A time capsule buried at the International School of San Francisco in 1950 has been uncovered during renovations and opened by students and staff. Its contents offer a glimpse of everyday life in the Bay Area three-quarters of a century ago, while prompting pupils to consider what people today might leave for future generations.

The box was buried on 20 July 1950 at a ribbon-cutting for a new office building and held newspapers and black-and-white photographs, reportedly preserved in very good condition. The newspapers covered the Korean War, whiskey shortages and inflated prices for nylon stockings; advertisements cost as little as one cent. The capsule’s location was known from drawings on Caltrans blueprints supplied when the school acquired the site in 1995.