The Westinghouse Time Capsules are two time capsules prepared by the Westinghouse Electric & Manufacturing Company (later

Westinghouse Electric Corporation The Westinghouse Electric Corporation was an American manufacturing company founded in 1886 by George Westinghouse. It was originally named "Westinghouse Electric & Manufacturing Company" and was renamed "Westinghouse Electric Corporation" in ...

). One was made in 1939 and the other in 1965. They are filled with contemporary articles used in the twentieth century way of life in the United States. The items are intended for people of the

7th millennium While the future cannot be predicted with certainty, present understanding in various scientific fields allows for the prediction of some far-future events, if only in the broadest outline. These fields include astrophysics, which studies how ...

(~ year 6900) to receive for historical significance. The capsules are specially designed non-corrosive metal tubes 90 inches long and about nine inches in diameter. The tubes were made with electrical properties in mind that enhanced the characteristics of each tube's unique metal chemical make-up. Each was formulated to resist

corrosion Corrosion is a natural process that converts a refined metal into a more chemically stable oxide. It is the gradual deterioration of materials (usually a metal) by chemical or electrochemical reaction with their environment. Corrosion engine ...

over time, rather than being allowed to waste away to dust. The capsules were buried fifty feet in the ground at

Flushing Meadows-Corona Park Flushing may refer to: Places * Flushing, Cornwall, a village in the United Kingdom * Flushing, Queens, New York City ** Flushing Bay, a bay off the north shore of Queens ** Flushing Chinatown (法拉盛華埠), a community in Queens ** Flushin ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

and are positioned about ten feet apart. There were record books about these time capsules given to thousands of libraries, museums, and other depositories worldwide to preserve the knowledge that they exist. Included was the information that they shouldn't be opened before the seventh millennium and where they can be located. Duplicates of the contents of the objects held for these people of the future are currently held in a history museum of the United States.

Background

Westinghouse Electric & Manufacturing Company The Westinghouse Electric Corporation was an American manufacturing company founded in 1886 by George Westinghouse. It was originally named "Westinghouse Electric & Manufacturing Company" and was renamed "Westinghouse Electric Corporation" in ...

prepared time capsules for two world's fairs. They are both buried 50 feet below

Flushing Meadows–Corona Park Flushing Meadows–Corona Park, often referred to as Flushing Meadows Park, or simply Flushing Meadows, is a public park in the northern part of Queens, New York City. It is bounded by I-678 (Van Wyck Expressway) on the east, Grand Central Par ...

, the site of the fairs. Time Capsule I was created for the

1939 New York World's Fair The 1939–40 New York World's Fair was a world's fair held at Flushing Meadows–Corona Park in Queens, New York, United States. It was the second-most expensive American world's fair of all time, exceeded only by St. Louis's Louisiana Purchas ...

and Time Capsule II was created for the

1964 New York World's Fair The 1964–1965 New York World's Fair was a world's fair that held over 140 pavilions and 110 restaurants, representing 80 nations (hosted by 37), 24 US states, and over 45 corporations with the goal and the final result of building exhibits or ...

. The second capsule is placed ten feet north of the first capsule. The capsules are filled with physical objects of that time period of social and scientific interest. They are to be opened at the same time in the year 6939. New York publicist George Edward Pendray was editor for ''

Literary Digest ''The Literary Digest'' was an influential American general interest weekly magazine published by Funk & Wagnalls. Founded by Isaac Kaufmann Funk in 1890, it eventually merged with two similar weekly magazines, ''Public Opinion'' and '' Current ...

