WestinghouseTimeCapsules

Coordinates:404434.09N735043.84W

FromWikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia

TheWestinghouseTimeCapsulesaretwotimecapsulespreparedbythe
WestinghouseElectric&ManufacturingCompany:"TimeCapsuleI",createdforthe
1939NewYorkWorld'sFairand"TimeCapsuleII",createdforthe1964NewYork
World'sFair.Bothareburied50feetbelowFlushingMeadowsCoronaPark,thesite
ofbothworld'sfairs,the1965capsule10feetnorthofthe1939one.Botharetobe
openedatthesametimeintheyear6939,fivethousandyearsafterthefirstcapsulewas
sealed.[1]

Contents
1 Construction
2 CapsuleContents
2.1 1939"TimeCapsuleI"
2.2 1965"TimeCapsuleII"
3 BookofRecord
4 Locationofthetwotimecapsules
5 Messages
6 InscriptiononTimeCapsules
7 Futurelanguages
8 Gallery
9 Seealso
10 References
11 Furtherreading
12 Externallinks

Westinghouse's196465
World'sFairtimecapsuleexhibit

Construction
Thetwotimecapsulesarebulletshaped,measure90inches(2.29m)inlength,and
haveanexteriorcasingofabouteightandthreeeighthsinches(21.1cm)indiameter.[2]
TimeCapsuleIweighsabout800pounds(363kg),whileTimeCapsuleIIweighs
abouthalfthat.[3]
TimeCapsuleIwasmadeofanonferrousalloycalledCupaloy,createdespeciallyfor
thisproject.Designedtoresistcorrosionfor5,000years,thealloywasmadeof99.4%
copper,0.5%chromium,and0.1%silver.[4]Westinghouseclaimsithasthesame
strengthassteel,yetwillresistmostcorrosionoverthousandsofyearslikecopper,
becauseitbecomesananodeinelectrolyticreactions,receivingdepositsinsteadof
wastingawaylikemostironbearingmetals.[5]TimeCapsuleIIwasmadeofastainless
1939TimeCapsulesketch
steelmetalcalled"Kromarc",suppliedbyU.S.Steel.[6]WestinghouseResearch
Laboratoriesdeterminedwithextensivechemicaltestingthatthisnewsuperstainless
steelalloywouldresistcorrosionmuchlikethealloythatwasusedforTimeCapsuleI.[7]InventedbyFrederickCharles
Hull,[8]Kromarc55StainlessSteeliscomposedof52.60%iron,21.24%nickel,15.43%chromium,8.20%manganese,2.15%
molybdenum,0.22%silicon,0.05%carbon,0.013%phosphorus,and0.012%sulfur.
Thecontentsforthetimecapsulesweresealedinsideaninsulatedairtightglassenvelopewithaninteriordiameterofsixanda
halfinches(16.5cm)andalengthofabout81inches(2m).[2]TheinterioroftheglassenvelopeofCapsuleIwasfilledwith
nitrogen.[2]TheinterioroftheglassenvelopeofCapsuleIIwasfilledwiththeinertgasargon.Theterm"timecapsule"was
coinedbyGeorgeEdwardPendrayfortheNewYork1939World'sFairWestinghouseexhibit.

CapsuleContents
1939"TimeCapsuleI"
Amongthe35small,everyday,physicalitemsplacedinsideTimeCapsuleIwereafountainpenandanalphabetblockset.
TimeCapsuleIalsocontained75typesoffabrics,metals,plastics,andseeds.Modernliterature,contemporaryart,andnews
eventsofthetwentiethcenturywererecordedonamicrofilm"MicroFile"forplacementinTimeCapsuleIthe"MicroFile"
hasovertenmillionwordsandathousandpicturesandcamewithasmallmicroscopeforviewing.Therearealsoinstructions
includedonhowtomakebothalargemicrofilmviewerandamotionpictureprojectorforthenewsreels.

