Was reading about the 1939 world fair time capsule and the Crypt of Civilization and noticed both have information on microfilm stored in sealed containers listed as items.
In both cases these items are not meant to be opened for millenia. Assuming they figured out a way to build a device to view them, COULD they be viewed? Would the material itself hold up over time? Or would it degrade completely/fuse together/suffer other misshaps by the time someone gets around to opening it?
If we were stashing something away now, I’d say “No problem!”
There are brands (such as Ilford’s Color Micrographic) of microfilm today that guarantee 500 year life.
I don’t know what was used in 1939, but if it was processed properly, and has been kept in the dark in a steady humidity/temperature environment in acid-free sleeves/boxes, it’s probably in excellent condition now.
The amazing thing about microfilm is that it’s human-readable. In 500 years, all that someone’s going to need to read the stuff is their eyes, plus a light and a magnifying lens, and the tolerances for those are quite wide.
And failing that,
are also interrred in the Crypt of Civilization.
Inventory of the Crypt