'' when in 1936 he interviewed Thornwell Jacobs, organizer of Oglethorpe University's millennia-spanning time crypt of objects preserved for the people of 8113 AD. He then published an article about this in his October magazine. Westinghouse then took this concept and started developing in 1938 their Time Capsule of Cupaloy for the

Construction

The time capsules are bullet-shaped, measure in length, and have an exterior casing of about in diameter. Time Capsule I weighs about , while Time Capsule II weighs about . Time Capsule I was made of a non- ferrous

alloy An alloy is a mixture of chemical elements of which at least one is a metal. Unlike chemical compounds with metallic bases, an alloy will retain all the properties of a metal in the resulting material, such as electrical conductivity, ductility, ...

called Cupaloy, created especially for this project.Anderson, Brian
The Future Is Still Now: Inside Westinghouse's Time Capsule 1
. ''Motherboard.vice.com''. April 30, 2016. Retrieved on October 17, 2016 Designed to resist corrosion for 5,000 years, the alloy was made of 99.4%

copper Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu (from la, cuprum) and atomic number 29. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. A freshly exposed surface of pure copper has a pinkis ...

, 0.5%

chromium Chromium is a chemical element with the symbol Cr and atomic number 24. It is the first element in group 6. It is a steely-grey, lustrous, hard, and brittle transition metal. Chromium metal is valued for its high corrosion resistance and hardne ...

, and 0.1%

silver Silver is a chemical element with the Symbol (chemistry), symbol Ag (from the Latin ', derived from the Proto-Indo-European wikt:Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/h₂erǵ-, ''h₂erǵ'': "shiny" or "white") and atomic number 47. A soft, whi ...

. Westinghouse claims that Cupaloy has the same strength as steel, yet will resist most

over thousands of years because it becomes an

anode An anode is an electrode of a polarized electrical device through which conventional current enters the device. This contrasts with a cathode, an electrode of the device through which conventional current leaves the device. A common mnemonic is ...

electrolytic An electrolyte is a medium containing ions that is electrically conducting through the movement of those ions, but not conducting electrons. This includes most soluble salts, acids, and bases dissolved in a polar solvent, such as water. Upon dis ...

reactions, receiving deposits instead of wasting away like most iron-bearing metals. Time Capsule II was made of a

stainless steel Stainless steel is an alloy of iron that is resistant to rusting and corrosion. It contains at least 11% chromium and may contain elements such as carbon, other nonmetals and metals to obtain other desired properties. Stainless steel's corros ...

metal called Kromarc. Westinghouse Research Laboratories determined, with extensive chemical testing, that this new super-stainless steel alloy would resist corrosion, much like the alloy used for Time Capsule I. Kromarc is an

of iron, nickel, chromium, manganese, molybdenum, and trace amounts of other elements. The contents of the time capsules were sealed inside an insulated, airtight, glass envelope with an interior diameter of and a length of about . The interior of the glass envelope of Capsule I was filled with

nitrogen Nitrogen is the chemical element with the symbol N and atomic number 7. Nitrogen is a nonmetal and the lightest member of group 15 of the periodic table, often called the pnictogens. It is a common element in the universe, estimated at se ...

. Capsule II, weighing 300 pounds, was filled with the inert gas

argon Argon is a chemical element with the symbol Ar and atomic number 18. It is in group 18 of the periodic table and is a noble gas. Argon is the third-most abundant gas in Earth's atmosphere, at 0.934% (9340 ppmv). It is more than twice as abu ...

Capsule contents

1939 Time Capsule I

Among the 35 small, everyday items placed inside Time Capsule I were a fountain pen and an alphabet block set. Time Capsule I also contained 75 types of fabrics, metals, and plastics. Modern literature, contemporary art, and news events of the twentieth century were recorded on a

microfilm Microforms are scaled-down reproductions of documents, typically either photographic film, films or paper, made for the purposes of transmission, storage, reading, and printing. Microform images are commonly reduced to about 4% or of the origin ...

"Micro-File" for placement in Time Capsule I; the "Micro-File" holds over ten million words and a thousand pictures, and has a small microscope for viewing. There are also instructions included on how to make both a large microfilm viewer and a motion picture projector for the newsreels. Burying Cupaloy

Also included in the capsule were copies of ''

Life Life is a quality that distinguishes matter that has biological processes, such as signaling and self-sustaining processes, from that which does not, and is defined by the capacity for growth, reaction to stimuli, metabolism, energ ...

