind of 166 00:09:17,960 --> 00:09:22,280 Speaker 1: subconsciously want to instantly create something that counts as history 167 00:09:22,520 --> 00:09:26,120 Speaker 1: in the eyes of future generations. And we're going to 168 00:09:26,240 --> 00:09:29,560 Speaker 1: talk about some specific examples of time capsules after we 169 00:09:29,640 --> 00:09:40,959 Speaker 1: have a brief forward from a sponsor. We're going to 170 00:09:41,120 --> 00:09:45,600 Speaker 1: talk about the first true time capsule to start off with, 171 00:09:45,720 --> 00:09:48,240 Speaker 1: and the first time we know of that people sealed 172 00:09:48,240 --> 00:09:51,120 Speaker 1: things away with the specific intent that they would be 173 00:09:51,160 --> 00:09:53,680 Speaker 1: brought out again at a particular date in the future 174 00:09:54,320 --> 00:09:57,719 Speaker 1: was for the Centennial Exhibition in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and that 175 00:09:57,760 --> 00:10:00,880 Speaker 1: took place in eighteen seventy six. It had a century 176 00:10:00,960 --> 00:10:03,680 Speaker 1: safe that was meant to be opened in nineteen seventy six. 177 00:10:04,320 --> 00:10:09,240 Speaker 1: There might be earlier examples of time capsules out there that, 178 00:10:09,280 --> 00:10:12,680 Speaker 1: in addition to having been buried or sealed away, also 179 00:10:12,880 --> 00:10:15,040 Speaker 1: had a specified opening date, but this is the first 180 00:10:15,120 --> 00:10:19,520 Speaker 1: one we actually have documentation of. And the century safe 181 00:10:19,559 --> 00:10:22,600 Speaker 1: looked just like a safe, but with a purple velvet lining, 182 00:10:22,679 --> 00:10:25,760 Speaker 1: which is a detail I personally love. Uh. This safe 183 00:10:25,760 --> 00:10:29,880 Speaker 1: contained photographs, a book on temperance, and signatures of visitors 184 00:10:29,880 --> 00:10:33,360 Speaker 1: to the Centennial Exhibition, among other things. It was stored 185 00:10:33,440 --> 00:10:36,120 Speaker 1: under the steps of the Pennsylvania State Capital and opened 186 00:10:36,120 --> 00:10:39,920 Speaker 1: in nineteen seventy six. As intended, a new capsule, buried 187 00:10:39,960 --> 00:10:42,760 Speaker 1: in nineteen seventy six is to be opened in twenty 188 00:10:42,840 --> 00:10:46,559 Speaker 1: seventy six. Even though the Century Safe was the first 189 00:10:46,760 --> 00:10:50,960 Speaker 1: true time capsule, the word time capsule had not been 190 00:10:51,080 --> 00:10:54,400 Speaker 1: coined yet. That did not happen until nineteen thirty eight 191 00:10:54,760 --> 00:10:58,920 Speaker 1: leading up to the nineteen nine World's Fair. G Edward Pendre, 192 00:10:59,160 --> 00:11:03,400 Speaker 1: who was a public relations executive for Westinghouse Electric and Manufacturing, 193 00:11:03,480 --> 00:11:07,040 Speaker 1: gets the credit for coming up with the term. Also, uh, 194 00:11:07,160 --> 00:11:09,400 Speaker 1: for a while, because of the shape of what they 195 00:11:09,400 --> 00:11:12,480 Speaker 1: were building, you thought about calling it a time bomb, 196 00:11:12,760 --> 00:11:18,439 Speaker 1: and uh, I'm kind of glad that didn't take off. Um. 197 00:11:18,440 --> 00:11:22,400 Speaker 1: Before the word time capsule was coined, people normally called 198 00:11:22,400 --> 00:11:27,040 Speaker 1: these sorts of things safes or boxes, or similar generic terms. 199 00:11:27,880 --> 00:11:30,520 Speaker 1: Westinghouse was involved with all of this because it was 200 00:11:30,559 --> 00:11:33,840 Speaker 1: constructing the physical container for the World's Fair time Capsule, 201 00:11:33,880 --> 00:11:38,600 Speaker 1: which was to stay underground until sixty nine, otherwise known 202 00:11:38,640 --> 00:11:41,960 Speaker 1: as five thousand years from its start date. Because these 203 00:11:42,000 --> 00:11:45,280 Speaker 1: capsules were supposed to stay buried for so long, the 204 00:11:45,320 --> 00:11:48,079 Speaker 1: containers had to be impervious to just about any kind 205 00:11:48,080 --> 00:11:50,840 Speaker 1: of damage that you could think of. The end result 206 00:11:51,320 --> 00:11:53,280 Speaker 1: was a seven and a half foot long or two 207 00:11:53,280 --> 00:11:56,680 Speaker 1: point two meter torpedo like tube made of a non 208 00:11:56,720 --> 00:12:01,239 Speaker 1: corrosive alloy with several interior layers meant to protect the contents. 