Last Thursday faculty at the University of Chicago opened a time capsule that had been filled by famed nuclear physicist Enrico Fermi 62 years ago. What scientific treasures were inside?

In this image from June 21, 1949, Enrico Fermi loads into a University cornerstone what is perhaps the most disappointing time capsule ever created. (image credit: Univ. of Chicago)

June 3, 2011 By Chad Vander Veen

Answer: None. Likely disappointing everyone in attendance and those watching on the university's live stream, the capsule contained a course catalog, a phonebook, a local road map and some flight itineraries - and those were the highlights. Perhaps Fermi, often deemed a "father of the atomic bomb" for his work on the Manhattan Project, anticipated that humanity would have annihilated itself by now.

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