AlsoincludedwerecopiesofLifemagazine,akewpiedoll,onedollarinchange,apackofCamelcigarettes,a15minuteRKO
PathePicturesnewsreel,aLillyDachehatandmillionsofwordsoftextputonmicrofilmrollswhichincludedaSears
Roebuckcatalog,adictionary,andanalmanac.Seedsplacedinthetimecapsuleincludedwheat,corn,oats,tobacco,cotton,
flax,rice,soybeans,alfalfa,sugarbeets,carrots,andbarley,allsealedinglasstubes.
Theitemsthatwereselectedtobeputinsidewerebaseduponhowwelltheychronicled20thcenturylifeintheUnited
States.[9]DuringpackagingofthecontentsunderthedirectionofrepresentativesoftheUnitedStatesNationalBureauof
Standards,eachobjectwasexaminedtodeterminewhetheritcouldbeexpectedtolast5,000years.[10]Theinteriorcapsule
itemswereselectedsotheywerenotinteractiveandwouldnotdecomposeintoharmfulgasesoracids.Organicitems(e.g.
seeds)werecarefullyplacedinsealedglassvials.[11]
Therewerefivemaincategoriesofobjectstobeputinside:
Smallarticlesofcommonuse
Textilesandmaterials
Miscellaneousitems
Essayinmicrofilm
RKOnewsreel

1965"TimeCapsuleII"
Again,therewerefivemaincategoriesof
objectstobeputinside:
Articlesincommonuse
Atomicenergy
Scientificdevelopments
Space
Other
The"other"categoryincludedimagesofa
guestbooksignedbyvisitorstothe
Westinghousepavilionexhibitatthe1964
fair.Signersreceivedtinpins,about30mm
(1.2inches)across(roughlythesizeofan
Americanfiftycentpiece),thatsaid,My
nameisintheWestinghouseTimeCapsule
forthenext5,000years.Thebook'spages
werephotographedontoacetatemicrofilmandthemessageinabottleplacedinthePyrexglassinteriorshellofthetime
capsule.Theoriginal1965capsulewasthenburiedforposteritywithanexactduplicateofarticlesina"window"replicanow
residingattheHeinzHistoryCenterbesideitssisterreplicacapsuleofcupaloy.

BookofRecord
ThecontentsofTimeCapsuleIwererecordedinaBookofRecordof
theTimeCapsuleofcupaloydeemedcapableofresistingtheeffectsof
timeforfivethousandyears,preservinganaccountofuniversal
achievements,embeddedinthegroundsoftheNewYorkWorld'sFair
1939.

Coverof
bluebuckram

ThepurposeoftheBookofRecordistopreserveknowledgeofthe
existenceofthetimecapsulefor5,000years,andtoprovideassistance
tothepeopleoftheyear6939inlocatingandrecoveringit.Someone
perhapsmightfindoneofthemorethan3,000copiesoftheBookof
Recorddistributedtomuseums,monasteries,andlibraries
worldwide.[12]Inordertoavoidconfusionaboutthe1965timecapsule,
asupplementannouncingTimeCapsuleIIwassenttotheoriginal3,000
depositoriesofthe1938BookofRecord.[13]

Handmade
papercover

Shouldallpresentdaymethodsofdeterminingtimebelost,thenthetimeforwhatisnowcalled
1939CommonEracanberecognizedbycalculationfromastronomicaldata.Intheyear1939,thereweretwoeclipsesofthe
moon,fallingonthethirdofMayandthetwentyeighthofOctober.Alsothereweretwoeclipsesofthesun,anannulareclipse
onthenineteenthofApril,thepathofannulareclipsegrazingtheNorthPoleoftheearth,andatotaleclipseonthetwelfthof
October,thetotalpathcrossingneartheSouthPole.TheheliocentriclongitudesoftheplanetsonthefirstofJanuaryatzero
hoursGreenwichtimewereasfollows:[4]
Planet
Mercury

degrees
175

minutes

seconds

55

42

Venus
Earth
Mars
Jupiter
Saturn
Uranus
Neptune
Pluto

124
99
192
339
17
46
171
120

43
40
4
12
30
23
32
17

32
29
2
22
45
31
3
0

ThemeanpositionoftheNorthStarPolaris(AlphaUrsaeMinoris)onthefirstofJanuarywasRightAscension,1hour,41
minutes,59secondsNorthPolardistance,1hour,1minute,and33.8seconds.Astronomersoftheearlytwentiethcentury
determinedthatsuchacombinationofastronomicaleventsisunlikelytorecurformanythousandsofyears.Thepeopleofthe
futurewillthereforebeabletodeterminethenumberofyearsthathaveelapsedsincethecapsulewasburiedbycomputing
backwardfromtheirtime.[14]