209 00:12:02,720 --> 00:12:08,520 Speaker 1: These contents included cigarettes, men's and women's grooming tools, magazines, 210 00:12:08,600 --> 00:12:13,120 Speaker 1: and samples of seeds and fabrics. There's also a twenties 211 00:12:13,120 --> 00:12:17,840 Speaker 1: two thousand page microfilm essay, and there are letters from 212 00:12:17,840 --> 00:12:20,959 Speaker 1: such figures as Albert Einstein and then m I T 213 00:12:21,160 --> 00:12:26,320 Speaker 1: President Carl T. Compton. There was huge, huge fanfare around 214 00:12:26,360 --> 00:12:28,679 Speaker 1: the burying of this time capsule, and there's also a 215 00:12:28,679 --> 00:12:31,959 Speaker 1: total replica of it and its contents at the George 216 00:12:31,960 --> 00:12:36,559 Speaker 1: Westinghouse Museum. Running concurrently with the creation of the first 217 00:12:36,600 --> 00:12:40,120 Speaker 1: Westinghouse time capsule was the Crypt of Civilization, and I 218 00:12:40,200 --> 00:12:42,559 Speaker 1: know a lot about this one. This is an incredibly 219 00:12:42,640 --> 00:12:46,320 Speaker 1: huge and involved time capsule at Oglethorpe University, which is 220 00:12:46,360 --> 00:12:49,400 Speaker 1: here in Atlanta and where I used to work. Oglethorpe 221 00:12:49,440 --> 00:12:52,760 Speaker 1: President Thornwell Jacobs led this project, which is an attempt 222 00:12:52,760 --> 00:12:56,240 Speaker 1: to document all of human history. The idea is that 223 00:12:56,320 --> 00:12:59,720 Speaker 1: future archaeologists could just consult the material from this vault 224 00:13:00,040 --> 00:13:03,199 Speaker 1: instead of having to painstakingly recreate an idea of how 225 00:13:03,200 --> 00:13:06,320 Speaker 1: the world worked by piecing together information from lots of 226 00:13:06,360 --> 00:13:10,560 Speaker 1: different dig sites. The Crypt of Civilization today is on 227 00:13:10,600 --> 00:13:14,360 Speaker 1: a lower level of the Administration Building at Oglethorpe, And 228 00:13:14,400 --> 00:13:17,160 Speaker 1: in addition to all the physical items which are inside, 229 00:13:17,200 --> 00:13:20,440 Speaker 1: which are a lot things enormous, it contains more than 230 00:13:20,520 --> 00:13:24,760 Speaker 1: six hundred thousand pages of microfilm which document all sorts 231 00:13:24,800 --> 00:13:29,319 Speaker 1: of historical information. So this crypt was sealed on May nine, 232 00:13:29,679 --> 00:13:32,720 Speaker 1: forty and it's not supposed to be opened again until 233 00:13:32,760 --> 00:13:36,480 Speaker 1: the year eighty one thirteen, and this is six thousand, 234 00:13:36,640 --> 00:13:40,360 Speaker 1: one hundred seventy seven years from when it was sealed up. 235 00:13:40,920 --> 00:13:44,760 Speaker 1: The idea is that as of nineteen forty there were 236 00:13:44,880 --> 00:13:48,120 Speaker 1: six thousand, one hundred seventy seven years of recorded history. 237 00:13:48,400 --> 00:13:52,280 Speaker 1: This crypt acts as like a midpoint between the beginnings 238 00:13:52,320 --> 00:13:56,040 Speaker 1: of recorded history and six thousand, one hundred seventy seven 239 00:13:56,120 --> 00:13:58,520 Speaker 1: years in the future when people can just open this 240 00:13:58,600 --> 00:14:02,560 Speaker 1: thing up to find out all about the past. Yeah, 241 00:14:02,720 --> 00:14:06,480 Speaker 1: And it's just a big door, a big metal door 242 00:14:06,520 --> 00:14:08,640 Speaker 1: that you walk by when you're in the admin building, 243 00:14:08,880 --> 00:14:11,400 Speaker 1: and it has engraving on it, but it's just the 244 00:14:11,440 --> 00:14:14,959 Speaker 1: door that's there that never opens. Because people were inspired 245 00:14:15,000 --> 00:14:18,800 Speaker 1: by the first Westinghouse time Capsule and Oglethorpe's Crypt of Civilization, 246 00:14:19,400 --> 00:14:22,480 Speaker 1: the time capsule Heyday really spanned from nineteen thirty five 247 00:14:22,560 --> 00:14:27,840 Speaker 1: to nine two. Because of the Centennial Exhibition, one years 248 00:14:27,920 --> 00:14:31,160 Speaker 1: became a popular time limit for time capsules to remain sealed. 249 00:14:32,160 --> 00:14:36,280 Speaker 1: There are also some connections between that first Westinghouse time 250 00:14:36,320 --> 00:14:40,720 Speaker 1: capsule and the Crypt that Oglethorpe so g Edward Pendre 251 00:14:40,920 --> 00:14:45,760 Speaker 1: had actually called for public support of the Crypt project 252 00:14:46,400 --> 00:14:50,800 Speaker 1: as it was being developed, and conversely, one of the 253 00:14:50,920 --> 00:14:56,160 Speaker 1: letters inside the first Westinghouse time capsule is a letter 254 00:14:56,640 --> 00:15:01,480 Speaker 1: from then Oglethorpe president Thornwell Jacobs um so that like, 255 00:15:01,520 --> 00:15:07,080 Speaker 1: there was a lot of crossover between those two projects, uh, 256 00:15:07,200 --> 00:15:10,200 Speaker 1: which I think is pretty cool. We're also now I 257 00:15:10,240 --> 00:15:13,640 Speaker 1: can just talk about some other notable examples of time capsules, 258 00:15:13,640 --> 00:15:16,360 Speaker 1: and this is not at all an exhaustive list, not 259 00:15:16,440 --> 00:15:18,520 Speaker 1: even of the ones that are really big and impressive. 