An orange iPhone 17 Pro Max has become one of the most special artifacts in the "America's Time Capsule" project, when it was sealed and buried for 250 years.
According to the announcement of America250, the unit assigned by the US Congress to host the 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States. The organizers have officially sealed and buried this artifact at Independence National Historical Park in Philadelphia. The timebox will only be reopened in 2276, on the occasion of the 500th anniversary of the founding of the United States.
The iPhone was selected through the "America Innovates" initiative to represent the advanced technological achievements of the United States in 2026.
According to the organizers, the device reflects advances in mobile computing, image technology and connectivity, areas that have changed the way people work, communicate and create in the 21st century.
Inside the iPhone, there are also many digital artifacts stored, including notes stored in the Notes app, to help people who opened the timebox in 2276 have more perspectives on human daily life in 2026.
To protect artifacts for 250 years, the timebox is designed with special preservation standards. The project was developed with experts from the US National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and conservation experts from the US Library of Congress.
The core is a cylindrical box made of stainless steel weighing about 417 kg, sealed with indium - a metal that can fill very small gaps to prevent air and moisture from entering. The outside is a stainless steel shell weighing about 500 kg, creating an additional protective layer to help limit environmental impact during burial underground.
Not only iPhones, the "American Time Box" also contains many artifacts representing all 50 states, 5 territories and the Special Administrative Region of Columbia, along with artifacts contributed by three branches of the federal government.
Some notable artifacts include the feather of the bald eagle "Old Abe" which was once a mascot during the American Civil War, a piece of cloth from the 1903 Wright brothers plane and a message created by the Claude artificial intelligence model of Anthropic, predicting the future of California after 250 years.
According to the organizers, the goal of the project is to preserve typical imprints of the United States at the present time, from scientific and technological achievements to cultural life, so that future generations can better understand American society at the beginning of the 21st century.
