Sometimes we store stuff in a box and don’t open it again for a few years.

Yesterday I had a sandwich and I got this cardboard container (4 hours passed before I opened the box to eat the rest of the sandwich). Jacob’s iphone was nearby and it can function as a timer.

So I put the phone inside, started the timer, and closed the box.

At least one interesting thing happened.

We started to leave the house and jacob couldn’t find his phone because it was still in the box. He opened the box and saw that 10 minutes had passed, but to his surprise the box also contained 1 new sms from his friend.

Another thing I noticed is that the screen on the iphone has a backlight so I could see light coming through the edges of the container, and knew the phone was still inside without having to open the box.

…………………..

We have found ancient clay pots containing codices, buried deep in caves, that haven’t been seen by humans for over 2000 years. (example: dead sea scrolls)

(MESSAGE STORED) … but the memory of message dies out as 2000 YEARS PASS. then (MESSAGE FOUND) accidentally. If message hasn’t decayed, then it will need to be deciphered, because language has changed so drastically.

We know the approximate age of the very old things because radioactive isotopes decay and we can calculate backwards based on their half lives.

………………….

1. This prototype is flawed, because jacob needs his telephone, so he opens the box sooner than if it contained, for example, his great grandpa’s broken stopwatch.

2. It is severely limited by the battery life on the timer, which is probably only a day or two on this device.

3. Finally, it is imprecise, because the timer starts counting before the lid of the box is completely closed.