260 00:15:19,520 --> 00:15:23,320 Speaker 1: Westinghouse created a second time capsule for the nineteen sixty 261 00:15:23,360 --> 00:15:26,040 Speaker 1: eight New York World's Fair, and it's almost like an 262 00:15:26,160 --> 00:15:29,160 Speaker 1: update to the first one. It's the exact same size 263 00:15:29,160 --> 00:15:31,920 Speaker 1: and shape, and it's buried about ten feet away, but 264 00:15:32,040 --> 00:15:36,720 Speaker 1: its contents include things that didn't exist when the previous 265 00:15:36,800 --> 00:15:39,440 Speaker 1: time capsule had been put into the grounds, includes birth 266 00:15:39,480 --> 00:15:44,560 Speaker 1: control pills and artificial heart valve, credit cards, information about 267 00:15:44,560 --> 00:15:49,600 Speaker 1: atomic energy, and other more modern as of nineteen sixty 268 00:15:49,640 --> 00:15:53,960 Speaker 1: eight stuff. Both the first Westinghouse time capsule and the 269 00:15:54,000 --> 00:15:56,440 Speaker 1: second one are supposed to be opened in sixty nine 270 00:15:56,560 --> 00:16:00,400 Speaker 1: thirty nine together, so that second one sort of like 271 00:16:00,400 --> 00:16:02,240 Speaker 1: a supplement to the first one rather than a whole 272 00:16:02,280 --> 00:16:06,560 Speaker 1: separate thing with a separate opening date. Two identical time 273 00:16:06,560 --> 00:16:10,600 Speaker 1: capsules were made for expos seventy in Osaka, Japan, and 274 00:16:10,640 --> 00:16:13,480 Speaker 1: one of these is to stay sealed for five thousand years, 275 00:16:13,480 --> 00:16:15,960 Speaker 1: and the other is intended to be opened every one 276 00:16:16,040 --> 00:16:18,760 Speaker 1: hundred years after an initial opening in the year two 277 00:16:18,760 --> 00:16:22,240 Speaker 1: thousand and One reason for this plan is to check 278 00:16:22,240 --> 00:16:25,080 Speaker 1: in and make sure everything's okay, but the other is 279 00:16:25,120 --> 00:16:27,560 Speaker 1: to update the time capsules contents, so it kind of 280 00:16:27,600 --> 00:16:31,760 Speaker 1: becomes an ongoing living archive record. And these time capsules 281 00:16:31,760 --> 00:16:35,760 Speaker 1: are shaped like kettles and filled. They weigh two point 282 00:16:35,880 --> 00:16:39,720 Speaker 1: one to metric tons, and although their purpose was to 283 00:16:39,840 --> 00:16:43,760 Speaker 1: detail in a very broad cross section life in nineteen seventy, 284 00:16:44,240 --> 00:16:47,200 Speaker 1: which means that they include lots and lots of everyday items. 285 00:16:47,480 --> 00:16:52,520 Speaker 1: There's also historical information including leaflets, films, and other recordings, uh, 286 00:16:52,560 --> 00:16:56,000 Speaker 1: including artifacts from the bombing of Hiroshima. And you can 287 00:16:56,040 --> 00:16:59,359 Speaker 1: actually see the total contents of all these things online. 288 00:17:00,080 --> 00:17:03,000 Speaker 1: They are available, and there is so much stuff jammed 289 00:17:03,000 --> 00:17:07,600 Speaker 1: into them. Yeah, I really I had this moment where, Uh, 290 00:17:07,680 --> 00:17:11,960 Speaker 1: I was flummoxed because I stumbled across this thing, UH 291 00:17:12,080 --> 00:17:15,680 Speaker 1: that had, you know, a a comprehensive list of everything 292 00:17:15,680 --> 00:17:17,480 Speaker 1: that's in there, and there are pictures of a lot 293 00:17:17,520 --> 00:17:19,840 Speaker 1: of it, and I am used to when you see 294 00:17:19,960 --> 00:17:24,000 Speaker 1: older pictures of things that were taken with earlier digital cameras, 295 00:17:24,080 --> 00:17:26,159 Speaker 1: they look kind of terrible. And I had this moment 296 00:17:26,560 --> 00:17:29,600 Speaker 1: where I just forgot that there were there were film 297 00:17:29,680 --> 00:17:33,960 Speaker 1: cameras in nineteen seventy. You can you can scan pictures 298 00:17:34,000 --> 00:17:39,320 Speaker 1: from nineteen seventy or film fromteen seventy, like that still exists, 299 00:17:39,320 --> 00:17:41,800 Speaker 1: that didn't go away. So I had this just moment, 300 00:17:42,160 --> 00:17:44,679 Speaker 1: But I feel silly confessing, but I still want to confess. 301 00:17:44,800 --> 00:17:46,160 Speaker 1: Or I was like, wow, where'd they get all these 302 00:17:46,160 --> 00:17:52,120 Speaker 1: pictures from? All? Right? Cameras? They were still a thing Tracy, 303 00:17:52,520 --> 00:17:55,400 Speaker 1: it had been a long day. There is a one 304 00:17:55,800 --> 00:17:58,800 Speaker 1: year time capsule that was created in Juno, Alaska, in 305 00:18:00,000 --> 00:18:02,560 Speaker 1: and this one is huge because it was created using 306 00:18:02,720 --> 00:18:06,600 Speaker 1: thousands of items that were collected from Juneau residents. It's 307 00:18:06,640 --> 00:18:09,639 Speaker 1: housed in a converted lobby of a government building and 308 00:18:09,680 --> 00:18:12,040 Speaker 1: you can see some of the contents through two windows 309 00:18:12,080 --> 00:18:14,600 Speaker 1: that go to