Locationofthetwotimecapsules
The1938timecapsuleofcupaloywasloweredathighnoononSeptember23,1938,the
precisemomentoftheAutumnalEquinox.Itslatitudeandlongitudecoordinatesofthe
buryingplaceasdeterminedbytheU.S.NationalGeodeticSurveywasrecordedinthe
BookofRecordoftheTimeCapsuleofcupaloytowithinaninch(2.5cm).[14]Thetime
capsulewilllikelymoveverticallyorhorizontallyforgeologicalreasons,[14]soan
alternateelectromagneticfieldmethodisprovidedforlocating.Itinvolvesconstructinga
loopofwire10feetindiameterandputtinganalternatingcurrentofbetween1,000and
5,000hertzthroughitwithapowerofatleast200watts.Thenthedetectionofa
"distortionfield"withtheuseofasecondaryloopofwireaboutafootindiameterwill
indicatetheexactlocationofthetwometalalloytimecapsules,assumingnootherlarge
metalobjectsareinthevicinity.[15]
Atthecloseofthe1965World'sFair,aseventon"permanentsentinel"granitemonument
madebytheRockofAgesCorporationwasinstalledusingpitch,concreteandearthtofill
the50footsteelshaft,markingthepositionwherethetwotimecapsulesareburied.[3][16]
1939Westinghouseexhibit

1938

1965

Messages
TheBookofRecordoftheTimeCapsule,ofwhichacopywasmicrofilmedandputinsideTimeCapsuleI,containswritten
messagesfromthreeimportantmenofthetime:
AlbertEinstein'smessage,
Ourtimeisrichininventiveminds,theinventionsofwhichcouldfacilitateourlives
considerably.Wearecrossingtheseasbypowerandutilisepoweralsoinordertorelieve
humanityfromalltiringmuscularwork.Wehavelearnedtoflyandweareabletosend
messagesandnewswithoutanydifficultyovertheentireworldthroughelectricwaves.
However,theproductionanddistributionofcommoditiesisentirelyunorganisedsothat
everybodymustliveinfearofbeingeliminatedfromtheeconomiccycle,inthiswaysuffering
forthewantofeverything.Furthermore,peoplelivingindifferentcountrieskilleachotherat
irregulartimeintervals,sothatalsoforthisreasonanyonewhothinksaboutthefuturemust
liveinfearandterror.Thisisduetothefactthattheintelligenceandcharacterofthemasses
areincomparablylowerthantheintelligenceandcharacterofthefewwhoproducesome
thingvaluableforthecommunity.Itrustthatposteritywillreadthesestatementswitha
feelingofproudandjustifiedsuperiority.
RobertAndrewsMillikan'smessage,

Atthismoment,August22,1938,theprinciplesofrepresentativeballotgovernment,suchasarerepresentedby
thegovernmentsoftheAngloSaxon,French,andScandinaviancountries,areindeadlyconflictwiththe
principlesofdespotism,whichuptotwocenturiesagohadcontrolledthedestinyofmanthroughoutpractically
thewholeofrecordedhistory.Iftherational,scientific,progressiveprincipleswinoutinthisstrugglethereisa
possibilityofawarless,goldenageaheadformankind.Ifthereactionaryprinciplesofdespotismtriumphnow
andinthefuture,thefuturehistoryofmankindwillrepeatthesadstoryofwarandoppressionasinthepast.
ThomasMann'smessage,
Weknownowthattheideaofthefutureasa"betterworld"wasafallacyofthedoctrineof
progress.Thehopeswecenteronyou,citizensofthefuture,areinnowayexaggerated.In
broadoutline,youwillactuallyresembleusverymuchasweresemblethosewholiveda
thousand,orfivethousand,yearsago.Amongyoutoothespiritwillfarebadly.Itshould
neverfaretoowellonthisearth,otherwisemenwouldneeditnolonger.Thatoptimistic
conceptionofthefutureisaprojectionintotimeofanendeavorwhichdoesnotbelongtothe
temporalworld,theendeavoronthepartofmantoapproximatetohisideaofhimself,the
humanizationofman.Whatwe,inthisyearofOurLord1938,understandbytheterm
"culture"anotionheldinsmallesteemtodaybycertainnationsofthewesternworldis
simplythisendeavor.Whatwecallthespiritisidenticalwithit,too.Brothersofthefuture,
unitedwithusinthespiritandinthisendeavor,wesendourgreetings.

