The 1960s were a roiled prison term in America ’s chronicle , but when American Legion members in Laguna Beach , California took it upon themselves to predict what the future would be like in 50 years , they had more on their mind than the spread of Communism or the Vietnam War . In a letter included within a 1966 prison term capsule bury at Dana Point , a harbor town in Orange County , they wondered , “ Will commercial message still be irritating ? ”
The text file — photographed by the for the capsule ’s re - opening ceremonial and partially transcribed byGizmodo — asks future readers about the creation of 2016 . Buried on August 29 , 1966 , the stainless brand capsule contained not just the missive from the Laguna Beach old stager , but also more than 200 items from 65 dissimilar radical and case-by-case donors from the country .
Sadly , the American Legion writers would believably be let down with the solution . No , we did n’t win the Vietnam War . “ Will the ‘ great society ’ program of President Johnson and equal rights for all have been sincerely attained ? ” they involve . Eh , we’restill workingon it . “ Will [ unreadable ] have strangled itself with traffic and smogginess ? ” If they meant the not bad Los Angeles area , yep .
“ Will TV stay on its irritating commercials on the quality of soaps , deodorant , toothpaste , butt , etc . ? ” they complained . Well , cigarette advert might be blackball from TV , but deodorant ads continue to overlook the airwave — and our on-line news sites .
“ We see near - nakedness on the beaches and our street , ” they distinguish . “ What will we see in the year 2016 ? ” The American Legion member of Laguna Beach might not have been able to foresee France ’s recent scourge ofBurkini Bans , but they would surely be shocked by modern beach wear , considering how modest the shocking suitsof the 1960swould seem today . ( At least thehigh - waisted bottomsare back in stylus ! )
Since the American Legion is full of older war veterans , it ’s unlikely that most of the men who wrote the letter in 1966 ( enclosing a listing of their accomplishments and their rank roll for descendants ) made it to 2016 . If they did , well , sorry the future is n’t as reform-minded as they ’d hoped .
[ h / tGizmodo ]