the outside. It's also lit with electric 310 00:18:14,680 --> 00:18:17,040 Speaker 1: lights that can be changed from the outside, so it's 311 00:18:17,080 --> 00:18:19,399 Speaker 1: it can be lit while still being totally sealed up. 312 00:18:20,119 --> 00:18:24,440 Speaker 1: That's a pretty cool feature. Uh. There's a fortieth anniversary 313 00:18:24,560 --> 00:18:28,280 Speaker 1: time castle that was buried in Disneyland in Anaheim, California, 314 00:18:28,600 --> 00:18:31,840 Speaker 1: on July seventeenth of n and that is to be 315 00:18:31,880 --> 00:18:35,920 Speaker 1: opened on that same date in the year. Here's hoping 316 00:18:35,920 --> 00:18:38,480 Speaker 1: I'm there for that. Yeah. I was like, it's hotly 317 00:18:38,480 --> 00:18:42,040 Speaker 1: gonna go. Uh. It does look like a castle, which 318 00:18:42,080 --> 00:18:46,800 Speaker 1: is why it is called that. Um. Really, a hundred 319 00:18:46,880 --> 00:18:49,760 Speaker 1: years is a pretty standard time for a time capsule now, 320 00:18:49,800 --> 00:18:52,840 Speaker 1: and then we have these really fascinating millennial ones that 321 00:18:52,880 --> 00:18:56,080 Speaker 1: go on for a thousand years and beyond. But when 322 00:18:56,119 --> 00:18:59,080 Speaker 1: the Internet took off and things started changing at a 323 00:18:59,320 --> 00:19:02,960 Speaker 1: super upid pace. M I t made a time capsule 324 00:19:03,040 --> 00:19:07,399 Speaker 1: of the Online world sor at the Sloane School of Management, 325 00:19:07,440 --> 00:19:09,960 Speaker 1: and that one was to be opened after five years 326 00:19:10,160 --> 00:19:14,800 Speaker 1: because the Internet was evolving so rapidly. Aside from those 327 00:19:14,840 --> 00:19:17,320 Speaker 1: that we've just mentioned, all over the world there are 328 00:19:17,320 --> 00:19:21,040 Speaker 1: boxes of documents, coins, and household items just waiting to 329 00:19:21,080 --> 00:19:23,200 Speaker 1: be dug up. And we'll talk about what can go 330 00:19:23,359 --> 00:19:25,800 Speaker 1: wrong on that front after we have another quick word 331 00:19:25,840 --> 00:19:37,520 Speaker 1: from a sponsor. So the sad truth is, as much 332 00:19:37,560 --> 00:19:41,080 Speaker 1: as people like the idea of burying things for posterity, 333 00:19:41,359 --> 00:19:45,439 Speaker 1: a lot of time capsules just fail. In some cases 334 00:19:45,480 --> 00:19:48,160 Speaker 1: they haven't even made it to their burial or their ceiling. 335 00:19:48,800 --> 00:19:50,760 Speaker 1: There was a time capsule made for the US by 336 00:19:50,800 --> 00:19:53,880 Speaker 1: Centennial that went on a national tour with signatures from 337 00:19:53,920 --> 00:19:56,320 Speaker 1: all over the country that we're supposed to be collected 338 00:19:56,359 --> 00:19:59,080 Speaker 1: and put inside, and it made it through that whole tour, 339 00:19:59,280 --> 00:20:02,440 Speaker 1: but then was dolan from the truck at the burial 340 00:20:02,520 --> 00:20:06,680 Speaker 1: site before it could actually be buried. Capsules and their 341 00:20:06,680 --> 00:20:10,359 Speaker 1: contents have also been lost thanks to leaks, demolitions, and 342 00:20:10,400 --> 00:20:12,720 Speaker 1: people just forgetting that they were buried in the first place, 343 00:20:12,840 --> 00:20:15,919 Speaker 1: or that they existed at all. So, in addition to 344 00:20:16,000 --> 00:20:18,800 Speaker 1: trying to preserve all of human history up to nineteen 345 00:20:18,880 --> 00:20:22,200 Speaker 1: forty in the Crypt of Civilization. Oglethorpe is also trying 346 00:20:22,200 --> 00:20:24,520 Speaker 1: to keep track of all those time capsules so that 347 00:20:24,560 --> 00:20:27,800 Speaker 1: nothing else gets lost, and that's via the International Time 348 00:20:27,800 --> 00:20:31,960 Speaker 1: Capsule Society, which was established in nine. Yeah. One of 349 00:20:31,960 --> 00:20:34,080 Speaker 1: the reasons that they really wanted to get that time 350 00:20:34,119 --> 00:20:37,200 Speaker 1: capsule out of the Lion's Head statue was because they 351 00:20:37,240 --> 00:20:40,000 Speaker 1: did not really know how it had been packaged and 352 00:20:40,040 --> 00:20:42,800 Speaker 1: whether everything and there had already been destroyed because of water, 353 00:20:42,920 --> 00:20:47,399 Speaker 1: which it hadn't, which was great. Uh, But there's also 354 00:20:47,440 --> 00:20:49,840 Speaker 1: the fact that a lot of times what's inside a 355 00:20:49,880 --> 00:20:54,280 Speaker 1: typical time capsule turns out to be really underwhelming once 356 00:20:54,320 --> 00:20:57,800 Speaker 1: it's opened. The very nature of time capsules means that 357 00:20:57,880 --> 00:21:00,600 Speaker 1: a lot of times they're full of newspapers and coins 358 00:21:00,600 --> 00:21:04,960 Speaker 1: and photographs people, uh, letters from people who were famous 359 