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In 1 hour, find out what’s inside this mystery package from 1912

"Can be opened in 2012," the package reads.

 

Kevin Morris

Streaming

Posted on Aug 24, 2012   Updated on Jun 2, 2021, 12:15 pm CDT

A 100-year-old Norwegian mystery will be finally be revealed today—and you can watch it live over the Internet.

In the late 1920s, the first mayor of the little Norwegian town of Sel (population: 6,088) handed a package over to the city government. The sealed parcel was from 1912. On top he’d written: “Can be opened in 2012.” For nearly a century, the city’s government has respected that wish. Now, exactly 100 years after Johan Nygaard’s mystery package was first sealed, the city is getting ready to open it up.

What’s inside? Government documents? Proof of a financial scandal? A top secret Lutefisk recipe? Here’s what we know about the package: It’s 3.1 kilos (about 7lbs), about 16 inches wide, 11 inches deep, and 3.5 thick.

We rather liked redditor comcrist’s suggestion:

“Inside the box is a smaller box labeled ‘open in another hundred years.’”

The festivities begin at 12pm ET. Watch the live stream here.

Update: The mystery package has been opened and appears to contain letters, composition books, and flags. What’s in those documents remains a mystery. The historians who opened it have gone back stage and promise to describe the contents in full later today.

Photo via VG

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*First Published: Aug 24, 2012, 10:52 am CDT