'' magazine, a

kewpie doll Kewpie is a brand of dolls and figurines that were conceived as comic strip characters by cartoonist Rose O'Neill. The illustrated cartoons, appearing as baby cupid characters, began to gain popularity after the publication of O'Neill's comic ...

, one dollar in change, a pack of Camel cigarettes, a 15-minute RKO Pathe Pictures newsreel, a

Lilly Daché Lilly Daché ( 1892 – 31 December 1989) was a French-born American milliner and fashion merchandiser. She started her career in a small bonnet shop, advanced to being a sales lady at Macy's department store, and from there started her own ha ...

hat, and millions of words of text put on

rolls which included a Sears Roebuck catalog, a

dictionary A dictionary is a listing of lexemes from the lexicon of one or more specific languages, often arranged alphabetically (or by radical and stroke for ideographic languages), which may include information on definitions, usage, etymologies ...

, and an almanac. A variety of seeds were placed in the time capsule including wheat, corn, oats, tobacco, cotton, flax, rice, soy beans, alfalfa, sugar beets, carrots, and barley. Organic items (e.g. seeds) were placed in sealed glass vials. Pendray supervised the items in the capsule that were selected to chronicle 20th-century life in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. During packaging of the contents, under the direction of representatives of the United States National Bureau of Standards, each object was examined to determine whether it could be expected to last 5,000 years. Pendray was sent a letter by anthropologist Clark David Wissler that he felt most things were well represented in a draft list of the items going into the time capsule, except perhaps that of a sewing machine and noteworthy ceremonies (i.e. religious, weddings). Rose Arnold Powell, known for attempting to get Susan B. Anthony represented on Mount Rushmore, sent Pendray a telegraph requesting that he get an input from women's suffrage activist Carrie Chapman Catt. He then added the only pencil handwritten page in the capsule, listing items that were represented by 20th century women, such as culinary preparation tracts and women's exploits noted in World Almanacs and film. Care was taken to select items that are not reactive and do not decompose into harmful gases or acids. 1965 Time Capsule II interior

Five categories of objects were placed inside Time Capsule I. * Small articles of common use * Textiles and materials * Essay in microfilm * RKO newsreel * Miscellaneous items

1965 Time Capsule II

Five main categories of objects were placed in Capsule II: * Articles in common use * Atomic energy * Scientific developments * Space * Other The "other" category included images of a guest book signed by visitors to the Westinghouse pavilion at the 1964 fair. Signers received tin pins, about across (roughly the size of an American fifty-cent piece), stating, ''My name is in the Westinghouse Time Capsule for the next 5,000 years.'' The book's pages were photographed onto acetate microfilm and the roll of film placed into the time capsule for the people of the seventieth century that open the capsule and find all the contents from the twentieth century. There were an estimated 750,000 signatures collected. The first one was that of United States President Lyndon B. Johnson. The signature of

Pope Paul VI Pope Paul VI ( la, Paulus VI; it, Paolo VI; born Giovanni Battista Enrico Antonio Maria Montini, ; 26 September 18976 August 1978) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City, Vatican City State from 21 June 1963 to his ...

was among the signatures of notable people that signed the Westinghouse guest book.

Book of Record

The contents of Time Capsule I were recorded in a '' Book of Record of the Time Capsule of Cupaloy''. The purpose of this book is to preserve knowledge of the existence of the time capsule for 5,000 years, and to provide assistance to the people of the year 6939 in locating and recovering it. More than 3000 copies of the book were distributed to museums, monasteries, and libraries worldwide. In order to avoid confusion about the 1965 time capsule, a supplement announcing Time Capsule II was sent to the original 3,000 depositories of the 1938 edition. If present-day methods of determining time are lost, future generations will be able to calculate the age of the time capsules using astronomical data. In the year 1939, there were two

eclipse An eclipse is an astronomical event that occurs when an astronomical object or spacecraft is temporarily obscured, by passing into the shadow of another body or by having another body pass between it and the viewer. This alignment of three ce ...

s of the

moon The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite. It is the fifth largest satellite in the Solar System and the largest and most massive relative to its parent planet, with a diameter about one-quarter that of Earth (comparable to the width of ...