00:21:05,000 --> 00:21:07,560 Speaker 1: a hundred years ago but nobody knows who they are now, 360 00:21:08,160 --> 00:21:13,119 Speaker 1: and basically obsolete junk. There's even article in the Onion 361 00:21:13,520 --> 00:21:18,200 Speaker 1: titled newly unearthed time Capsule just full of useless old crap, 362 00:21:18,600 --> 00:21:22,399 Speaker 1: which made fun of both people's responses to what you 363 00:21:22,480 --> 00:21:25,760 Speaker 1: usually find when you open a time capsule and the 364 00:21:25,840 --> 00:21:28,160 Speaker 1: types of things that people select to put in there, 365 00:21:28,359 --> 00:21:32,520 Speaker 1: like there's there's several layers of humor going on. Uh, 366 00:21:32,560 --> 00:21:34,800 Speaker 1: this is actually kind of funny to me. How often 367 00:21:34,840 --> 00:21:38,280 Speaker 1: people open a time capsule and like, no one is 368 00:21:38,320 --> 00:21:41,400 Speaker 1: impressed with what was inside because it's just newspapers and coins. 369 00:21:41,800 --> 00:21:44,040 Speaker 1: And yet when the time capsule was made, there were 370 00:21:44,119 --> 00:21:47,320 Speaker 1: knocked down, drag out fights about what to put inside 371 00:21:47,320 --> 00:21:51,320 Speaker 1: of there. Oh yeah, people are as angry about what 372 00:21:51,400 --> 00:21:54,080 Speaker 1: to put in time capsules as they were within all 373 00:21:54,200 --> 00:21:57,520 Speaker 1: of our Facebook posts about taking them out, because they 374 00:21:57,520 --> 00:22:00,200 Speaker 1: want to make sure the exact correct picture of at 375 00:22:00,359 --> 00:22:05,359 Speaker 1: time period is created with the contents. But even if 376 00:22:05,400 --> 00:22:08,240 Speaker 1: people didn't find their contents boring, more often than not, 377 00:22:08,440 --> 00:22:12,400 Speaker 1: the same objects placed inside time capsules are also preserved 378 00:22:12,440 --> 00:22:16,119 Speaker 1: better at museums and other archives. It's very rare that 379 00:22:16,160 --> 00:22:19,680 Speaker 1: someone opens a time capsule to discover something that's actually 380 00:22:19,680 --> 00:22:24,800 Speaker 1: a unique find. Usually you can see a better preserved 381 00:22:24,840 --> 00:22:30,600 Speaker 1: one of the exact same thing in one or many museums. However, 382 00:22:30,720 --> 00:22:34,760 Speaker 1: all of that said, time capsules usually inspire and interest 383 00:22:34,840 --> 00:22:37,280 Speaker 1: in history and some civic pride, at least in the 384 00:22:37,320 --> 00:22:41,280 Speaker 1: short term, and that counts when they're created, and again 385 00:22:41,320 --> 00:22:44,239 Speaker 1: when they're opened, and especially for the ones that are 386 00:22:44,240 --> 00:22:46,359 Speaker 1: meant to stay sealed up for thousands of years, the 387 00:22:46,400 --> 00:22:50,360 Speaker 1: containers themselves can involve tremendous speaks of engineering. This has 388 00:22:50,520 --> 00:22:52,960 Speaker 1: especially been true for all of these ones. They're supposed 389 00:22:53,000 --> 00:22:56,000 Speaker 1: to stay sealed up for many thousands of years. So 390 00:22:56,160 --> 00:22:59,760 Speaker 1: while people might classify their contents into the category of 391 00:22:59,760 --> 00:23:04,040 Speaker 1: war plus a junk, their creation has a different type 392 00:23:04,040 --> 00:23:07,600 Speaker 1: of worth. And back to those time capsules that we 393 00:23:07,640 --> 00:23:10,320 Speaker 1: talked about at the very beginning of the show, the 394 00:23:10,400 --> 00:23:13,080 Speaker 1: Lion statue is back on top of the Old State House, 395 00:23:13,119 --> 00:23:16,160 Speaker 1: complete with a new time capsule, and this time it's 396 00:23:16,160 --> 00:23:19,199 Speaker 1: in the lions scroll, so future generations will have easier 397 00:23:19,240 --> 00:23:22,600 Speaker 1: access to it. Among the contents of that capsule are 398 00:23:22,680 --> 00:23:26,080 Speaker 1: an iPhone five. Apple apparently would not provide an iPhone 399 00:23:26,080 --> 00:23:29,880 Speaker 1: six for this Foreign Relations of the United States nineteen 400 00:23:29,920 --> 00:23:32,919 Speaker 1: seventy seven to nineteen eighty volume three to replace a 401 00:23:32,960 --> 00:23:36,320 Speaker 1: copy of Foreign Relations of the United States eighteen ninety 402 00:23:36,400 --> 00:23:39,439 Speaker 1: six that was in the prior box, basically to fill space, 403 00:23:40,080 --> 00:23:43,160 Speaker 1: a number of letters and photos, and a Boston Marathon metal. 404 00:23:43,640 --> 00:23:46,240 Speaker 1: The original items were on display at the Old State 405 00:23:46,280 --> 00:23:51,280 Speaker 1: House for several weeks over December fourteen and into January. 