Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me! - Everyone & Time Capsules

Episode Date: September 14, 2022

Emma talks to comedian Hari Kondabolu about time capsules: lost, found, and in the case of Andy Warhol, unintentional.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Hey friends, I'm Emma Choi and welcome to Everyone and Their Mom, a weekly show from Wait Wait Don't Tell Me. This week we're talking about time capsules with Wait Wait panelist, comedian, and someone who I feel like has a very strong opinion on scented candles. It's Hari Kondabolu. Hi Hari. Hey Emma, how are you? Good.

Do you have a strong opinion on scented candles? Uh, not really. Great, okay. Well, Hari, I got an amazing story for you this week. Citizens of Sheldon, Iowa ran into a little conundrum when they couldn't find the time capsule they buried 50 years ago. Man, that's a bummer. I know. You know, like when you wait so long for something and then all of a sudden it doesn't happen? Yeah.

And this is because it's their own fault. Didn't they have a map? Did anyone not draw a map? Yeah. Okay, we all have questions, Hari, okay? But let me give you some context, okay? So Sheldon, Iowa is celebrating its 150th birthday this year. Yay, happy birthday. And for part of the celebrations,

they were planning to dig up a 50-year-old time capsule for like a group unboxing, right? But uh-oh, they cannot remember where they put it. Sheldon's Chamber of Commerce director said that she quote, thinks that it's under the concrete in the park which is like okay great let's all put out suggestions and just to be safe let's just dig up the whole town you know for the time capsule yes and you know their plan is to use an underground radar system to pinpoint the capsule's location you know uh which is honestly a better idea than our suggestion to just walk around and think really hard to yourself if i were were a 50-year-old time capsule, where would I be? Huh.

They're not the only town in Iowa who's used this system. A town in Sibley in Iowa used the same radar company to find their lost time capsule. It's basically the golden age of underground radar companies. So get in while the getting's good, Hari. Huh. Also, no offense to Iowa, but a 50-year time capsule, you're going to open it and it's like, oh, this is what everyone in Iowa still wears. Yes. And we're going to get a lot of complaint letters from the state of Iowa.

Yes. I was mocking Iowa. Yes, Hari, we know. Yeah. The thing we love about time capsules is like at a certain point, it's really just a cylinder of random stuff you know like it reminds me of like you know everyone has that stuff drawer in their kitchen where the random stuff goes yeah yeah do you have a stuff drawer every of course everybody has multiple stuff yeah of course what harry what is in your stuff drawer can you unbox it for us let's see

you know i got some pens in here. And I got some zip drives, but I don't know what's on them. And I got some paper clips, nails, square readers from when I tried to sell CDs and was reminded that it wasn't 1997. Right. And lots of lead. I guess at some point I was into mechanical pencils recently, and I bought a lot of lead. I guess at some point I was into mechanical pencils recently, and I bought a lot of lead.

That's a solid stuff drawer. I feel like a lot of stuff drawers, if you, like, root through it, you find, like, buried treasure. Do you think there's any, like, treasure, valuable stuff in your stuff drawer? I would imagine there's more sentimental things in there. I'm sure in the number of stuffed drawers I have, I'm going to find a random piece of paper that triggers a memory. Especially stuffed drawers, when you go overboard, it's just hoarding.

True, yeah. Yeah, but I feel like it's like a scrapbook, but in a drawer. A stuffed drawer is so many things. It's a treasure box, it's a memory box, it's a journal, and it's just a trash can. Hello, can you introduce yourself for us? Sure, I'm Patrick Moore. I'm the director of the Andy Warhol Museum in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. We're so excited to have you. Andy Warhol is an absolute pop art icon, legend, king. And a lot of people might not know this about Andy, but he had a massive amount of his own personal time capsules, like 600. Can you tell us about them?

