Re:Burying the Evidence: nine out of every 10 time capsules ...
by don-code on Monday November 09, 2026 @01:15PM
(#50429276)
I've thoroughly enjoyed it when someone sends me a "time capsule" - something I've intentionally created for myself, then entrusted to someone else to give back to me.
So far, this has taken exactly one form (albeit several times): a letter I wrote to myself, where someone sends it to me after one year has passed. That's about the edge of "reasonable". Holding on to something for many years, or holding onto something larger than a letter (or at a scale of more than maybe 30 of them - which might explain why teachers seem to do this), makes it more of a burden on the sender.
I differentiate this from a couple of other models I can think of:
1. Burying a time capsule indefinitely (I may forget about it past when I should open it).
2. Receiving something from my childhood (it wasn't my intent to send it to my future self).
3. Paying for a service which does this, like a safe deposit box (I have a constant reminder that it's there).
So far, this has taken exactly one form (albeit several times): a letter I wrote to myself, where someone sends it to me after one year has passed. That's about the edge of "reasonable". Holding on to something for many years, or holding onto something larger than a letter (or at a scale of more than maybe 30 of them - which might explain why teachers seem to do this), makes it more of a burden on the sender.
I differentiate this from a couple of other models I can think of:
1. Burying a time capsule indefinitely (I may forget about it past when I should open it).
2. Receiving something from my childhood (it wasn't my intent to send it to my future self).
3. Paying for a service which does this, like a safe deposit box (I have a constant reminder that it's there).