406 00:23:51,520 --> 00:23:54,280 Speaker 1: The items inside were delicate enough that after that point 407 00:23:54,359 --> 00:23:57,760 Speaker 1: they were returned to the archives for preservation. Yeah, they 408 00:23:57,760 --> 00:24:02,280 Speaker 1: were actually preserved incredible well, uh, considering how old the 409 00:24:02,280 --> 00:24:04,000 Speaker 1: time capsule was and how it had just been in 410 00:24:04,040 --> 00:24:07,359 Speaker 1: the statue out in the elements for so long. But 411 00:24:07,480 --> 00:24:10,080 Speaker 1: they did want to make sure that they lasted long 412 00:24:10,119 --> 00:24:12,359 Speaker 1: into the future, so they didn't stay on public display 413 00:24:12,400 --> 00:24:15,399 Speaker 1: for all that long. The time capsule that was removed 414 00:24:15,400 --> 00:24:18,160 Speaker 1: from the cornerstone at the Old State House is also 415 00:24:18,240 --> 00:24:20,439 Speaker 1: going to go back in June, and it's going to 416 00:24:20,520 --> 00:24:24,439 Speaker 1: include its original contents having been cleaned and restored, along 417 00:24:24,480 --> 00:24:27,760 Speaker 1: with some new items along in the same vein basically 418 00:24:27,800 --> 00:24:29,840 Speaker 1: what was in there before. We're newspapers and coins to 419 00:24:30,320 --> 00:24:35,080 Speaker 1: things of that nature. Um. Its original contents were displayed 420 00:24:35,119 --> 00:24:37,200 Speaker 1: at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston during March 421 00:24:37,240 --> 00:24:41,680 Speaker 1: and April. The Bostonian Society and the Museum of Fine 422 00:24:41,760 --> 00:24:45,199 Speaker 1: Arts also both documented what was inside those boxes and 423 00:24:45,240 --> 00:24:48,920 Speaker 1: put lots of pictures and details on their websites. Yeah, 424 00:24:49,040 --> 00:24:52,480 Speaker 1: so people felt like they were being hidden away from 425 00:24:52,520 --> 00:25:01,280 Speaker 1: public view. They really really weren't, thank you. So much 426 00:25:01,280 --> 00:25:04,200 Speaker 1: for joining us on this Saturday. If you have heard 427 00:25:04,480 --> 00:25:06,520 Speaker 1: an email address or a Facebook you are l or 428 00:25:06,600 --> 00:25:09,520 Speaker 1: something similar over the course of today's episode, Since it 429 00:25:09,640 --> 00:25:11,880 Speaker 1: is from the archive that might be out of date. Now, 430 00:25:12,440 --> 00:25:15,480 Speaker 1: you can email us at history podcast at how stuff 431 00:25:15,480 --> 00:25:17,480 Speaker 1: Works dot com, and you can find us all over 432 00:25:17,520 --> 00:25:20,959 Speaker 1: social media at missed in History and you can subscribe 433 00:25:21,000 --> 00:25:24,119 Speaker 1: to our show on Apple Podcasts, Google podcast, the I 434 00:25:24,240 --> 00:25:27,320 Speaker 1: Heart Radio app, and wherever else you listen to podcasts. 435 00:25:31,440 --> 00:25:33,520 Speaker 1: Stuff you Missed in History Class is a production of 436 00:25:33,560 --> 00:25:36,600 Speaker 1: I Heart Radios How Stuff Works. For more podcasts. For 437 00:25:36,720 --> 00:25:39,920 Speaker 1: my Heart Radio, visit the I Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, 438 00:25:40,040 --> 00:25:48,280 Speaker 1: or wherever you listen to your favorite shows. Back before 439 00:25:48,280 --> 00:25:51,600 Speaker 1: we called it voicemail, or at least when voicemail means 440 00:25:51,680 --> 00:25:55,679 Speaker 1: something different and more specific, the world had the humble 441 00:25:55,720 --> 00:25:59,000 Speaker 1: Answering Machine. We're not right now, but we'll call you 442 00:25:59,080 --> 00:26:02,520 Speaker 1: that if you leave name and number. If you aren't 443 00:26:02,520 --> 00:26:05,280 Speaker 1: of the age to remember, the answering machine was a 444 00:26:05,280 --> 00:26:09,080 Speaker 1: physical audio recorder that plugged into your phone line. You 445 00:26:09,080 --> 00:26:11,800 Speaker 1: couldn't call into it remotely, You had to wait till 446 00:26:11,840 --> 00:26:14,479 Speaker 1: you got home to check your messages, and they were 447 00:26:14,520 --> 00:26:24,720 Speaker 1: the source for a lot of Seinfeld gaestssage. Most answering 448 00:26:24,760 --> 00:26:29,040 Speaker 1: machines recorded on cassette tape. Your magnetically recorded message would 449 00:26:29,080 --> 00:26:32,280 Speaker 1: be saved until you recorded over it or change the cassette. 450 00:26:33,600 --> 00:26:35,760 Speaker 1: When I was a little kid, my family had a 451 00:26:35,760 --> 00:26:39,800 Speaker 1: different kind of answering machine. It was actually tapeless. I 452 00:26:39,800 --> 00:26:43,960 Speaker 1: think it was a Sony and it was digital. That's 453 00:26:43,960 --> 00:26:46,600 Speaker 1: my dad, a man who's not apt to forget a 454 00:26:46,640 --> 00:26:50,679 Speaker 1: piece of telephone technology. It was like a little tower 455 00:26:51,200 --> 00:26:53,800 Speaker 1: with a big push button on top that would blink 456 00:26:54,320 --> 00:26:58,639 Speaker 1: once you had a message. In addition to play and 457 00:26:58,760 --> 00:27:09,080 Speaker 1: shuttle had a record button for your greeting. But on 458 00:27:09,119 --> 00:27:12,520 Speaker 1: this machine, you could also record your own messages directly 459 00:27:12,520 --> 00:27:16,000 Speaker 1: into it, like a voice mobile function on your phone. 