What would you put in a time capsule?

[treehugger]

I just tore up my living room floor and I actually have it gutted down to the foundation dirt.

I want to put a time capsule in there for anybody who might find it in the future after this house is gone.

I'm actually quite serious about this. Seeking ideas. What would you want somebody 200 years from now, to know about you and your historical time of living?

I'm not going to put any "media" type stuff in there because for all I know DVDS and CDs will be totally obsolete by then. So it's only going to be paper, concrete, written stuff.

I'm going to put it in a galvanized metal box so rodents won't be able to get in.

Any suggestions?

I'm thinking, the lyrics to john lennon's "imagine"...for one.

Kath

[toman]

How about some Bob Marley to go along with that? Maybe a nice spliff and an assortment of anti-war propaganda?

[treehugger]

Heh...I may just do that..a bit of cannabis and a one hitter might be a sweet find for somebody someday. :bandit:

It'd be really cool to be able to protest, a hundred years in the future...

What kind of message would you want to send to the future, about yourself?

Kath

[Unkle_John]

What to put in it? Well I know Twinkies and Spam have a shelf life of 100 years. I'd put a little KB in there.

What I would do about me.. I would write a document and take photos and save them all on CD. I know that in the future there will still be people collecting these machines just like people collect 8-Track players. I would find something like plastic and write on it in a sharpie (or even on the CD) Messages and photos. I would talk about my life and what I do for fun and "dreams of the future". I would also talk about family history as much as you can. that way future owners would know who and where you came from. I woudld also make a duplicate capsule and hide it in the attic or something, just incase. In both capsules, mention the other hidden one.

Another good thing is to have color photos (on the CD) of the house and property. This will also help the future owners know what the house looked like, back in the day. Just incase they decide to make the house back to the shape you have it in now. Also put everying in a very good zip-loc baggie (freezer size) or if you know someone with a vacume seal machine. Is is to make sure your items don't get moisture and spawn mold.... and decompose (paper will).

[toman]

How about a DNA sample, along with a family tree?

[mamasharones]

I think I would put in a lot of pictures .... of family and of things in our world before bush blew it up :D

music....

I think I might ponder that a lil more

[LIBRA]

pictures, letters of what its like in todays life and whats going on.
maybe some seeds just in case they'd like to grow something :)

money or coins.

lots of your thoughts. Id love to find a time capsule from 200 years ago with a journal in it, that would be very cool.

[ShaDoW]

Hmmmm, you could do a glass etching of the info you want to include in the capsule, music lyrics, family tree, etc. maybe include a personal journal in a nice "leather" bound book and seal it up in a zip lock. Maybe get some photos laminated so they will not deteriorate as easily. Anti war prop. is a great idea, give the people in the future an idea what many of us protested against.

You could make this into a serious art like project and make it something quite beautiful for some one to discover. Some day when I have a house I would like to do the same. O, and etching supplies are not that expensive from what I know, check out hobby lobby or michaels, they have them for fairly cheap.
:ufo:

[toman]

I think anti war stuff would be cool, because this is really the first time in history the people have been able to openly oppose what their government does, and have done it on such a large scale. You could find an assortment covering everything since the Vietnam war, since that was really the starting point...

[Unkle_John]

That is true Toman, we may not have that privilage in the future.

[PEACE FROG]

I think amongst the things I would select one would have to be a freeze dried G.W. Bush. I think he will have alot of explaining to do!?!!

[redthewitch75]

I think anti war stuff would be cool, because this is really the first time in history the people have been able to openly oppose what their government does, and have done it on such a large scale. You could find an assortment covering everything since the Vietnam war, since that was really the starting point...

I have to disagree that this is the first time in history, on such a large scale. Unless you mean as far as media coverage goes. Of course, there were protesters for WWI, WWII and the like. I still think that the protesting of Vietnam was on a large scale. I mean, what do you think about when you think of that era? I think it just seems more widespread or on a larger and more open scale today because of the vastness of the media.

OK, back to the original matter at hand. I love the Bob Marley idea (I am sooo not a Beatles fan.), and the idea of the pictures of the house and yard, because I know I wish I could see photos of what my house used to look like long ago. That would be neat-o. I would write a letter to the future occupants, just telling them what my own life was like, what life was like in the town, in the country, around the world, current events and all that. I would definitely seal everything in plastic bags, good ones. Have fun!

[tooter_mcgee]

Spam... spam is just one of those neat little wonders of the world to me and nobody knows how long it will be around for. And maybe a lawn gnome.

:hippie:
Di

[toman]

Of course Vietnam wasn't the first war to be protested, It's just the first one to be protested so vocally and the first time an effort was made to tolerate war protest to some extent. Of course if a person could find anti-war propaganda from earlier wars that would be even cooler, but probably not quite as historically significant, because underground anti-war sentiments have always existed.

[redthewitch75]

Of course Vietnam wasn't the first war to be protested, It's just the first one to be protested so vocally and the first time an effort was made to tolerate war protest to some extent. Of course if a person could find anti-war propaganda from earlier wars that would be even cooler, but probably not quite as historically significant, because underground anti-war sentiments have always existed.

True indeed. I believe I thought you meant our current situation, more than Vietnam. Sorry to have misunderstood. :D

[treehugger]

So I bought a 12 inch square box, made for storing cash, basically. It should be pretty weather/water/rodent proof.

I've decided to write a few essays...on the following topics:

1. Life as I know it
2. Our Political Climate
3. Religious Fanaticism
4. The Environmental Crisis
5. Popular Culture
6. About me as a person
7. About this property

I also thought I'd put in a copy of the constitution and the bill of rights as they exist today. And I do love Tooter's suggestion about the spam, LOL.

Various pictures of me and the house and various landmarks around this area..

I do think it'd be cool to put a bit of cannabis in it but I'm not sure how I could preserve it so I could make sure it wouldn't get moldy. I could maybe put it into a test tube, seal the end with a wax-dipped cork, and then insert that test tube in a cylinder I'd make out of copper pipe. They could use a tubing cutter to cut the copper pipe apart.

I'm actually leaning more, now, toward putting a couple cds in there...but as I am computer illiterate I don't have any idea how to burn one. I'd probably put a couple music ones in.

And this is just a start. I'm still looking for suggestions. There's lots of great ones so far! I'm going to read back through all the posts just before I go to bury this box.

Kath

[Dead Fan]

How bout some pictures of trees. In 200 years people may not know what they look like.

[tooter_mcgee]

...And a super ball. I think everyone knows what a treat a super ball is... :p

:hippie:
Di

[Pedata]

An eight track cassette.

A pair of Levi's bell bottom- the ones with the blue, and not orange, thread.

A Monkees Album.

A homemade aluminum foil smoking pipe.

Miniature cowbells.

Peace,
Cass

[toman]

Rubber and some plastic items likely will degrade over the course of years. Maybe not a good idea.

[RockyJay]

A pipe to go with the weed. And maybe instructions, just in case so the weed isn't wasted.

Freeze dried GW bush sounds good everyday PEACEFROG. ;)