, falling on the third of May and the twenty-eighth of October. There were also two eclipses of the sun, an annular eclipse on the nineteenth of April, the path of annular eclipse grazing the

North Pole The North Pole, also known as the Geographic North Pole or Terrestrial North Pole, is the point in the Northern Hemisphere where the Earth's axis of rotation meets its surface. It is called the True North Pole to distinguish from the Mag ...

of the

earth Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to harbor life. While large volumes of water can be found throughout the Solar System, only Earth sustains liquid surface water. About 71% of Earth's surfa ...

, and a total eclipse on the twelfth of October, the total path crossing near the

South Pole The South Pole, also known as the Geographic South Pole, Terrestrial South Pole or 90th Parallel South, is one of the two points where Earth's axis of rotation intersects its surface. It is the southernmost point on Earth and lies antipod ...

. The

heliocentric Heliocentrism (also known as the Heliocentric model) is the astronomical model in which the Earth and planets revolve around the Sun at the center of the universe. Historically, heliocentrism was opposed to geocentrism, which placed the Earth at ...

longitudes of the

planet A planet is a large, rounded astronomical body that is neither a star nor its remnant. The best available theory of planet formation is the nebular hypothesis, which posits that an interstellar cloud collapses out of a nebula to create a you ...

s on the first of January at zero-hours Greenwich time were as follows: : Planet * Mercury * Venus * Earth * Mars * Jupiter * Saturn * Uranus * Neptune * Pluto degrees : 175 : 124 : 99 : 192 : 339 : 17 : 46 : 171 : 120 minutes : 55 : 43 : 40 : 4 : 12 : 30 : 23 : 32 : 17 seconds : 42 : 32 : 29 : 2 : 22 : 45 : 31 : 3 : 0 The mean position of the

North Star Polaris is a star in the northern circumpolar constellation of Ursa Minor. It is designated α Ursae Minoris ( Latinized to ''Alpha Ursae Minoris'') and is commonly called the North Star or Pole Star. With an apparent magnitude that ...

Polaris Polaris is a star in the northern circumpolar constellation of Ursa Minor. It is designated α Ursae Minoris ( Latinized to ''Alpha Ursae Minoris'') and is commonly called the North Star or Pole Star. With an apparent magnitude that ...

(Alpha Ursae Minoris) on the first of January was

Right Ascension Right ascension (abbreviated RA; symbol ) is the angular distance of a particular point measured eastward along the celestial equator from the Sun at the March equinox to the (hour circle of the) point in question above the earth. When paired w ...

, 1 hour, 41 minutes, 59 seconds; North Polar distance, 1 degree, 1 minute, and 33.8 seconds. Astronomers of the early twentieth century determined that such a combination of astronomical events is unlikely to recur for many thousands of years. It is thought that this information will allow people of the future to determine the number of years that have elapsed since the capsule was buried by computing backward from their time.

Location of the two time capsules

Time Capsule I was lowered at noon on September 23, 1938, the precise moment of the Autumnal Equinox. The latitude and longitude coordinates of its burying place, as determined by the

U.S. National Geodetic Survey The National Geodetic Survey (NGS) is a United States federal agency that defines and manages a national coordinate system, providing the foundation for transportation and communication; mapping and charting; and a large number of applications ...

, was recorded in the ''Book of Record'' as within . The coordinates lead to The Westinghouse Time Capsule. The time capsule will likely move vertically or horizontally for geological reasons, so an alternate

electromagnetic field An electromagnetic field (also EM field or EMF) is a classical (i.e. non-quantum) field produced by (stationary or moving) electric charges. It is the field described by classical electrodynamics (a classical field theory) and is the classical c ...

method was provided. This method involves constructing a loop of wire in diameter and putting an

alternating current Alternating current (AC) is an electric current which periodically reverses direction and changes its magnitude continuously with time in contrast to direct current (DC) which flows only in one direction. Alternating current is the form in whic ...

