National Geographic's DIGGERS Team Discovers Steve Jobs' Apple Lisa Mouse in Time Capsule

A time capsule containing the mouse from Steve Jobs' first mass-marketed Lisa computer was uncovered today on the grounds of the Aspen Music Festival in Aspen, Colo. The finding was made by the National Geographic Channel's Diggers team for an episode of the series that will air early 2014. Buried in 1983 during the now-defunct International Design Conference in Aspen (IDCA), the tube was intended to be unearthed in 2000, but due to changes in the landscape, its exact location was unknown - until now.

Working closely with the Aspen Music Festival and School and Harry Teague, one of the original members of the design team that buried the capsule, the Diggers team was able to narrow down the time capsule's location using original survey coordinates and good old-fashioned math. The capsule was carefully excavated under the supervision of Diggers archaeologist Michael Durkin, and the contents of the capsule will be cataloged and evaluated before Being turned over to the Aspen Historical Society.

"When we buried the capsule in 1983 at the IDCA conference titled 'The Future Is Not What It Used to Be,' it was scheduled to be unearthed in twenty years. We had no idea it would be thirty before we would finally get around to digging it up," said Harry Teague. "I'm sure it's loaded with things of cultural and historic import, but the mouse from one of his new Apple Lisa computers that Steve Jobs threw in at the last minute has to be one of the more iconic items."

In addition to the Lisa mouse, the contents of the 13-foot-long capsule include a mix of early '80s relics: an eight-track recording of The Moody Blues, a Sears Roebuck catalog, a June 1983 copy of Vogue Magazine, a Rubik's Cube and a six-pack of beer. The time capsule was related to the theme of the conference, "The Future Is Not What It Used to Be." At the conference, before donating the mouse, Jobs addressed the crowd in a speech that many believe predicted some of Apple's great innovations to come, including the iPad, wireless networking and even the Apple App Store.

In the Diggers series, Saylor and Wyant scour the country for lost pieces of American history - from Civil War buckles to family heirloom rings and silver coins. Where there is an empty yard, field or beach approved for metal detecting, the duo see a treasure trove, and will go the distance to uncover "the juice," as they call it, working in close collaboration with a local archaeologist or historian at every site. It's not just the raw value of the object that gets them excited; it's the thrill of The Hunt and the possibility that the next artifact they dig up could yield the discovery of a lifetime or, in this case, a significant piece of tech - and pop culture - history!

Diggers is produced for National Geographic Channel by Half Yard Productions; Abby Greensfelder and Sean Gallagher are executive producers. For National Geographic Channel, executive producer and Vice president of production & development is Charlie Parsons, senior Vice president of production & development is Noel Siegel and president is Howard T. Owens.

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