
Marion Stokes produced television in addition to being an activist for Black social justice. As per Stokes’s profile in Atlas Obscura, her archival project commenced in 1975 when she bought a Betamax magnetic videotape recorder. She started full-time recording on multiple VCRs in 1980, starting with two or three and eventually up to eight.
The Philadelphia Inquirer stated that she started sporadically taping television shows in 1976, despite the claims of many that she started recording in 1975. But her taping became constant at the start of the Iran hostage crisis in 1979 when “she hit record and she never stopped,” according to her son Michael Metelits, who gave multiple interviews to the Inquirer. She was also strengthened by the establishment of CNN in 1980, which brought in an era of round-the-clock news coverage, with reporters following every move of a story in real time.
Recorder: The Marion Stokes Project, a 2019 documentary, states that she recorded for nine news stations up until her death in 2012.
Before “fake news” Marion was fighting to protect the truth by archiving everything that was said and shown on television. The public didn’t know it, but the networks were disposing their archives for decades into the trashcan of history. Remarkably Marion saved it, and now the Internet Archive will digitize her tapes and we’ll be able to search them online for free.
This is a mystery in the form of a time capsule. It’s about a radical Communist activist, who became a fabulously wealthy recluse archivist. Her work was crazy but it was also genius, and she would pay a profound price for dedicating her life to this visionary and maddening project.
Early in2013, rumors circulated that she possessed about 140,000 VHS tapes with news footage of political scandals, revolutions, and other events. The Internet Archive later updated this figure to 40,000 after starting to receive tape containers from Stokes’ family. Her son gave the tapes to the nonprofit organization, which is well-known for its extensive online archive. They intended to digitize all of the material and make it publicly accessible.
An update to a Fast Company report on the digitization process appeared in Poynter in 2014: “And no, as Fast Company and Poynter stated back in November, there aren’t 140,000 VHS tapes. Merely forty thousand. The relatives exaggerated.
Additionally, the Internet Archive updated Fast Company:
The Internet Archive received four shipping containers of Stokes’ tapes in December. After conducting a sample inventory, it realized that the family’s initial estimate of the number of tapes was incorrect. The collection is about 40,000 tapes large. “I think it’s daunting when confronted with many storage containers, 20- or 30-feet deep, to figure it out,” Macdonald says about why the mistake was made.
Between 1980 and 2012, Marion Stokes recorded every minute of US television on 71,000 VHS tapes. She had to buy nine apartments to store them.
— Quite Interesting (@qikipedia) May 13, 2021
Today, the tapes can be found in the Internet Archive’s vast collection in the following links:
Between 1980 and 2012, Marion Stokes recorded every minute of US television on 71,000 VHS tapes. She had to buy nine apartments to store them.
— Quite Interesting (@qikipedia) May 13, 2021
Roger MacDonald, the creator of the TV News Archive at the Internet Archive, spoke with us and provided us with additional current details about Stokes’ collection:
Our current best count of video cassettes in the Marion Stokes TV Archive is 71,716. Although each has notations on the spine indicating programs recorded and dates, we have not counted the number of programs, nor their durations.[…]We are looking forward to the time when we have sufficient funds to really making a dent in digitizing the vast collection and making it available online in our library.
Stokes’ archive is undoubtedly not the biggest of its kind worldwide. With “the world’s most extensive and complete archive of television news” and having “been recording, preserving and providing access to television news broadcasts of the national networks since August 5, 1968,” Vanderbilt University may hold that distinction.
Related Topic You Might Find Interesting:
- Story of Forrest Fenn and who he hid a bronze chest treasure full of gold and other jewels
- Jack the Baboon operated a railroad, earned a living, and never made a mistake
The Dartmouth Media Ecology Project lists UCLA’s Film and Television Archive as “the second largest moving image archive in the United States after the Library of Congress, and the world’s largest university-based media archive.” UCLA asserts that it has “the largest university-held collection of motion pictures and broadcast programming.”
According to some reports, Stokes’ archive is the largest known collection of television produced by a single person. Atlas Obscura describes it as “the only comprehensive collection preserving this period [of 30-plus decades from the 70s to 2012] in television media history.” Given that recording so much content from one’s own home was extremely unusual at the time, this assessment may be accurate. We are not aware of any other personal project utilizing this much historical video.

