Putting the Past into the Future from the Present Part 2

A Time Capsule Part2

My definition: -

Programming Tomorrow from Yesterday to a length of time in the Future, whilst you are in the Present:

This means, taking from our past to their future whilst going though Your present.

A time capsule is a historic cache of goods and/or information, usually intended as a method of communication with people in the future. Time capsules are sometimes created and buried during celebrations such as a World Fair, cornerstone laying for a building or other event. They can also be unintended caches such as at Pompeii. The phrase "time capsule" has been in use since about 1937, but the idea is as old as the earliest human civilizations in Mesopotamia.

A small history of HMAS Sydney

During 1941, the cruiser carried out escort and patrol duties in the Indian Ocean and around Australian waters. In November, on one such patrol, she escorted the troopship Zealandia to the Sunda Strait where she handed her over to HMS Durban. On 17 November, HMAS Sydney sailed south for Fremantle.

Two days later, on 19 November, and according to the Kormoran accounts, Sydney sighted the Kormoran, disguised as a Dutch merchant ship, approximately 240 kilometres south-west of Carnarvon, Western Australia, and both ships altered course. The Kormoran increased engine speed on a reverse course while the Sydney headed towards the raider. When the Kormoran was asked to identify itself it instead hoisted the signal identifying the ship as the Straat Malakka but, unable to read the flags, Sydney sent another signal requesting that they hoist the signal letters more clearly. The commanding officer of Kormoran, Commander Theodor Detmers, was unable to respond to the Sydney's request for the Straat Malakka's secret signal. As the distance between the two ships narrowed he apparently struck the Dutch flag, hoisted the German colours and, already at action stations, fired at the ill-prepared Australian cruiser at almost point-blank range. The Sydney's bridge and director tower were hit within seconds and for 30 minutes the two ships fired guns and torpedoes at each other.

Gallery

By 6.00 pm, the crippled Sydney sat low in the water with its forward area ablaze as it staggered away from the enemy. At 6.25 pm, despite their own difficulties, the Germans fired one last shot at the departing Australians who by now were about 10 kilometres away. Detmers then concentrated on abandoning his own ship, sending most of the crew off by 9.00 pm. At midnight, the last of the crew cast off after igniting scuttling charges and the Kormoran sank half an hour later. The wreck of neither ship has been located.

Some famous Time Capsules

The Helium Centennial Time Columns Monument located in Amarillo (Texas) holds 4 time capsules in stainless steel that should be opened after duration of 25, 50, and 100 and 1000 years after they were locked in 1968.

What we now think of as a "time capsule" has more recent origins. In 1937, during preparations for the 1939 New York World's Fair, someone suggested burying a "time bomb" for 5,000 years (until 6939)-the less inflammatory name of "time capsule" was suggested, and the name has stuck since. The 1939 New York World's Fair time capsule was created by Westinghouse as part of their exhibit, measuring 90", 800 pounds, and had an interior diameter of 6.5 inches. Westinghouse named the copper, chromium and silver alloy "Cupaloy", claiming it had the same strength of mild steel. It contained everyday items such as a spool of thread and doll, a Book of Record (description of the capsule and its creators), a vial of staple food crop seeds, a microscope and a 15-minute RKO Pathe Pictures newsreel. Microfilm spools condensed the contents of a Sears Roebuck catalog, dictionary, almanac, and other texts. This first modern time capsule was followed in 1965 by a second capsule at the same site, but 10 feet to the north of the original. Both capsules are buried 50 feet below Flushing Meadows Park, site of the Fair. Both the 1939 and 1965 Westinghouse Time Capsules are meant to be opened in 6939.

In 1976, someone asked this important gentleman to write a letter for a Time Capsule that is going to be opened in Los Angeles a hundred years from now, on their Tricentennial. If you have not bothered to supply an answer here is the Name

Ronald Reagan speech at 1976 Republican Convention, after failing to receive his party's Presidential nomination. He did win the Presidential Election in 1980.

The Crypt of Civilization at Oglethorpe University.

The 1990 edition of the Guinness Book of World Records called the Crypt of Civilization at Oglethorpe University "...the first successful attempt to bury a record for any future inhabitants..."

In the November 1936 issue of Scientific American magazine, Dr. Thornwell Jacobs described his plan to create a permanent record - a time capsule - of what life was like on Earth for any future inhabitants.

Because the first known date in recorded history, 4241 B.C., was 6177 years previous, Jacobs suggested that the Crypt be sealed until 6177 years have passed - thus setting the date for the Crypt's reopening in the year 8113.

