Tuesday, April 5, 2016

Beatles in a time capsule

If you were a teenager in 1964-1965, and lived in the United States the next best thing after seeing the Beatles in concert was to go on a vacation to New York for the World's Fair.    The 1964 World's Fair was a sight to see!   With many, many Disney rides and attractions available, it was the time  first a lot of people got to experience part of Disneyland.    There was so much to do and see at the World's Fair.

These teenagers are ready to experience the World's Fair!
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If you were a Beatles fan (and who wasn't in 1964/1965?) you would have been on the lookout for Beatles stuff.   I have already showed the creepy wax Beatles that were on display at the fair.   Where you aware that a Beatles record was put into a time capsule during the 1964 World's Fair?  


Fair goers looks at what was in the 1938 time capsule and compared it to the modern items.
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During the 1939 World's Fair Westinhouse sponsored a time capsule to be opened in 5,000 years.   They decided to do the same thing in 1964.      They put a variety of things in the time capsule that signified American life during that time.    Included in the 1964 time capsule included birth control pills, a filtered cigarette,  seeds,  an electric toothbrush and a 45 record of the Beatles single "Hard Day's Night" backed with "I should've known better" on the B-side.  

The single had been released in the United States on July 13, 1964 and sold over a million copies in the first month of release.   It spent the first two weeks of August at the number 1 spot on the record charts.     It is a great representation of the 1964-1965 and whoever decided to choose the Beatles record for the time capsule made the right choice.

A look at all of the items placed in the 1964 time capsule

During the Fair, visitors could sign a guest book that was then turned into microfilm and put into the time capsule.   Everyone that signed the guest book received a badge that read, " My name is in the Westinghouse Time Capsule for the next 5000 years."

At the end of the World's Fair, in October of 1965 all of the times were packed up and officially put into the ground.   There is an official marker that you can visit and see if for yourself.    The capsule will be opened in 6065 and I am not sure how people are going to listen to a Beatles record, but I sure hope if they do hear it----that they love the Beatles as much as we do.



2 comments:

  1. Sara - this is great. Went there with my grammar school when I was 12 & wish I could have seen more there.

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  2. In July 1965, at age 13, I attended the New York World's Fair with my family. We flew from Dallas to New York to not only see the Fair, but also my Dad's side of the family (who all lived in one apartment building in Far Rockaway). The World's Fair was an amazing experience for me. I remember my mom talking on the phone to a woman at Disneyland in California -- and they could see each other on a video monitor! That blew my mind! We parked in the Shea Stadium parking lot and I snapped a quick photo of the stadium itself, completely unaware that the Beatles would play their most famous concert there just a month after our visit! Bad timing, I guess!

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