There are seven lost time capsules on the International Time Capsule Society's (ITCS) Most Wanted list and members are interested in finding them. The group, originally headquartered at Oglethorpe University in Atlanta, Georgia in 1990, is made up of anthropologists, librarians, professors and history buffs. Their mission is to record every time capsule ever buried throughout the world. Although this sounds like a huge undertaking, the project is part of Oglethorpe's larger time capsule endeavor called the Crypt of Civilization. In the 1930's, the "Father of Time Capsules", Dr. Thornwell Jacobs, converted an old campus swimming pool into a sealed chamber to house thousands of historical and cultural objects, records and artifacts for future generations to open in 8113 AD.
The Most Wanted Time Capsules according to the ITCS are the 1976 Bicentennial Wagon Train time capsule that supposedly held the signatures of 22 million Americans but was stolen right before the dedication ceremony. The forgotten 1939 MIT Cyclotron time capsule and a series of 17 capsules placed around the city of Corona, California are missing. George Washington's cornerstone that he placed at the base of the U.S. Capitol in 1793 has never been found. In 1907, someone stole master-pressings of sound recordings on disc from the Gramophone Company in England. In Blackpool, Lancashire, England, a late 19th century time capsule that was marked on-site, disappeared and was never found when new building work was underway. And in Lyndon, Vermont, the town's 1891 centennial celebration materials were locked away to be opened in 1991, but to no avail. Although the ITCS is no longer active, they still accept time capsule registrations online in the hopes vessels are not lost to time, the fading memories of organizers or unscrupulous thieves.
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