The Crypt of Civilization at Oglethorpe University in Atlanta, Georgia, is widely considered to be the first conventional time capsule intended to be opened on a specific date in the future. That date is May 28, 8113.

If you accept the premise that the Egyptian Calendar, created in the year 4241 BC, marked the first fixed date in the history of man, then the year 1936, when the crypt was conceived, would represent the exact midpoint of recorded human history.

The crypt is 20' x 10' x 10', sealed with a stainless steel door that has been welded shut. Its contents, inventoried at the crypt's official web site, include microfilms of 800 "authoritative books on every subject of importance known to mankind" and 200 works of fiction. Also:

- an apparatus for teaching the English language in case it is no longer spoken
- a record of the sports, amusements, pastimes, and games in vogue during the last century
- sound motion pictures of the great men and women of the world
- 1 plastic bird, 1 plastic ash tray
- 1 set Lionel model train (6 cars, 1 track)
- 1 mannequin (female) in glass case
- 1 mannequin (male) in glass case
- 1 set Bridgeomatic (game)
- 2 smoking pipes, 1 bottle Vaseline
- 14 samples Formica (set)

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