The strange lives of time capsules
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The Strange Lives of Time Capsules — Daily trivia Thursday, September 17, 2026: questions and answers
All 10 questions with answers and explanations. Play this daily
Q 01What did Tulsa bury in 1957 and unearth, waterlogged, in 2007?
- AA car
- BA motorcycle
- CA jukebox
- DA television
Show answer
A car
A car, a gold-and-white 1957 Plymouth Belvedere nicknamed Miss Belvedere, was sealed in a concrete vault to mark Oklahoma's 50th year of statehood. The vault flooded, and the car came out a rusted shell.
Q 02Where was a parcel marked 'Can open in 2012', sealed 1912, opened?
- ADenmark
- BSweden
- CNorway
- DIceland
Show answer
Norway
The parcel from Otta, Norway, was opened on live television after weeks of national excitement. Inside were notebooks, newspaper clippings and council papers, and the country let out a collective groan.
Q 03Boston's Faneuil Hall weathervane, which held a time capsule, depicts what creature?
- ARooster
- BCodfish
- CGrasshopper
- DWhale
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Grasshopper
Grasshopper: the gilded copper insect dates from 1742, and Boston has a habit of hiding capsules in its ornaments; another was placed inside the head of the Old State House's copper lion in 1901.
Q 04Whose mouse went into a 1983 Aspen time capsule, lost until 2013?
- ASteve Jobs
- BBill Gates
- CSteve Wozniak
- DDouglas Engelbart
Show answer
Steve Jobs
Steve Jobs spoke at Aspen's design conference in 1983 and donated the mouse from his Lisa computer to the 'Aspen Time Tube'. Due up in 2000, it was lost under landscaping until a TV crew dug it out in 2013.
Q 05What kept MIT's 1999 time capsule sealed until 2019?
- AA sealed court order
- BA time-lock safe
- CA lost combination
- DA cryptographic puzzle
Show answer
A cryptographic puzzle
A cryptographic puzzle, set by Ron Rivest and meant to take about 35 years of computing, locked the capsule. Belgian programmer Bernard Fabrot solved it in 2019, and the capsule was opened that May.
Q 06Whose Millennium Dome time capsule was accidentally dug up in 2017?
- AGrange Hill
- BBlue Peter
- CNewsround
- DByker Grove
Show answer
Blue Peter
Blue Peter buried it at the Dome site in 1998, to be opened in 2050. Builders working on the site dug it up by accident in 2017, and the damaged capsule was opened 33 years early.
Q 07What was the 1939 Westinghouse 'time capsule' originally going to be called?
- ATime tomb
- BTime bomb
- CTime vault
- DTime torpedo
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Time bomb
Time bomb was the working name until Westinghouse publicist George Edward Pendray coined 'time capsule' for the torpedo-shaped container buried at the 1939 New York World's Fair. It is not to be opened until 6939.
Q 08Victorians sealed a razor, toys and pictures of 12 beautiful women under which London monument?
- ANelson's Column
- BMarble Arch
- CThe Albert Memorial
- DCleopatra's Needle
Show answer
Cleopatra's Needle
Cleopatra's Needle. On the voyage to London, the ship carrying it was cut loose in a Bay of Biscay storm, and six men died trying to rescue its crew.
Q 09When will the deeper Expo '70 capsule under Osaka Castle be opened?
- A2070
- B2470
- C6970
- D9970
Show answer
6970
Matsushita Electric (now Panasonic) and the Mainichi Newspapers buried two identical capsules holding 2,098 items beneath Osaka Castle Park. The upper one is opened every century from 2000 to check for decay; the lower stays sealed until 6970.
Q 10Which cartoon character's voice is preserved in the Crypt of Civilization?
- AMickey Mouse
- BPopeye
- CBetty Boop
- DFelix the Cat
Show answer
Popeye
The crypt at Oglethorpe University, sealed in 1940 until 8113, holds Popeye's voice beside recordings of Hitler, Stalin and Roosevelt, a bottle of Budweiser, a plastic Donald Duck and a hand-cranked 'Language Integrator' to teach English to whoever opens it.
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