How 18th Century Women’s Rights Movements Shaped Modern Equality
The 18th century marked a turning point in the quest for women’s rights, as passionate voices challenged centuries of gender inequality and laid the groundwork for modern feminism. From pioneers like Mary Wollstonecraft to revolutionary declarations and early advocacy, this era sparked debates on education, political participation, and social justice that continue to resonate today. Journey through the origins of women’s rights movements and discover how their bold ideas shaped the fight for equality.

How Cleveland's Balloonfest in 1986 Turned Into a Public Tragedy
In Cleveland, Ohio, United Way broke the world record by deflating nearly 1.5 million balloons as part of a publicity stunt to raise money. The balloon obstructed a US Coast Guard search for two boaters who were subsequently discovered to have drowned, blocked airport runways, and blocked land and waterways.

Underground Railroad to Mexico freed thousands of slaves in 1829
Slavery was abolished in Mexico in 1829. Slaves were escaping to Mexico, and slaveholders in the US were aware of this. The US attempted to get Mexico to sign a fugitive slave treaty, which would have required Mexico to send back escaped slaves to the US. But, Mexico refused, arguing that slaves were free as soon as they set foot on Mexican soil.

A Brief History of the PlayStation Gaming Console
Sony's PlayStation was never meant to be an actual product. Instead, it was intended to be a CD-ROM console that would support Nintendo games. However, when Nintendo backed out of the deal at the last minute, Sony went ahead and launched what soon became one of the most successful gaming consoles of all time.

Ancient Jericho: The First Walled City In History
The ancient city of Jericho is the world's oldest walled city, with evidence of stone fortifications dating back nearly 9000 years.

Poto And Cabengo: The Secret Language Of Twins
Poto and Cabengo, as the two girls called each other, communicated in their own language. The twins were ignored by their parents and secluded from the outside world because their father felt they were developmentally retarded, and their unique language evolved as a result of that neglect.

Charlie Brown and Franz Stigler incident: Enemy became friends
During WWII, a German pilot spotted an American pilot’s crippled plane in the sky. Tailing it, he noticed that gunner was dead, crew injured, and they posed no threat. Instead of destroying the plane, he led it to safety. 40 years later, the two pilots reunited.

Martin Couney, Saved Thousands of Premature Babies Wasn’t a Doctor at All
Martin Couney never qualified as a medical doctor. However, in the 1900s, he saved thousands of premature babies by exhibiting them in incubators at his Coney Island sideshow. Over the course of his career, he is said to have saved about 6,500 babies that had previously been written off by mainstream medicine.

Albert Einstein’s brain after it was stolen from his body
Albert Einstein's brain was taken by the opportunistic pathologist who performed his autopsy hours after he died and kept in two jars for 30 years. The stolen brain of Albert Einstein was preserved in a cookie jar for 30 years until being discovered by a journalist.

Hedy Lamarr, A Hollywood actress who also a mathematician and inventor
Hollywood actress Hedy Lamarr was also a mathematician and the inventor of frequency hopping spread spectrum, a technology still used for bluetooth and wifi

Inside The Mysterious Death Of The Famed Gothic Writer Edgar Allan Poe
Hours before his death Edgar Allen Poe was found on the streets of Baltimore. He was incoherent, wearing another man’s clothes, and unable to explain how he got there. The cause of his death is an unsolved mystery.

Keith Sapsford: The Story of 14-Year-Old Stowaway
The final image of 14-year-old Australian Keith Sapsford, who aspired to travel the world. In February 1970, he sneaked into the wheel-well of a plane flying from Sydney to Tokyo. It opened mid-air & fell out. When a photographer was testing a new lens, he captured this moment on film and was surprised when it developed.

George Dantzig solved two famous “unsolved” problems in statistics mistakenly as assignment
In 1939, George Dantzig arrived late to his statistics class. On the board were two famous “unsolved” problems in statistics written as an example by his professor. Dantzig mistook the examples for homework assignments. He solved the “unsolved” problems and submitted the homework to his professor a few days later. His solutions earned him a doctorate.

