What the DMV should have put in the America 250 time capsule
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We at Axios D.C. were, shall we say, underwhelmed by what D.C., Maryland and Virginia chose to put in the 250 time capsule. (Spoiler: It was coins.)
Why it matters: The capsule contains artifacts from all 50 states and six territories and was buried on the Fourth of July in Philly, where it will be dug up 250 years from now.
- So while our AI-robot descendants will be beep-booping with joy at how cool Maine and Ohio were — a whalebone and fabric from the Wright Brothers' plane! — they'll just think we were really, really into coins.
Between the lines: OK, to be fair, states did have to think about what would hold up well over 250 years — meaning nothing that could decompose or affect the other items.
- Specialists engineered the time capsule to last: no edges (those tend to degrade more easily), totally airtight and the exact right temperature and humidity.
State of play: Still, we thought we could have come up with something a little more exciting. So we asked local readers what they would have put inside — here are some of their responses:
🏛️ D.C.:
- "A chip of American Flag blue paint from the reflecting pool"
- "Lantern fly exoskeleton"
- "Ben's Chili Bowl hot dog with the works. Mambo sauce. A Go-Go cassette tape"
- "Metro card with pandas or cherry blossom motif"
- "Breakfast burrito from La Tejana"
- "A tiny vial containing air from the Metro platform at Gallery Place in August"
- "Poster of Sandwich Guy"
- "Donald Trump"
- "A D.C. license plate — because hopefully in the next 250 years, D.C. will finally have statehood"
🦀 Maryland:
- "Crab"
- "Old Bay"
- "Purple Line stuff"
- "The spray cans used to write 'Surrender Dorothy' on the bridge in front of the Mormon Temple"
- "Signage from Six Flags"
- "A suspended license plate, so we can all remember how awful their drivers are"
🥜 Virginia:
- "A country ham breakfast sandwich biscuit. A leaf of tobacco. A Viognier grape"
- "A townhouse listing described as a 'charming starter home' for $1.2 million"
- "Sperry's"
- "The defunct plans for the Potomac Yard sports complex"
- "Glenn Youngkin"
- "A reinforced foam helmet for 95 South drivers to wear and a bag of nails to chew through as you bang your head on the steering wheel stuck in traffic at Occoquan and Fredericksburg"
- "In-state tuition"
- "Amazon package"
- "A data center"