I heard a news item recently that suggested that the United States was in the middle of a minor time capsule crisis. It seems that the Bicentennial year of 1976 encouraged a flurry of activity to place time capsules. The earliest of these were generally scheduled to be exhumed in 25 years, or the year 2001. The minor crisis arose when one of several things happened. First, the capsules simply couldn't be found because the directions to locate the capsule were wrong. Second, the capsules were placed in inappropriate locations, or had been made of materials that could not withstand burial for 25 years, and the capsules had disintegrated or were useless. Third, some capsules were located and made of appropriate materials, but they had not been sealed adequately, and the contents inside were spoiled.