The unbroken seal on King Tutankhamun's tomb until 1922
The unbroken seal of Tutankhamun's tomb before it was opened in 1923, it was unbroken for over 3000 years.

Why Comedians Failed to Make Sober Sue Laugh in the Early 1900s
In the bustling vaudeville scene of early 20th century New York, a mysterious performer known as "Sober Sue" captured public imagination not for jokes or songs, but for her unshakable stoicism—she never smiled or laughed. A local theater even offered a tempting reward of $1,000 to anyone who could make her laugh, drawing crowds and famous comedians eager to claim the prize. Despite countless hilarious attempts, Sue remained expressionless, a mystery that baffled performers and audiences until it was revealed that she suffered from facial paralysis, explaining her unchanging demeanor.

The true story of Annie Oakley, legendary sharpshooter
Anne Oakley was such a good shooter that she could split a playing card help edge-on, hit dimes thrown into the air, shoot cigarette from her husband's lips, and pierce a playing card thrown into the air before it hit the ground.

The Mouth of Truth: Ancient Rome’s Legendary "Lie Detector" That Bit Off Hands
Discover the chilling legend of the Mouth of Truth (Bocca della Verità) in Ancient Rome—a massive carved stone face believed to bite off the hand of anyone who lied while inserting their hand into its gaping mouth. Uncover the truth behind its eerie reputation and how this ancient artifact became a symbol of honesty and fear.

The day Iceland's women went on strike
Icelandic women went on strike for equal rights on October 24, 1975. 90% of women walked out of their jobs and homes, effectively shutting down the entire country. The men were struggling to keep up. The following year, Parliament passed a law requiring equal pay. Iceland elected the world's first female President five years later. Iceland now has the highest gender equality rate in the world.

The Day an Israeli F-15 Landed with One Wing: Zivi Nedivi’s Unbelievable Mid-Air Survival
Discover the astonishing true story of Israeli pilot Zivi Nedivi, who safely landed an F-15 after a mid-air collision tore off its entire right wing. Learn how skill, quick thinking, and the F-15’s unique design turned a disaster into a legendary feat in aviation history

Before Radar: How Giant Acoustic Mirrors Detected Enemy Aircraft in WWI and WWII
Long before radar revolutionized air defense, enormous acoustic mirrors and specialized sound locators stood as the first line of defense against enemy aircraft. Designed as giant “ears,” these structures amplified distant engine noises, allowing operators to detect incoming planes by sound alone. Dive into the intriguing world of these pioneering listening devices, their operation, limitations, and enduring legacy in military history.

Nordlingen, The Town Inside A Meteorite Crater With Millions Of Meteorite Diamonds
The German town of Nördlingen is embedded with 72,000 tons of microscopic diamonds. About 15 million years ago, a meteorite hit this region, and the impact created a massive depression and formed rocks containing diamonds, glass, and crystals. The town was built in the impact crater sometime around 898 CE.

The 440-pound bear named Wojtek and his World War II battle against the Nazis
Polish troops raised an orphaned bear cub during WWII. He enjoyed drinking beer, and was trained to salute. He became officially enlisted as a member of the forces, and helped carry artillery during battle.

Louis Le Prince Invented the motion picture camera, and then he mysteriously disappeared
Louis Le Prince, the inventor of motion pictures, vanished without a trace in 1890. Thomas Edison quickly claimed the title of "first and sole inventor of cinema," even taking Le Prince's son to court to dispute it. A few years later, the son also dies under mysterious circumstances.

Reason Behind The Suicide Of Christine Chubbuck Live On Air
Actor Rebecca Hall had serious reservations about tackling the macabre story around why Chubbuck killed herself in 1974. So what changed her mind?

Archaeologists Uncover 2,000-Year-Old Amazonian Cities Using Lidar Technology
Deep in the Ecuadorian Amazon, archaeologists have uncovered an ancient network of urban settlements once inhabited by the Upano people about 2,000 years ago. Using cutting-edge lidar technology, these discoveries reveal a highly organized society featuring sophisticated agricultural systems, drainage canals, and extensive road networks. This transformative find challenges long-held assumptions about ancient Amazonian societies and sheds light on a complex civilization thriving in one of the world’s most biodiverse regions.