InscriptiononTimeCapsules
Theexteriorofthe1938timecapsuleisdiestampedwiththismessagetoanyonethatmightstumbleuponitpriortothe
scheduledopeningyearof6939topreserveitsintegrity.[17]

TIMECAPSULEOFCUPALOY,DEPOSITEDONTHESITEOFTHENEWYORKWORLD'SFAIRONSEPTEMBER23,1938,
BYTHEWESTINGHOUSEELECTRIC&MANUFACTURINGCOMPANY.IFANYONESHOULDCOMEUPONTHIS
CAPSULE
BEFORETHEYEARA.D.6939LETHIMNOTWANTONLYDISTURBIT,FORTODOSOWOULDBETODEPRIVETHE
PEOPLEOFTHATERAOFTHELEGACYHERELEFTTHEM.CHERISHITTHEREFOREINASAFEPLACE.

The1965timecapsuleexteriorhasnomessage.

Futurelanguages
TheBookofRecordrequeststhatitscontentsbetranslatedintonewlanguagesastheydevelop.[18]Itcontainsakeywith
illustrationsdevisedbyDr.JohnP.HarringtonoftheSmithsonianInstitutiontohelpfuturearchaeologistswiththeEnglish
language,[19]sinceitwasfeltthatallexistinglanguageswillbelost.[20]Italsoincludesanillustrationshowingexactlywhere
eachofthe33soundsof1938EnglishareformedintheoralcavityinwhatDr.Harringtonreferstoasa"mouthmap."[21]

MouthMap

Gallery

TheWestinghouse
5000yearpinaward

BothWestinghouse
timecapsulereplicas

TimeCapsuleI(1938)

Inspectorsofthe1938
capsule

1939capsulebegins
descending

Moltencupaloyof
1938timecapsule

1939timecapsule
beinglowered

1938capsulecontents
list

LillyDacheputsthe
lastitem,ahat,intothe
1938Westinghouse
TimeCapsule.

1938timecapsule
replica

interiorcomponents

Seealso
Listoftimecapsules
KEO
Expo'70
Timecapsule
7thmillennium
CryptofCivilization
InternationalTimeCapsuleSociety
Timelineofinstallationandopeningdates

References
1.Westinghouse(1938),p.6
2.Westinghouse(1938),p.8
3.PressReleaseOctober16,1965(htt
p://www.nytimes.com/specials/magazi
ne3/release.html)
4.Westinghouse(1938),p.10
5.Westinghouse(1939),p.10

6.PressreleaseSaturday,October16,
1965(http://www.nytimes.com/special
s/magazine3/release.html)
7.WestinghouseCommemorative
Brochure(http://www.nytimes.com/sp
ecials/magazine3/brochure.html)

8.MetallographyDr.FrederickCharles
Hull(http://books.google.com/books?i
d=muV1h4Ddn4wC&pg=PA58&lpg=
PA58&dq=kromarc+frederick+charles
+hull&source=web&ots=U2ak6S3fDn
&sig=gi1ylAokATKeiYgVPk8LHq3y
kQ)

9.CompleteContentsListof1939Time
Capsule(http://www.nytimes.com/spe
cials/magazine3/items.html)
10.Westinghouse(1939),p.16
11.TimeCapsule1939(http://davidszond
y.com/future/timecapsule/timecapsule1
939.htm)
12.Westinghouse(1939),pp1113

13.WestinghouseTimeCapsule1964(htt
p://davidszondy.com/future/timecapsul
e/timecapsule1964.htm)
14.Westinghouse(1938),p.11
15.Westinghouse(1938),pp.3941
16.PermanentSentinel(http://www.nytim
es.com/specials/magazine3/brochure.ht
ml#Permanent%20Sentinel)

17.Westinghouse(1938),p.9
18.Westinghouse(1939),p.13
19.Westinghouse(1938),pp.2037
20.Westinghouse(1938),p.19
21.Westinghouse(1938),p.22