Sure. You know, Andy Warhol's time capsules are a gigantic work of art. They relate to his love of collecting in some circles. One might say hoarding. And they really started as an attempt by his studio assistants to make sense of what to do with all of his stuff. sense of what to do with all of his stuff. Not to, you know, neg Andy Warhol right now, but it kind of sounds like he just took a bunch of trash cans and called them art. Is that accurate? Well, it is and it isn't. But if you were Andy Warhol, what was in effect trash on your desk might include an original Basquiat drawing. Okay, so it's not trash to him, but it is a collection of stuff. Has your team found anything kind of gross in these boxes? Oh, yeah.

We have found all sorts. There's a mummified foot. What? His foot? No. Whose foot? We're not sure whose foot it is, but there's a mummified foot. There was an old slice of pizza. There was a Coca-Cola bottle that had exploded and expold its Coca-Cola all over everything. Wow. That's so cool.

Is there anything in these boxes that's so personal that you kind of feel like, oh, I don't know if I should be looking at this? Yes, there are many things like that. There are Andy's wigs because Warhol was famous for wearing wigs. He was almost never seen without his wig. And, you know, he looks so frail and vulnerable without the wig. And that's how he must have felt without it. It was a little bit like an armor for him, I think, that getup that he wore. Yeah, that's really interesting.

We also heard that there were like unpaid bills in the boxes. Can you tell us about those? Yeah. You probably have heard about Warhol getting shot by Valerie Solanas. And he actually died on a clinical level. He was revived in the hospital. Oh, my gosh. Yeah. So it was a terrible incident and really ripped him up inside. So he had a lot of doctor bills. And it doesn't seem like Andy was very prompt in paying those bills. So we do have a fabulous bill from a doctor. And on the outside of the envelope, the doctor has written,

pay up you cheapskate. Wow, does that mean that I can I can just like not pay my rent and it's art? I can just like not pay my rent and it's art? I'm not going to authorize that, but I fully support you in your artistic endeavors. Hey, Patrick, here's a question for you. Since you're the director of this museum, does that mean you can touch any of the art you want? No. In fact, my staff tells me to keep out from many spaces.

I don't even have a key to art storage. My staff tells me to keep out from many spaces. I don't even have a key to art storage. Oh, I kind of just imagine you pressing your forehead against the Campbell suit painting, but I guess that's not possible. No, that's not going to happen under my watch. I have another idea for you, Patrick. What do you think about rebranding Andy Warhol as the guy Patrick Moore directs a museum about? Well, I think that Warhol's legacy will last far longer than mine.

So I think I'll pass on that one. All right. I'll tell you, it really is an honor to be the director of the Warhol because when I was a little gay kid growing up in Iowa in the 1960s, 70s and early 80s, I turned on MTV one day and there was the show Andy Warhol's 15 Minutes. And it was like this magic portal into this incredible, glamorous, exciting world of New York City that I never thought that I would even be able to touch let alone be a part of and when you think of it for an artist to be able to reach out and touch a little gay kid in Iowa especially back in the 70s and 80s that's quite an accomplishment so I really feel like Warhol's been with me the whole journey. Patrick, our episode is about a time capsule in Iowa. I love how this comes full circle, like art and time capsules in Iowa.

Ah, I'm very interested to listen to it and learn more about an Iowa time capsule. Yeah. Thanks for sharing that with us, Patrick. Yeah, you're welcome. We think it's so funny that they can't remember where they put the time capsule. Hari, how do you remember where you put stuff? I write it down. I mean, that's what surprises me the most. How come nobody drew a map or there was no documentation? Like the assumption was in 50 years, people would still

remember. That's a hell of a, I mean, how does that happen? Didn't they mark it? I don't know. But yeah, it feels like they should have had a map or maybe they just like, they were like, okay, we'll remember it real good. And then we'll tell our kids where it is. And they'll remember it real good too. And then that didn't where it is and they'll remember it real good too and then that didn't work out well the other hard thing is like things change so much so like did people know not to like you know build a road over the spot or or not build a house or like a government building like was there any check to make sure that this was safeguarded? Just to start off, will you introduce yourself?

Yes. Yeah. My name is Ashley Nordahl. I am the chamber director here in Sheldon, Iowa. Yes, you are the chamber director in the town of Sheldon, Iowa. And we also just learned that you're a new mom and you're with your baby right now. I am. Yes, she's here. Finally fell asleep, but she is here. Oh, well, okay, Ashley, we want to talk to you today because your town's been in the news because there's been a little kerfuffle with the time capsule situation. So we have to ask, did you find it?

