There is no way a piece of paper can last 230 years, period. I have old report cards that are 20 years old from the 7th grade that are nearly decomposed (all A’s & 1 B+ on the report cards). How can people possibly the original copy is on display? I challenge anyone to put up a valid argument a piece of paper would not decompose over 230 years.
2007-01-11 11:17:42 · 19 answers · asked by Anonymous in Arts & Humanities ➔ History
It was not written on paper. It was not written on hemp.
It was written on parchment - or if you don't know what that is - sheepskin.
Check out the government web site for proof.
2007-01-11 11:41:28 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 3⤊ 0⤋
Honey, watch the news. There are pieces of paper that have lasted 2,000 years. It's the quality of the paper, or in this case, parchment, dear. Lord, even if you repudiate the existence and age of the Dead Sea Scrolls, the original printed Bible, the Gugenheim version, still exists. Do you have any idea how old THAT entire book is? If well-taken-care-of, paper can last a VERY long time. I actually OWN books from the 1830's. There are business ledgers from the building of Londons' main cathedral from 1675. They are not only in fairly good condition, they are still quite legible and understandable. Why WOULDN'T it still exist?
2007-01-11 20:14:25 · answer #2 · answered by graytrees 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Come to our church in Edinburgh, Scotland, to see an original document (the National Covenant) written and signed in 1638. Visit other churches, museums and castles to see seven or eight other copies of the same Covenant, all written out at the same time. Visit Lincoln Cathedral in England to see one of the four surviving copies of Magna Carta, written in 1215.
Visit my attic to see exam papers 50 years old, perfectly sound and legible, and Meccano magazines and instruction books 80 years old also showing no real signs of deterioration with age. Light is the paper killer, so papers which are kept in the dark and only viewed in dim light will last for far longer than your report cards.
2007-01-12 07:18:55 · answer #3 · answered by bh8153 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Well, it is badly decomposed. It rests now in the National Archives, and has undergone some restoration process. Paper was generally made from hemp back then, so maybe that lasts longer than the paper your report card is made of.
PS. Nice grades, Dude!
2007-01-11 19:28:22 · answer #4 · answered by northstar789 2 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Check out the National Archives site, where the Declaration is housed. You will see that the original is not in the best of shape. However, using proper techniques, archivists can do a lot to preserve old documents.
2007-01-11 19:40:32 · answer #5 · answered by BethS 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
If the piece of papers is sealed and properly preserved, I'm sure it could last. Also, I doubt that they wrote the Declaration of Independence on average paper. It was probably very fancy high quality paper, such as the 25% cotton paper that people sometimes use for resumes and other important documents today. It's thicker and higher quality so it lasts longer.
2007-01-11 19:23:06 · answer #6 · answered by lazerybyl 3 · 2⤊ 1⤋
Its written on Hemp flax dude, ironic considering prohibition.
Its the same reason why all the Roman sails were made out of hemp flax from Gaul, they don't rot in the same way as man made sails. Thats true, its not paper at all.
Oh an the dead sea scrolls are much older than that.
2007-01-11 19:22:04 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 4⤊ 0⤋
They keep it in a storage glass filled with helium, so there is no oxygen in there, so ergo, it cannot decompose from airborne means, light is the only thing that can damage it now. That is why you can't have flash photography in there.
2007-01-11 20:19:08 · answer #8 · answered by Adam S 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Radio Carbon Dating.
2007-01-11 19:21:13 · answer #9 · answered by Robert E 3 · 0⤊ 3⤋
I got a few books from the 1700's way down south where it allmost 100% humidity all the time so I think it'll last longer.
2007-01-11 19:21:07 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 4⤊ 1⤋