(between 1,000 and 5,000

hertz The hertz (symbol: Hz) is the unit of frequency in the International System of Units (SI), equivalent to one event (or cycle) per second. The hertz is an SI derived unit whose expression in terms of SI base units is s−1, meaning that on ...

) through it with a power of at least 200

watt The watt (symbol: W) is the unit of power or radiant flux in the International System of Units (SI), equal to 1 joule per second or 1 kg⋅m2⋅s−3. It is used to quantify the rate of energy transfer. The watt is named after James Wa ...

s. A secondary loop of wire, about in diameter, will detect a "distortion field", thus indicating the exact location of the two metal alloy time capsules, assuming no other large metal objects are in the vicinity. At the close of the 1965 World's Fair, a seven-ton "permanent sentinel" granite monument, made by the Rock of Ages Corporation, was installed. The shaft was filled using pitch, concrete and earth, and the monument placed to mark the position where the two time capsules are buried.Time capsule II deposited for 5,000 years at world's fair
''The New York Times'' archive. October 16, 1965. Retrieved October 17, 2016. The elevation of Flushing Meadows is approximately 7 feet above sea level. It is estimated that, without human intervention, this area will be underwater in 5,000 years due to global

climate change In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to E ...

. File:1939 Marker of Westinghouse Time Capsule.jpg, 1938 File:Time Capsule monument (far).jpg, 1965

Messages

The ''Book of Record'', a copy of which was microfilmed and put inside Time Capsule I, contains written messages from three important men of the time:

Albert Einstein Albert Einstein ( ; ; 14 March 1879 – 18 April 1955) was a German-born theoretical physicist, widely acknowledged to be one of the greatest and most influential physicists of all time. Einstein is best known for developing the theory ...

's message, Albert Einstein signature

''Our time is rich in inventive minds, the inventions of which could facilitate our lives considerably. We are crossing the seas by power and utilise power also in order to relieve humanity from all tiring muscular work. We have learned to fly and we are able to send messages and news without any difficulty over the entire world through electric waves. However, the production and distribution of commodities is entirely unorganised so that everybody must live in fear of being eliminated from the economic cycle, in this way suffering for the want of everything. Further more, people living in different countries kill each other at irregular time intervals, so that also for this reason any one who thinks about the future must live in fear and terror. This is due to the fact that the intelligence and character of the masses are incomparably lower than the intelligence and character of the few who produce some thing valuable for the community. I trust that posterity will read these statements with a feeling of proud and justified superiority.''

Robert Andrews Millikan Robert Andrews Millikan (March 22, 1868 – December 19, 1953) was an American experimental physicist honored with the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1923 for the measurement of the elementary electric charge and for his work on the photoelectric e ...

's message, Robert A Millikan signature

''At this moment, August 22, 1938, the principles of representative ballot government, such as are represented by the governments of the Anglo-Saxon, French, and Scandinavian countries, are in deadly conflict with the principles of despotism, which up to two centuries ago had controlled the destiny of man throughout practically the whole of recorded history. If the rational, scientific, progressive principles win out in this struggle there is a possibility of a warless, golden age ahead for mankind. If the reactionary principles of despotism triumph now and in the future, the future history of mankind will repeat the sad story of war and oppression as in the past.''

Thomas Mann Paul Thomas Mann ( , ; ; 6 June 1875 – 12 August 1955) was a German novelist, short story writer, social critic, philanthropist, essayist, and the 1929 Nobel Prize in Literature laureate. His highly symbolic and ironic epic novels and novella ...