The Crypt was officially sealed in 1940.

Oglethorpe University is proud to be the custodian of the Crypt. Oglethorpe's administration continues its stewardship and the challenge of keeping alive the memory of this remarkable Georgia time capsule.

The Crypt of Civilization has been featured in stories by the Associated Press, NBC, ABC, CNN, National Public Radio, the New York Times, and other publications. If you are a member of the press and would like further information about the Crypt or are interested in scheduling an interview, please contact Oglethorpe University's Public Relations office

Val and I visited this site many years ago and Son three actually went there 18 months ago.

Roosevelt Inn Black Hills Guide

Because this web site is not a "profit center" we give equal weight to both the free stuff and the commercial attractions. We judge things by what we think is worth seeing. That's why some heavily advertised attraction might get only a paragraph while something you may never have heard about can get a full page.

Other web sites charge for listing or list only their members' sites. They will not tell you about interesting places like the Stratobowl, The Red Cloud Heritage Center, the free Custer County Courthouse Museum or the Ft. Meade Calvary Museum which do not pay them or belong to their organizatioins.

There are some things we intentionally do not list. The locations of ancient Native American petrographs, fossile beds, fragile natural formations, numerous mine ruins, and ghost towns have been left out. These places, though immensely interesting, are by their nature fragile, often endangered, and of little or only passing interest to most Black Hills visitors. Many are also located on private land and not open to the public. Finally we do not list other hotels or lodging or eating places. For us to give our opinions of our competitors might sound a little tacky, don't you think?

Our hope, of course, is that if you find this information useful, you might consider staying with us at the Roosevelt Inn when you visit the Black Hills. That, after all, the only way we make money. But we think you'll agree it's a soft sell. We put our name on each page but that's about it.

We don't advertise much, a few small ads in publications are about all, and we NEVER use billboards. (They're abhorrent and their ugliness detracts from the beauty of the Black Hills.

Every web site needs a place to put things that don't fit anywhere else. This is it: Here we've collected a few of the many items concerning the Black Hills that fall into the little-known, unusual, mythical and plain stupid facts and stories. Generally they are presented without any directions or further help whatsoever:

• Secret Chamber at Mt. Rushmore: True -- There is a 50-foot tunnel in a crevice behind Mt. Rushmore that was originally envisioned as a "Hall of Records" where copies of important United States documents and other artifacts were to be stored. The hall was never completed as envisioned; however the tunnel exists and a small cache of records was placed in a scaled-down version of the Hall in 1998 through the work of the Mt. Rushmore Historical Society. It is not open to the public. MORE
• Natural Bridges in the Black Hills: True -- There are at least five natural bridges in the Black Hills. The locations are not widely known. (Allegedly there are actually seven, but we have only been able to confirm five.) The Eye of the Needles along the Needles Highway in Custer State Park is one.

