Burying the Evidence: nine out of every 10 time capsules go missing

Re:Burying the Evidence: nine out of every 10 time capsules ... by MarkusWandel on Monday November 09, 2026 @10:28AM (#50426969)

A story from my dad that is probably the typical fate of such things: They were doing renovations (in the 1960s) on our then 280 year old farm house (in southern Germany). Cutting up the the wooden beam that had been a door lintel for firewood, suddenly there was a shower of paper confetti. Someone in the distant past had bored a hole, inserted a paper scroll and plugged it. Ooops. But what difference did that make, really, to the unknown individual who wrote and stashed the scroll?

My dad was building a new house at the time. We kids were allowed to play in the unfinished house. Scribble and write on drywall that would be painted anyway, etc. Well, 50-ish years after that, renovations were done, and behind some paneling they found a letter to future readers by early teenage me! Happily they sent me a picture of it. I had no recollection of writing it.

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Re:Burying the Evidence: nine out of every 10 time capsules ... by Waterluvian on Monday November 09, 2026 @11:41AM (#50428001)

I’ve been adding plastic Halloween skeletons to odd spaces behind walls during renovations.

The world needs more whimsy. I just hope the next person feels the same way I do about surprise skeletons.

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Re:Burying the Evidence: nine out of every 10 time capsules ... by Sohcahtoa82 on Monday November 09, 2026 @12:52PM (#50428923)

I'd hide a plastic mustache with a note saying "You found my secrete stache!"

Maybe instead of paper though, 3D print the message, so it doesn't just disintegrate over time.

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Re:Burying the Evidence: nine out of every 10 time capsules ... by don-code on Monday November 09, 2026 @01:05PM (#50429132)

I have a confession to make.

When I was a kid, I used a sharp knife to scrawl a note into the wood paneling of the back office at my parents' store. That back office has essentially been a junk drawer for the past 20 years. My parents never once noticed it (I'd have heard), and I don't even remember what it was about.

Last month, my parents sold the store, so I guess the new owners may one day find some bizarre (love letter | book quote | song lyrics) and wonder what on earth they're looking at...

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