The practice of making time capsules may be as old as time itself.

Cave paintings are perhaps the first time capsules. They depicted who we were, what mammoths we killed, and what mammoths killed us.

The oral tradition, and storytelling are a kind of time capsule, they preserve the collective memory over generations.

In a similar way, writing – when it was first invented – was a time capsule. Writing was created for the purpose of taxation and bookkeeping — a way of settling my–word–against–yours–type arguments. "You owe me three cows."

However, these are all gestures of the moment, a record for the present. The cavemen were probably not thinking about posterity’s interest in their society, nor were the prehistoric taxmen.

This notion of preserving one’s time and place for the future really begins with the Egyptians. While the pyramids were created as vessels to the afterlife, they are also vessels to the future.

Esarhaddon, king of Babylonia, Assyria and Egypt, buried cuneiform inscriptions of not only his own conquests, but his entire civilization. Were it not for efforts like these on the part of the Egyptians we would know a great deal less about their culture and way of life.

Preserving Our Heritage

The modern time capsule took this idea a step further. It is an editorial exercise: How do we fit our entire civilization into a container the size of a shoebox? And furthermore: How do we ensure that the contents of the capsule remain intact across the centuries?

For the 1939 World’s Fair, Westinghouse Electric wanted to create a time capsule that would preserve its contents for 5,000 years. This presented many problems, and they put their best minds to the task. After some research and much debate, Westinghouse created a new alloy of copper, called Cupaloy. They wanted to combine the durability of steel with the ability of copper to prevent corrosion. Cupaloy, they believed, was up to the task.

The crypt into which the time capsule would be lowered, also had to be designed to ensure that corrosive elements would be kept out. This was achieved through a combination of Pyrex glass, and water-repellent and preservative gases.

Will Anyone Find Them?

The next great stumbling block was how to tell the people of the 80th century that they should go to Flushing Meadows and dig up the capsule. The answer to this problem was found in a book, called simply, "The Book of Record." Printed on archival paper, and given to libraries all over the world, the "Book of Record" details where the time capsule is, what is in it, and even a modern version of the Rosetta stone in case the English language no longer exists.

Next, a committee of historians, archeologists and scientists decided what objects should be placed inside the capsule. They chose many everyday objects that reflected life as it was in the 1930s.

At noon on Sept. 23, 1938, the exact moment of the autumnal equinox, the time capsule was lowered into the immortal well.

A second time capsule was created for the 1964 World’s Fair, and its contents reflected the dramatic technological and social changes that had occurred since 1939.

While these time capsules were on one hand optimistic endeavors, they were done with an awareness of the tragedy and failure of our civilization.

"I trust that posterity will read these statements with a feeling of proud and justified superiority," wrote Albert Einstein in the "Book of Record".