540 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1939 



The problem of keeping the Capsule safe from vandals is believed 

 to be well taken care of by the site selected for burial. Sunk 50 feet 

 below the surface of the ground, in swampy soil, recovery will involve 

 an expensive and difficult engineering operation, costing many times 

 the possible intrinsic worth of the Capsule for its metal and salable 

 contents. 



Another question often discussed is whether, 5,000 years from now, 

 the coast will have smik so far as to drown the area. Consultation 

 with geologists and the United States Coast and Geodetic Survey 

 indicate that there is probably no foundation for the common notion 

 that the east coast is sinking. Surveys extending over the last 40 

 years show that if there is any sinking at all, the rate is so slow that 

 the change in level in 5,000 years would be only a few feet. The eleva- 

 tion at the site of the Time Capsule is about 20 feet above sea level. 



As to the third question frequently asked: Will it ever be found 

 again? Westinghouse engineers can only reply that every precaution 

 has been taken through the Book of Record to guide archeologists of 

 the future to the exact spot. If the people of the distant future wish 

 to find it they can probably do so, even though it should migrate in the 

 earth, or sink. And even if all else fails, we may depend on the 

 perennial curiosity and the digging and burrowing habits of the human 

 race to unearth it sooner or later. In the words of Dr. Clark Wissler, 

 dean of the scientific staff of the American Museum of Natural History, 

 and one of the foremost archeologists in the United States : 



We have been told that such efforts as ours here are futile; that, after all 

 existing civilizations have died out and new civilizations come to be, no one will 

 find this record, or if they do perchance discover it, they will not be able to make 

 anything out of it. But the chances are good that these records will be found 

 and that they can be interpreted. 



COMPLETE LIST OF CONTENTS 



The contents of the Westinghouse Time Capsule fall into five 

 groupings : 



1. Small articles of commnon ibse that we wear or use, or which 

 contribute to our comfort, convenience, safety, or health. About 35 

 in number, these articles are separately described and pictured in 

 the microfilm essay. In addition, labels and descriptions are wrapped 

 with each. 



2. Textiles and materials. About 75 in number, these comprise 

 swatches of various types and weaves of cloth, samples of alloys, 

 plastics, cement, asbestos, coal, etc. Each is described in the micro- 

 film essay, and a further description of the composition, nature, and 

 use is wrapped with each sample. 