Ronald Reagan on Mt. Rushmore: False -- There is no plan

• to carve a likeness of Ronald Reagan, or any other figure for that matter, on Mt. Rushmore. There was never such a plan and this is just a persistent myth.
• Natural Face on Mt. Rushmore: True -- If you have a vivid imagination, you can make out what appears to be a native American likeness some distance on Lincoln's left. MORE
• Bill Clinton on Mt. Rushmore: ...., Maybe -- There is an out-crop known locally as Clinton's rock visible from Highway 244 on the backside of Mt. Rushmore. MORE
• Unexplored Caves: True -- The Black Hills has many unexplored caves and even most of the commercial caves and those in the national parks have not been fully explored.
• Bears in the Black Hills: Maybe -- For many, many years experts claimed there are no bears in the Black Hills, despite frequent reported sightings by members of the public. Now, in recent years, there is something of a consensus that there could, possibly, be a few bears in the Hills. Nobody is yet prepared to confirm any sightings.
• Moose in the Black Hills: False -- There are no known moose in the Black Hills. A tourist occasionally mistake large elk for moose, but the latter's range is farther north. Occasionally moose from Canada wander into parts of South Dakota -- one even wandered into Rapid City in 2003 and was promptly shot.
• Legend of Hugh Glass: True -- It would be difficult to embellish the true story of Hugh Glass, a mountain man who crawled a hundred miles across the South Dakota prairie in 1823 after nearly being killed by a grizzly bear. MORE
• Lost Gold in the Black Hills Part I: True -- Many Black Hills gold mines still contain significant quantities of gold. The most notable being Keystone's Holy Terror Mine which is said to be very rich. Many streams in the Hills still occasionally yield up specks of gold and some locals are avid gold panners.
• Lost Gold in the Black Hills Part II: Maybe -- There's a good story about a gang who held up a shipment of gold from the Homestake Mine in Deadwood from the famed "Monitor" armored stage. The robbers are said to have hid the gold somewhere in the Hills before vigilanties found and hung most of them. The missing gold, some 400 pounds, was never recovered. Or, was it? MORE
• Lost Gold in the Black Hills Part III: Indeed -- Legends of lost gold mines and strikes abound throughout the West, but in the Black Hills they actually may be true -- at least in part. First there is the legend of a cavern in Devil's Tower that was littered with gold nuggets and it's probably not true. However the riches of the old Holy Terror Mine remain underground to this day. MORE
• sent them on a wild goose chase to a location some 15 miles west of Deadwoon in an area near the present-day ghost town of Tinton. The idea was to get rid of them. It backfired. The seven black prospectors discovered a previously unknown and rich deposit which they worked for awhile then sold the claim, leaving the Black Hills as rich men.
• Hanging Tree in Rapid City: True -- The stump of a large old oak tree on Skyline Drive in Rapid City is said to be the remains of Rapid City's original "hanging tree." Whether or not that stump is the actual hanging tree is debatable. According to historical records, however, several people were indeed hung from an oak tree high on Skyline Drive for all to see. In fact hangings were fairly common in Western South Dakota in the early days.
• Robber's Graves: True -- On a gravel road near Sturgis just off Interstate 90 about a mile east of the Black Hills National Cemetery lies the grave of Wm. (Curley) Grimes, an infamous highwayman who was killed in 1879 near Hogan's Ranch by a posse. MORE "Lame Johnny" (mentioned elsewhere) is buried about 8 miles north of Buffalo Gap under the tree from which he was lynched.
• Custer's Last Stand: Not Here -- Although Gen. (actually Col.) George Armstrong Custer spent a lot of time in the Black Hills and South Dakota in 1874, his final battle was actually about 200 miles west in Montana in 1876.
• Black Hills Ghost Towns: True -- There are hundreds of ghost towns (and ghost mines) in the Black Hills. Most are very hard to find, as there is very little left in terms of physical remains. One, Spokane, on Playhouse Road just north of US 16A, is now a park and moderately well preserved.
• Seth Bullock's Ghost: Not Proven -- The Bullock Hotel in Deadwood has made a nice little business out of promoting the Ghost of Seth Bullock and other para-normal things. We're skeptical. Seth Bullock was indeed a real person who came to Deadwood during the 1876 gold rush and was also a real sheriff and friend of Theodore Roosevelt. He wasn't quite as depicted on the HBO television series, however.
• Calamity Jane & Wild Bill Hickok: False -- In later years, the woman known as Calamity Jane would have had it so, but she was never wife, lover or even girl friend of Wild Bill Hickok. Bill was a rather fastidious character who wouldn't have had much to do with Jane even if he had known her, and there's some doubt that he did. The only confirmed contact between the two was when they rode together on a wagon delivering a group of "ladies" to Deadwood in 1876. By the way, the pistol used by Jack McCall to shoot Wild Bill is now on display at the

Criticism

According to time capsule historian William Jarvis, most intentional time capsules usually do not provide much useful historical information. They are typically filled with "useless junk", new and pristine in condition, that tells little about the people of the time.^{[citation needed]} By comparison, Pompeii contains a wealth of material about daily life, such as graffiti on walls, food in hearths and the remains of people trapped under volcanic ash. Many time capsules today contain only artifacts of limited value to future historians. Historians suggest that items which describe the daily lives of the people, who created them, such as personal notes, pictures, and documents, would greatly increase the value of the time capsule to future historians.

If time capsules have a museum-like goal of preserving the culture of a particular time and place for study, they fulfill this goal very poorly in that they, by definition, are kept sealed for a particular length of time. Subsequent generations between the launch date and the target date will have no direct access to the artifacts and therefore these generations are prevented from learning from the contents directly. Therefore, Time Capsules can be seen, in respect to their usefulness to historians, as poorly implemented museums.

"What do you think should be included in a Time Capsule?"

Frank Shead

‘I admit that this is mainly paste and copy information.

There is no money attachment for MrMarmalade

Val and I visited this Roosevelt site many years ago and Son three actually went there 18 months ago.

Roosevelt Inn Black Hills Guide is there because we had a brochure from Son three.

I believe this is entertainment for every ones' enjoyment.

Google indicates that Letter boxes or Time capsules have sustained 30,000,000 odd hits plus.

This indicates some one is interested.'