In 1957, The people of Tulsa Oklahoma buried a brand new Belvedere into a concrete Time Capsule that is scheduled to be opened this year. As of now, no one know what condition this car will be in. If the capsule remained air tight, it should be in prime condition. If it managed to crack and mositure got in, the car may very well be a pile of rust. Either way,all of Tulsa is waiting to see what this car will look like come June of this year.

Will it run? Tulsa to dig up car buried for 50 years
POSTED: 5:39 a.m. EST, January 25, 2007
TULSA, Oklahoma (AP) -- Organizers of a coming-out party for a buried 1957 Plymouth Belvedere could use some help.

The car, which was buried in brand-new condition under the lawn of the Tulsa County Courthouse in 1957, is scheduled to be unearthed June 15 as part of the Oklahoma Centennial

Promoters are looking for people who helped lower the car into its crypt in 1957 to perhaps shed some light on what to expect when the car is unearthed.

There's speculation the car may have turned into a pile of rust. Or that it's in pristine condition and worth thousands of dollars.

Sharon King Davis, who has chaired Tulsa's centennial efforts, looked at photos of the people responsible for burying the car in 1957 and found her grandfather.

"I wish grandpa had left me some instructions," she told the Tulsa World.

The car had been largely forgotten until Davis and her group started work on the centennial. Files on the car have vanished, so it's not clear what to expect when the lid is lifted.

What's known is that the car is on a steel pallet with jacks under the axles. Efforts were made to preserve it, but it's unclear if moisture has gotten to the metal and caused rust.

"There's a kind of Rip Van Winkle reaction," Davis says. "Most people had long ago forgotten the buried car, but as the time to dig it up nears, they are waking up and wondering about life in 1957."

Another unknown is who will be able to claim the car.

When the car was buried, a contest was announced to award the car and a $100 savings account to the person who came closest to guessing Tulsa's population in 2007.

Organizers concede that finding that person or his or her heirs may not be easy.

At the time, the guesses were recorded on microfilm and sealed in a steel container buried with the car.


link: info:http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/01/23/buried.car.ap/index.html


Anyone here live in Tulsa?

I read that article. My question: what's a $100. deposit made to a savings account in 1957 worth today?

Depends on the interest rate and how often it's compounded. Probably somewhere around $500.

Try this Compound Interest Calculator (http://www.1728.com/compint.htm)

Speaking of time capsules, I'm finishing my basement and I'm trying to think of something cool (and cheap) to put in a space under the stairs that will be completely closed off.

Speaking of time capsules, I'm finishing my basement and I'm trying to think of something cool (and cheap) to put in a space under the stairs that will be completely closed off.

dead bodies

damn, i gotta wait until june? hope there will be pics

dead bodies

Nah - too smelly.

Speaking of time capsules, I'm finishing my basement and I'm trying to think of something cool (and cheap) to put in a space under the stairs that will be completely closed off.A hammer and an open box of nails.

Speaking of time capsules, I'm finishing my basement and I'm trying to think of something cool (and cheap) to put in a space under the stairs that will be completely closed off.

Wine and cheese. Both should age nicely and wind up more valuable later on.

Wine and cheese. Both should age nicely and wind up more valuable later on.

Won't the cheese just get moldy?

Speaking of time capsules, I'm finishing my basement and I'm trying to think of something cool (and cheap) to put in a space under the stairs that will be completely closed off.

Will you ever again have access to that space without a lot of hassle? If not, consider an access panel (sold in the plumbing dept of Home Depot). For a 'time capsule' kind of thing, consider buying 2 each of various toys you get for your kid(s). Place one unopened toy inside the cubby hole. Try to focus on theme toys (i.e. Star Trek, Star Wars, Poke-e-mon, Barbie) that ten-15 years from now might be a real hit at a garage / yard sale. Wine isn't a bad choice, but I'm not sure about cheese, unless it's well sealed.

Lionel, I think it would be cool to put a note into the space about you and your family and about what is happening in the world today and your opinion of it. If I ripped something up that had been placed there from a previous owner 50 years ago, I would be thrilled to read their ramblings.

Will you ever again have access to that space without a lot of hassle? If not, consider an access panel (sold in the plumbing dept of Home Depot). For a 'time capsule' kind of thing, consider buying 2 each of various toys you get for your kid(s). Place one unopened toy inside the cubby hole. Try to focus on theme toys (i.e. Star Trek, Star Wars, Poke-e-mon, Barbie) that ten-15 years from now might be a real hit at a garage / yard sale. Wine isn't a bad choice, but I'm not sure about cheese, unless it's well sealed.

I don't want to do an access panel just because I think it would be cooler if someone just happens upon it, as opposed to opening it at some predetermined time. I'm assuming that I won't be living here by then, so I don't want to leave someone anything valuable. :)

I don't want to do an access panel just because I think it would be cooler if someone just happens upon it, as opposed to opening it at some predetermined time. I'm assuming that I won't be living here by then, so I don't want to leave someone anything valuable. :)

I suggest you post a thread asking for suggestions in Chat Central. :)

Leave something that would best represent something about you.
I had an ancestor who was a building contractor in southern Indiana. He was a lifelong Republican, and a teetotaling Methodist. When he got the contract to build the county courthouse his workers sealed up a small timecapsule in the cornerstone without his knowledge. It contained a bottle of whiskey and a copy of the Rockport Democrat newspaper. It was a good joke on him.

I don't want to do an access panel just because I think it would be cooler if someone just happens upon it, as opposed to opening it at some predetermined time. I'm assuming that I won't be living here by then, so I don't want to leave someone anything valuable. :)

OK, in that case I suggest a current newspaper, a short note, and a pint of Jack Daniels.

OK, in that case I suggest a current newspaper, a short note, and a pint of Jack Daniels.
Nah, skip the Jack Daniels and leave a nice bottle of red wine laying on it's side...it will age nicely!

Uhh...Sal?
I'm assuming that I won't be living here by then, so I don't want to leave someone anything valuable. :)

Speaking of time capsules, I'm finishing my basement and I'm trying to think of something cool (and cheap) to put in a space under the stairs that will be completely closed off.
old magazines and catalogs;)

Speaking of time capsules, I'm finishing my basement and I'm trying to think of something cool (and cheap) to put in a space under the stairs that will be completely closed off.

Recent Newspapers.

I used to renovate old buildings and one of the coolest things we would find would be old newspapers in tact.

We once found a Detroit Free Press from 1941 with the headline about Pearl Harbor.

OK, in that case I suggest a current newspaper, a short note, and a pint of Jack Daniels.

Oh no! Single Malt only!

Oh no! Single Malt only!

How about some Knob Creek?

do you have some bitters and vermouth to go with that?...and maybe a cherry?

Knob Creek is a single vat bourbon. Fine stuff.

and i can think of no better fate for it than a frosty Manhattan:D

(oh, the grief i took for that after craft meetings when i was a dues paying Teamster!)

Recent Newspapers.

I used to renovate old buildings and one of the coolest things we would find would be old newspapers in tact.


Yeah, I was leaning that way - cheap and easy. Maybe I'll stick it on top of a piece of wood in case the basement gets some water in it at some point.

Yeah, I was leaning that way - cheap and easy. Maybe I'll stick it on top of a piece of wood in case the basement gets some water in it at some point.
Go out and buy some old newspaper from the 40s to screw with the future owner of your house.

How about some Knob Creek?

My person fave is Bowmore. (http://www.bowmorescotch.com/)