Tulsa time capsule

Tulsa time capsule

I'm sure some of you may have come across it on the news but on June 15, 1957, they buried a pristine yellow and white 1957 Plymouth Belvedere in front of the courthouse lawn along with a few other items for a time capsule. (Note: Oklahoma became a state in 1907) They sealed the capsule in a cement vault which they claimed could withstand a nuclear attack. This vault and time capsule were not to be opened for 50 years.

Well on Friday June 15, 2007, they unearthed it and found the vault to be flooded with water. The car had been wrapped in three vacuum sealed layers but they tore around the edges of the car letting the water in and do its damage to the car. The time capsule however survived since it was in a seperate container. It had things in it such as a 48 star flag, city documents, yearbooks, phonebooks, photos of the city, etc. The car itself had a few things within itself as well, such as a case of Schlitz beer, gas and oil to use to start up the car just in case they weren't available in the future, the contents of a typical lady's purse, etc. In 1957, citizens of the city were to guess the population of Tulsa in 2007 and the closest to that number would win the car and a $100 savings bond plus 50 years interest. If they weren't alive by that time, it was to be held for their next of kin.

They displayed the car, its contents, and the time capsule contents in the convention center as the center piece to a classic car show. Here are the pictures I took:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/honzie101/sets/72157600383985371/

In 1998, Tulsa buried a brand new Plymouth Prowler in a pressurized aluminum vault. It will be unearthed in 2048. Only thing that sucks is this time, when they unearth the Prowler in 2048, the have to give it back to Diamler-Chrysler.

hmm.. car's kinda rusty.