Timeless prank: UW time capsule from '50s reveals porn from '70s

[shawmut]

Timeless prank: UW time capsule from '50s reveals porn from '70s

By Brian Alexander
Seattle Times staff reporter

Here's something you wouldn't expect to find inside a time capsule from the 1950s: pornography from the 1970s.

But faculty members at the University of Washington Department of Communications found just that when they opened a half-century-old time capsule Thursday and saw a centerfold and copies of Playboy and Hustler.

Atop the 50-year-old memorabilia were items from the late '70s and early '80s: adult magazines, an April Fools' edition of The Daily, UW's student newspaper, clip-on ties, women's underwear, and nearly petrified Twinkies, among other things.

"I just think this is a great college prank," department chair Gerald Baldasty said Thursday night after an event at which alumni from the classes that sponsored the time capsule got to look at what was inside. "We're not upset at all; we're just having a good chuckle over it."



http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/cgi-bin/PrintStory.pl?document_id=2003683287&zsection_id=2002111777&slug=webtimecapsule26m&date=20070426

[yewberry]

1. Go Dawgs!

My favorite little UW prank is on one of the South Campus Center's stained glass windows. There's a picture of Geo. Washington in the window and the words "Num me vexo" (essentially "What, me worry?") in a lovely arc with the portrait.

What do you suppose a "nearly" petrified Twinkie looks like?

[flamingyouth]

2. Yeah, I love that too.

:D

[KingDaevid]

3. Nearly petrified Twinkie?

"What do you suppose a "nearly" petrified Twinkie looks like?"

...Roger Ailes? They both started out spongy and full of spun lard...

[MonkeyFunk]

4. Go U-dub!

My honey's an alumnus!

[Suich]

5. This just made Keith Olbermann's

"Top 3 Newsmakers!"

:woohoo:

[pokerfan]

6. Speaking of pranks

The Great Rose Bowl Hoax of 1961:
http://www.museumofhoaxes.com/pranks/rosebowl.html

Nerds from CalTech hack the University of Washington's Rose Bowl card stunt.



The first eleven images of the flip-card show had been left basically unaltered, to allay suspicion. The first real alteration occurred with the 12th image, which had been changed from a husky to a beaver, Caltech's mascot. This change was subtle enough that it escaped the attention of most of the game's audience. The 13th image had been flipped so that it read 'SEIKSUH' instead of 'HUSKIES'. The Fiendish Fourteen knew that viewers would chalk this up to simple error. But these changes were a mere build-up to the 14th image, the unveiling of 'CALTECH' itself.

At the moment when Caltech's name unfurled across the stadium, NBC's cameras were focused directly on the flip-card show, providing the best possible vantage point for viewers across the nation to watch the ensuing drama. Washington's band, upon seeing the gigantic rogue name leering down at them from the stands, immediately stopped playing, and silence descended on the stadium. Even the television announcers were momentarily speechless. For a few seconds this silent tension enveloped the entire stadium. Finally the significance of what had just happened began to sink in, and then the laughter began.