Nat Geo to Premiere DIGGERS: STEVE JOBS TIME CAPSULE, Today
By: Caryn Robbins Feb. 24, 2014
A time capsule containing the mouse from Steve Jobs' first mass-marketed Lisa computer was uncovered in September 2013 on the grounds of the Aspen Music Festival in Aspen, Colo. The finding was made by National Geographic Channel's Diggers team for the kick-off episode of the second season, airing tomorrow, Tuesday, Feb. 25, at 10 p.m. ET/PT, one day after what would have been Steve Jobs' 59th birthday. Diggers airs Tuesdays at 10 p.m. ET/PT.
Buried in 1983 during the now-defunct International Design Conference in Aspen, the tube was intended to be unearthed in 2000, but due to changes in the landscape, its exact location was unknown - until now. Working closely with the Aspen Music Festival and School and Harry Teague, one of the original members of the design team that buried the capsule, the Diggers team was able to narrow down the time capsule's location using original survey coordinates and good old-fashioned math. The capsule was carefully excavated under the supervision of Diggers archaeologist Michael Durkin, and the contents of the capsule will be cataloged and evaluated before being turned over to the Aspen Historical Society. In addition to the Lisa mouse, the contents of the 13-foot-long capsule include a mix of early '80s relics: an eight-track recording of The Moody Blues, a Sears Roebuck catalog, a June 1983 copy of Vogue Magazine, a Rubik's Cube and a six-pack of beer. The time capsule was related to the theme of the conference, "The Future Is Not What It Used to Be." At the conference, before donating the mouse, Jobs addressed the crowd in a speech that many Believe predicted some of Apple's great innovations to come, including the iPad, wireless networking and even the Apple App Store.
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