The Turn of the Last Century.

• Author: KELLEY, TIMOTHY

What was life like for Americans just 100 years ago? A newspaper is full of clues.

Extra! Extra! Read all about it! People had a pleasant, uneventful day!" No newsboy ever shouted those words. But history happens on ordinary days, just as it does when wars begin or elections are held. And sometimes it is on ordinary days--and in the small items far from page one--that a newspaper tells the biggest story of all: how people live their everyday lives. In The New York Times of December 31, 1899, no giant headlines splashed big news across the front page. But now that day's newspaper is like a time capsule that has been buried for a hundred years. Look at the advertisements and small stories to see what has changed in a century's time--and what hasn't.

NOW, YOU CHOOSE

How should life today be remembered far in the future, when the century turns once more? We'd like your answer to that question for The New York Times Upfront Time Capsule Project. If you could pick one item representing the 20th century to be put in a time capsule that would be opened 100 years from now, what would it be? What would you want to tell people about what life is like now?

Keep your answer to 100 words or less, and...