In 1957, during Oklahoma’s Semi-Centennial, a brand new Plymouth Belvedere Sport Coupe was buried in a nuke-proof concrete vault. Tomorrow (June 15) Tulsa will unveil it as part of Oklahoma's Centennial.
But what will remain?
When workers lifted the vault’s lid yesterday, there was 2 feet of water. There were also signs that water had at one point filled the entire container. It gets worse. An AP report from earlier this month quoted an expert on Plymouths: “despite the car's eye appeal, the 1957 Plymouths ‘leaked dust and rain water like a sieve, paint faded and flaked off in chunks and upholstery materials disintegrated in the sunlight.’”
But the car has one last defense: a good ol’ metalam sack. Metalam is supposedly a grandfather of the shrink-wrap on lettuce but made from vinyl film, aluminum foil, polyethylene, and cotton. KOTV.com plans to offer a live webstream of the unveiling tomorrow at 7:00 pm (CDT). Witness the joy or horror as the car is unveiled in Tulsa’s Maxwell Convention Center.
The vehicle (or what remains) will be given as a prize to the person who, back in 1957, had most nearly guessed the city’s 2007 population (382,457). Guesses were recorded on microfilm and buried with the car. The winner will also get the proceeds from a $100 savings account. If the winning guesser is dead, the car will be awarded to an heir.
Official Tulsarama Site
Special Site from Tulsa World News
KOTV.com (contains embedded video)