460 00:27:16,400 --> 00:27:18,920 Speaker 1: I think the idea was if you were the husband, 461 00:27:19,040 --> 00:27:21,720 Speaker 1: wife passing, you know, running kids around and stuff, that 462 00:27:21,720 --> 00:27:23,720 Speaker 1: you could leave each other messages on it if you 463 00:27:23,760 --> 00:27:25,719 Speaker 1: were just standing in front of it, like you wouldn't 464 00:27:25,760 --> 00:27:27,480 Speaker 1: have to call it on your non existent cell phone 465 00:27:27,520 --> 00:27:30,240 Speaker 1: because none of us had cell phones back then. I 466 00:27:30,240 --> 00:27:32,840 Speaker 1: don't think Mom and I ever ever used that, but 467 00:27:33,320 --> 00:27:39,680 Speaker 1: you used it because you liked hearing yourself recorded him act. 468 00:27:41,240 --> 00:27:43,720 Speaker 1: It sat on top of my parents bureau. So I 469 00:27:43,800 --> 00:27:45,959 Speaker 1: must have had to climb on a stool or something. 470 00:27:46,840 --> 00:27:51,200 Speaker 1: But I spent untold hours talking into this device. Um, 471 00:27:51,240 --> 00:27:53,080 Speaker 1: my voice is going to come out all weird and 472 00:27:53,240 --> 00:27:57,720 Speaker 1: stay from the spring, recorded it and play many many times. 473 00:27:58,440 --> 00:28:01,280 Speaker 1: If you recorded multiple memos then hit the play button, 474 00:28:01,800 --> 00:28:03,920 Speaker 1: it would run them all back to back in the 475 00:28:04,040 --> 00:28:07,960 Speaker 1: order in which they were created. To a young me, 476 00:28:08,840 --> 00:28:14,080 Speaker 1: this was absolute magic. By this method, and in a 477 00:28:14,200 --> 00:28:17,640 Speaker 1: spirit of endless experimentation, I'd fill the tiny hard drive 478 00:28:17,680 --> 00:28:23,680 Speaker 1: with recordings structured as imaginary shows. I have no idea 479 00:28:23,760 --> 00:28:27,760 Speaker 1: what about I'm not sure I did then, probably just 480 00:28:27,880 --> 00:28:31,680 Speaker 1: whatever came to mind. I've listened through it a hundred 481 00:28:31,760 --> 00:28:35,040 Speaker 1: times and pieces as I built my episode up, and 482 00:28:35,119 --> 00:28:38,080 Speaker 1: a few times over as a finished product, and wait 483 00:28:38,120 --> 00:28:41,800 Speaker 1: for my parents to check their messages. I have great parents, 484 00:28:42,120 --> 00:28:46,600 Speaker 1: so they listened through with at least feigned enthusiastic, but 485 00:28:46,760 --> 00:28:49,800 Speaker 1: sooner or later we need the space, and with the 486 00:28:49,840 --> 00:28:56,400 Speaker 1: click of a button, it was all gone. Is anyone 487 00:28:56,480 --> 00:29:04,720 Speaker 1: there over? Okay? See you after it's gone. It's all by. 488 00:29:07,440 --> 00:29:12,000 Speaker 1: Soon enough, i'd make another, and none of those were saved. 489 00:29:12,840 --> 00:29:15,080 Speaker 1: This tape I've been playing is the closest thing I 490 00:29:15,200 --> 00:29:19,880 Speaker 1: have left. It was actually recorded on microcassette, which looks 491 00:29:19,960 --> 00:29:22,160 Speaker 1: just like a regular cassette tape, shrunk down to a 492 00:29:22,280 --> 00:29:27,560 Speaker 1: quarter of the size. My next fascination after answering machines. Here, 493 00:29:27,600 --> 00:29:31,440 Speaker 1: I'm wandering around my dad's office with his handheld voice recorders. 494 00:29:33,040 --> 00:29:38,720 Speaker 1: My dad, I sound about ten round. I made lots 495 00:29:38,760 --> 00:29:41,800 Speaker 1: of tapes like this, but as far as I can find, 496 00:29:42,560 --> 00:29:44,520 Speaker 1: this is the last one I have left from this 497 00:29:44,640 --> 00:29:48,200 Speaker 1: early in my life. Do I wish more had been saved, 498 00:29:49,160 --> 00:29:53,960 Speaker 1: especially those early answering machine productions, I don't know, I 499 00:29:54,000 --> 00:29:58,840 Speaker 1: guess so It's comparable to a baby picture, an old yearbook, 500 00:29:59,400 --> 00:30:02,560 Speaker 1: or some other keepsake, maybe the most like a Sunday 501 00:30:02,600 --> 00:30:07,640 Speaker 1: school craft project for Mother's Day. Ragged and potentially embarrassing, 502 00:30:08,000 --> 00:30:17,480 Speaker 1: however sentimental. But it's ephemeral. It's a fleeting moment and 503 00:30:17,600 --> 00:30:21,560 Speaker 1: it's gone. Even though I was young, I knew that 504 00:30:21,680 --> 00:30:25,760 Speaker 1: at the time. It's these moments. This show fixates on 505 00:30:26,880 --> 00:30:33,440 Speaker 1: lost materials, dropped threads, forgotten stories, ephemera in the way 506 00:30:33,480 --> 00:30:38,200 Speaker 1: that it's intertwined in our lives, all those things tangible 507 00:30:38,320 --> 00:30:41,480 Speaker 1: and intangible that you wish you could take just one 508 00:30:41,560 --> 00:30:48,080 Speaker 1: more look at before they vanish into the past. America 509 00:30:48,080 --> 00:30:51,120 Speaker 1: has produced like lots and lots of stuff, just piles 510 00:30:51,160 --> 00:30:55,080 Speaker 1: of stuff, and it's sitting around in storage spaces and 511 00:30:55,480 --> 00:30:57,840 Speaker 1: we keep making it and buying it, and then what 512 00:30:57,920 --> 00:31:00,560 Speaker 1: do you do with it? And it's got to somewhere. 