We did, yes. You found it! Yes, it's in our possession. Oh, thank God. That's great. Yay! Did you end up using the radar company? Actually, no.

So we actually knew where it was, but the problem was that there was cement that got laid all around where the plaque was. So in order for us to get to it we didn't know if we were gonna have to tear up concrete so we were like we need to make sure we know exactly where this sucker is good never heard me double check but what was in that sucker yeah there was actually a lot of really interesting stuff so they buried it during the centennial year. So there was a lot of some information on all of the programs that they did. There was current newspapers, like tons and tons of those.

There was a directory of a church. And then something that I found super interesting was they did this like Brothers of the Bush thing. It was a beard growing contest, essentially. And if you didn't want to grow a beard you had to pay and then you got a button to wear around so that people like couldn't question you on why you didn't have facial hair so fun I absolutely adored that so that was really cool I love that you know in 1972 and in 2022 men are still obsessed with facial obsessed what Obsessed. What in the world? Yeah. So I guess what happens next? Like, where do you put the old stuff?

Is it kind of like a thanks and chuck it situation? No. We're going to display it in our museum. But we're putting together a committee to actually go through ideas to put back into the time capsule. We're going to rebury it. And we actually think everything that can be reused from 1972 we're gonna put back in there i just think having the history from both 100 years and 50 years ago will be super cool for the people in the future to see yeah our wheels are turning on what to put

in there so do you have any like top contenders so far of like top choices to put in there you know we don't really we were so focused on just getting it out in time for our ceremony that we have not really focused on what to put back in so we're getting okay yeah hey you can if you want we'll send you a thumb drive of this freaking episode and then 50 years from now they'll know that your town was featured in the most popular podcast of all time absolutely i love that idea so with this new time capsule you know what are you going to do differently um directions are going to be like framed in our office or something we had like we had just enough information to be dangerous, I feel like. So, yeah, we've thought about that.

Do we frame directions and put them in the mayor's, or in the city manager's office or something? That's the main thing on our list, is to make sure that they'll know how to get to it. That sounds like a good plan. Yeah, maybe you should incorporate it into the elementary school education so every person in Sheldon knows where it is. This is critical information. Yes. Well, we're really excited to see what goes on the time capsule. In the meantime, thank you so much for coming on and telling us a little bit about the

time capsule. Yeah, thank you for having me. It's very fun. And here's the most fun... Oh, man. I ran out of steam right there. But you know who can pick the steam right back up? It's our assistant producer, Zola Ray. Take it away, Zola. This show was brought to you by Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me. This episode was produced by Haley Fager, Zola Ray, that's me, Oja Lopez,

and our brand new best friend, Kelly Wessinger, with help from Blythe Robertson, Lillian King, Sophie Hernandez-Simunibus, and Chester the Cheetah. Our supervising producer is Jennifer Mills, and our RA is Mike Danforth. Once again, Lorna White, you're a goddess among mortals. Ashley Nordahl, thanks for coming on to settle this time capsule fiasco so I can finally sleep at night. Sheldon is lovely. I was born and raised here, so I clearly love it. Patrick Moore, thanks for showing us that one man's trash is another man's treasure. Nobody really wants a piece of toast in a frame. Thank you to

our co-host, comedian, Wait Wait panelist, and apocalypse predictor, Hari Kondabolu. I was probably one of the best students they ever had. See him live at Teehee's Comedy Club in Des Moines on October 9th and Comedy Works in Denver from October 13th to 15th. Emma Choi is our fabulous host and you can find her at Wait WaitNPR. And you can find me practicing my shark tank pitch for a time capsule that disappears into thin air, proving that material items don't matter after all. Okay, I'm done. This is NPR. You wouldn't be from the town of Sheldon, Iowa, would you? No, I'm from the town of Cherokee, Iowa, but I actually know Sheldon, and it's almost as glamorous as Cherokee.