's message, Thomas Mann signature

''We know now that the idea of the future as a "better world" was a fallacy of the doctrine of progress. The hopes we center on you, citizens of the future, are in no way exaggerated. In broad outline, you will actually resemble us very much as we resemble those who lived a thousand, or five thousand, years ago. Among you too the spirit will fare badly. It should never fare too well on this earth, otherwise men would need it no longer. That optimistic conception of the future is a projection into time of an endeavor which does not belong to the temporal world, the endeavor on the part of man to approximate to his idea of himself, the humanization of man. What we, in this year of Our Lord 1938, understand by the term "culture" a notion held in small esteem today by certain nations of the western world is simply this endeavor. What we call the spirit is identical with it, too. Brothers of the future, united with us in the spirit and in this endeavor, we send our greetings.''

The term "time capsule" was coined by Pendray for the 1939 World's Fair Westinghouse exhibit in

for objects of the time placed in a tube for people of the future.

Inscription on the time capsules

The exterior of the 1938 time capsule is die-stamped with this message to anyone who might stumble upon it prior to the scheduled opening year of 6939. Westinghouse timecapsule replica4

TIME CAPSULE OF CUPALOY, DEPOSITED ON THE SITE OF THE NEW YORK WORLD'S FAIR ON SEPTEMBER 23,1938,
BY THE WESTINGHOUSE ELECTRIC & MANUFACTURING COMPANY. IF ANYONE SHOULD COME UPON THIS CAPSULE
BEFORE THE YEAR A. D. 6939 LET HIM NOT WANTONLY DISTURB IT, FOR TO DO SO WOULD BE TO DEPRIVE THE
PEOPLE OF THAT ERA OF THE LEGACY HERE LEFT THEM. CHERISH IT THEREFORE IN A SAFE PLACE.

The 1965 time capsule exterior has no message. An exact duplicate of the capsule's articles resides at the Heinz History Center beside a replica capsule of Time Capsule I.

Future languages

The ''Book of Record'' requests that its contents be translated into new languages as they develop.Westinghouse (1939), p. 13 It contains a key with illustrations devised by Dr.

John P. Harrington John Peabody Harrington (April 29, 1884 – October 21, 1961) was an American linguist and ethnologist and a specialist in the indigenous peoples of California. Harrington is noted for the massive volume of his documentary output, most of which h ...

of the

Smithsonian Institution The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums and education and research centers, the largest such complex in the world, created by the U.S. government "for the increase and diffusion of knowledge". Founded ...

to help future

archaeologists Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscap ...

with the English language, since it was felt that existing languages could be lost. It also includes an illustration showing exactly where each of the 33 sounds of 1938 English are formed in the oral cavity in what Dr. Harrington refers to as a "mouth map." File:1938 stickmen.jpg, Illustration of 1938 English to people of 70th century File:Mauth Maep.jpg, File:1938 Comparison.jpg, 1938 English to people of the 70th century showing comparisons File:1938 Tenses.jpg, 1938 English to people of the 70th century showing

grammatical tense In grammar, tense is a grammatical category, category that expresses time reference. Tenses are usually manifested by the use of specific forms of verbs, particularly in their grammatical conjugation, conjugation patterns. The main tenses foun ...

s File:Person-Remoteness.jpg, 1938 English to people of the 70th century showing relationships File:1938 Opposites.jpg, 1938 English to people of the 70th century showing

opposites Opposite or Opposites may refer to: * Opposite (semantics), a word that means the reverse of a word * Opposite (leaf), an arrangement of leaves on a stem * Opposite (mathematics), the negative of a number; numbers that, when added, yield zero *" ...

References

Sources

* * *

External links

A Moment in TimeEncyclopedia of library and information scienceNew York's sacred meadow (The vital legacy of the Westinghouse time capsules)Time capsule descriptions in the 1965 New York World's Fair Official Guide brochure
{{Flushing Meadows-Corona Park Time capsules World's fairs in New York City 1939 in the United States 1964 in the United States Buildings and structures in Queens, New York 1939 New York World's Fair 1964 New York World's Fair Flushing Meadows–Corona Park Westinghouse Electric Company