513 00:31:01,120 --> 00:31:02,760 Speaker 1: The fact of the matter is is all day long, 514 00:31:02,880 --> 00:31:05,760 Speaker 1: every day, there are warehouses full of stuff getting just 515 00:31:06,040 --> 00:31:09,880 Speaker 1: pushed off a cliff, getting shoved off into the abyss 516 00:31:09,920 --> 00:31:14,480 Speaker 1: and being destroyed all day every day. Betsy in Naaski, 517 00:31:14,800 --> 00:31:17,960 Speaker 1: who runs the Canary Records label, a friend of mine, 518 00:31:18,120 --> 00:31:21,800 Speaker 1: uh Steve Smolean, who's a record guy like me, said 519 00:31:21,840 --> 00:31:24,160 Speaker 1: that what he loves is being the guy standing at 520 00:31:24,160 --> 00:31:26,480 Speaker 1: the edge of the cliff waving his arms going, wait, no, 521 00:31:26,680 --> 00:31:28,480 Speaker 1: let me look at those first before you throw them away. 522 00:31:28,520 --> 00:31:30,080 Speaker 1: I think there might be some good stuff in there. 523 00:31:30,480 --> 00:31:33,120 Speaker 1: I think there might be some stories. Well, I don't 524 00:31:33,200 --> 00:31:37,120 Speaker 1: think we should throw all those away yet, because museums 525 00:31:37,160 --> 00:31:40,360 Speaker 1: can't handle it, the big cultural institutions can't handle it. 526 00:31:40,680 --> 00:31:44,120 Speaker 1: There's just too much stuff. You know, they're getting donated 527 00:31:44,640 --> 00:31:47,040 Speaker 1: piles of stuff all the time. The fact of the 528 00:31:47,120 --> 00:31:50,480 Speaker 1: matter is they don't always know or care. They're looking 529 00:31:50,560 --> 00:31:55,480 Speaker 1: for specific things that relate to specific narratives, so you 530 00:31:55,600 --> 00:32:01,360 Speaker 1: always need somebody who's looking for a different story. We 531 00:32:01,480 --> 00:32:04,480 Speaker 1: have a season ten episodes of stories from that realm, 532 00:32:05,160 --> 00:32:07,760 Speaker 1: of things that were just barely saved, and in some 533 00:32:07,960 --> 00:32:12,720 Speaker 1: cases not saved at all. A bizarre tale of two 534 00:32:12,800 --> 00:32:16,200 Speaker 1: infamous New Yorkers booby trapped their home and turned it 535 00:32:16,280 --> 00:32:20,840 Speaker 1: into the shield fortress of a missing chapter of American 536 00:32:20,960 --> 00:32:25,120 Speaker 1: music history. There hasn't been a guess culturally that they matter, 537 00:32:25,560 --> 00:32:28,000 Speaker 1: so they got thrown in the garbage. A decade's worth 538 00:32:28,040 --> 00:32:32,360 Speaker 1: of original television lost to the airways. It's over. You're 539 00:32:32,360 --> 00:32:35,080 Speaker 1: gonna see something else the next second, and nobody's ever 540 00:32:35,160 --> 00:32:38,160 Speaker 1: going to see a piece of music that's defied convention 541 00:32:38,240 --> 00:32:42,160 Speaker 1: for seventy years. I had students write down the sounds 542 00:32:42,240 --> 00:32:45,239 Speaker 1: they heard during it, and one girl said, I never 543 00:32:45,320 --> 00:32:47,800 Speaker 1: realized there was so much to listen to and what 544 00:32:47,920 --> 00:32:51,160 Speaker 1: could only be called an audio mystery. It said nothing 545 00:32:51,240 --> 00:32:54,840 Speaker 1: on it and it clearly had been recorded, which intrigued me. 546 00:32:55,440 --> 00:32:59,240 Speaker 1: What is this going to be? These stories and more 547 00:32:59,560 --> 00:33:04,160 Speaker 1: given new life, if only for a glimpse. There's times 548 00:33:04,240 --> 00:33:06,440 Speaker 1: I can't help but feeling like that little kid again 549 00:33:07,480 --> 00:33:10,000 Speaker 1: talking into a machine that I'm sure won't save anything 550 00:33:10,080 --> 00:33:16,640 Speaker 1: I say into it. Also, is this podcast a piece 551 00:33:16,680 --> 00:33:20,959 Speaker 1: of ephemer in the making, A forgotten story about forgotten stories. 552 00:33:22,320 --> 00:33:29,400 Speaker 1: Only time will tell the Ephemeral debuts. Subscribe now on 553 00:33:29,480 --> 00:33:32,520 Speaker 1: Apple Podcasts, the I Heart Radio app, or wherever you 554 00:33:32,560 --> 00:33:36,360 Speaker 1: listen to podcasts. And learn more at Ephemeral dot show. 555 00:33:50,280 --> 00:33:51,560 Speaker 1: End of messages.