The Ritual of Saving Time in a Bottle

Just outside the British Embassy in Washington is a bronze, 9-foot likeness of Winston Churchill. But few of the thousands who pass by each day are aware of what is lodged beneath Sir Winston’s feet.

The English-Speaking Union, which sponsored the statue, inserted a time capsule in the foundation. It was sealed on Nov. 28, 1966, and is to be opened on April 9, 2063, 100 years after Churchill was made an honorary U.S. citizen.

Inside the stainless-steel canister are mementos of the great man, including one of his favorite cigars and the note: “It is hoped that the correct degree of humidity will be retained for the benefit of anyone in the year 2063 who cares--or dares--to savor the aroma that so often inspired Sir Winston Churchill.”

Hope for the future, pride in the past--time capsules reflect many of the strong emotions that people feel when they consider the passage of years.

It usually takes a special occasion to prompt the creation of a time capsule. One of the biggest was the U.S. Bicentennial. In 1976, hundreds of capsule-sealing ceremonies were held nationwide.

Another landmark event, seemingly made for time capsules, is the new millennium, which officially begins on Jan. 1, 2001. This New Year’s Eve, however, a national time capsule will be unveiled on the Mall.

Messages from about 400 people who received presidential or congressional awards during the last 10 years are to be included, as well as students’ statements for the future. The capsule is to be displayed at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History before it is sealed.

Placing commemorative items in the foundation of a building is an ancient tradition with its origins in the stoneworkers’ guilds of the Middle Ages.

The problem with time capsules is that many don’t survive. The Washington Post kept an aluminum, globe-shaped “Freedom Sphere” from 1954, but when it was opened in 1990, most of the memorabilia had been ruined by moisture.

Often, when time capsules do turn up, it’s by accident. When the White House was being renovated in 1902, workers placed a marble box beneath the floor of the entrance hall. It was discovered by different workers 49 years later, and among its contents were autographs of Roosevelt family members and the label from a whiskey bottle.