In 1940, a university president named Thornwell Jacobs initiated a monumental undertaking, sealing a vault intended to remain untouched for over six millennia. This ambitious project, known as the Crypt of Civilization, is located at Oglethorpe University in Atlanta, Georgia. 🕰️ Jacobs envisioned it as a comprehensive record of life in the 20th century, a message in a bottle to the people of 8113 AD. He felt an 'archaeological duty' to provide future historians with what past civilizations often failed to leave: a detailed snapshot of their time. The crypt itself is a feat of preservation, a 2,000-cubic-foot airtight chamber measuring 20 feet long, 10 feet wide, and 10 feet high. Its walls are lined with enamel plates embedded in pitch, and a heavy stainless steel door was welded shut after oxygen was replaced with inert nitrogen to prevent decay. Inside, a carefully curated collection awaits: microfilm records of over 800 major works of literature, religious texts, and scientific knowledge. 📚 Everyday items such as a telephone, a typewriter, an adding machine, and even children's toys were included to paint a picture of daily existence. Voice recordings of prominent figures from the era are also preserved. To assist future discoverers in understanding its contents, a device called a 'Language Integrator' was included, designed to teach English. The Crypt of Civilization is widely recognized as the first modern time capsule of this scale. Its contents reflect the world as perceived in 1940, carefully selected to bridge an immense span of time.