Furtherreading
WestinghouseElectricandManufacturingCompany,TheBookofRecordofthetimecapsuleofcupaloy(1938),public
domainPDF(http://www.archive.org/details/timecapsulecups00westrich)
WestinghouseElectricandManufacturingCompany,TheStoryofWestinghouseTimeCapsuleofcupaloy(1939),public
domainPDF(http://www.scribd.com/doc/526521/TheStoryoftheWestinghouseTimeCapsule1939NewYorkWorld
sFair?query2=westinghouse+hipersil+s)
OfficialSouvenirBook.NewYorkWorld'sFair1964/1965.TimeLife,Inc.1964.
OfficialGuide,NewYorkWorld'sFair1964/1965.TimeLifeBooks.TimeLife,Inc.1964.
OfficialGuide,NewYorkWorld'sFair1965.AllNewfor1965.TimeLifeBooks.TimeLife,Inc.1965.
Jarvis,WilliamTimeCapsules:ACulturalHistory(2002)ISBN0786412615
Jacobs,ThornwellStepDownDr.Jacobs:TheAutobiographyofanAutocrat.Atlanta,1945.
Hilton,SuzanneHereTodayandGoneTomorrow.TheStoryofWorld'sFairsandExpositions.WestminsterPressBooks.
1978
WestinghouseTimeCapsuleIcolorvideowithdetailsofthecontents(circa1939)fromYouTube(http://www.youtube.c
om/watch?v=L3Cke2wm6T8)
NewYorkTimesMovieofthe1964NewYorkWorld'sFaircontentsofWestinghouseTimeCapsuleII(http://www.nyti
mes.com/specials/magazine3/capsule2.mov)
NewsreelfootageofWestinghouse'sTimeCapsuleIIbeingloweredintoitsrestingplace50feetbelowFlushing
Meadows,Oct.16,1965(http://www.nytimes.com/specials/magazine3/capsule.mov)

Externallinks
AMomentinTime(http://www.nywf64.com/perspective02.shtml)
WikimediaCommonshas
Amessagetothefuture(http://pwp.netcabo.pt/0256503202/stories/stories_messa
mediarelatedto
ge_future.htm)
Westinghousetimecapsule.
TimeCapsules:RemainsoftheDay(http://hnn.us/articles/292.html)
TheNewYorkWorld'sFairCommunity(http://www.peacethroughunderstanding.com/)
Photosofitemsinthe1939timecapsule(http://www.1939nyworldsfair.com/worlds_fair/wf_tour/zone5/timecapsule.ht
m)
Encyclopediaoflibraryandinformationscience(http://books.google.com/books?id=sFqds9V6heMC&pg=PA338&lpg=
PA338&dq=cupaloy+is+the+name+given+by+westinghouse+for+the+1939+new+york+world's+fair+time+capsule&so
urce=web&ots=SuzRt1SGE&sig=qvDcVZJ7GNrokcOlp34QSNjZoAQ#PPA338,M1)
ThebookofrecordofthetimecapsuleofCupaloy(http://www.archive.org/details/timecapsulecups00westrich)
ABriefHistoryOfTimeCapsulesByJeremyOlshan(http://www.queenstribune.com/archives/anniversaryarchive/anniv
ersary98/tb_an_capsules.html)
TimeCapsules:ACulturalHistoryByWilliamE.Jarvis(http://books.google.com/books?id=xEN7oW2J3acC&pg=PA1
55&lpg=PA155&dq=cupaloy+is+the+name+given+by+westinghouse+for+the+1939+new+york+world's+fair+time+cap
sule&source=web&ots=iudtH7kvWP&sig=yVS1WShyX9FZyNgg3FleGg1f4I#PPA155,M1)
CompleteContentsListofthe1939and1965TimeCapsule(http://davidszondy.com/future/timecapsule/timecontents.ht
m#list)
TheStoryoftheWestinghouseTimeCapsule1939NewYork'sWorld'sFair(http://www.scribd.com/doc/526521/The
StoryoftheWestinghouseTimeCapsule1939NewYorkWorldsFair?query2=PICTURES+1939+Westinghouse+Tim
e+Capsule+)
NewYork'ssacredmeadow(ThevitallegacyoftheWestinghousetimecapsules)(http://www.nywf64.com/berger01.sht
ml)
Timecapsuledescriptionsinthe1965NewYorkWorld'sFairOfficialGuidebrochure(http://www.nywf64.com/weshou
01.shtml)
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Categories: Timecapsules World'sfairsinNewYorkCity 1939intheUnitedStates 1964intheUnitedStates
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