
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.

The Arabia Steamboat: Unearthing a 19th Century Time Capsule from the Missouri River
The Arabia was a steamboat that sank in the Missouri River in 1856. Over time, the river shifted 800 meters to the east, eventually turning the site of the sinking into a field. The steamboat remained under 45 feet of slit and topsoil until 1988, when it was excavated. The mud, as it turned out, was such a great preserver that most of the artifacts on board were found to be intact. They even found jars of preserved apples that were still edible!

Henry Ford, The man popularizing the concept of the weekend off
Henry Ford was the first Industrial Giant to give his employees both Saturday and Sunday off in the hope of encouraging more leisurely use of automobiles and thus popularizing the concept of the "weekend."

What exactly was the US's 'Ghost Army' during WWII?
During WW2, there was a special unit of men dubbed the ‘Ghost Army’. The unit was made of artists, creative and engineers and their job was to create deception about the enemy. From inflatable tanks to phony convoys to scripted conversations in bars intended to spread disinformation, they used all possible tricks to fool the enemy.

The touching story of David Vetter (bubble boy), the 'boy who lived in a bubble
David Vetter lived his whole 12 years in sterile “bubble”. He was “outside” for 20 second after being removed from his mother’s womb. He never touched any human.

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.

10 world’s most destructive and dangerous volcanic eruptions in history
Volcanic eruptions can devastate cities, change the world's atmosphere, and devastate economic systems. They can create molten lava rivers, mudslides, suffocating ash, and poisonous gases that cause chaos around the world for years. A volcanic explosion's effects can be massive, from its size to its death toll to its economic cost. Here is ten world’s most destructive and dangerous volcanic eruptions in history.

How Sleep Deprivation Was Once Used as Torture
Sleep deprivation, long before modern interrogation techniques, was considered a “clean” and effective form of torture—leaving no physical scars, yet breaking minds with haunting silence. Victims endured days and nights without rest, leading to vivid hallucinations, disorientation, and psychological torment. This article traces the dark history of sleep deprivation as a weapon, examines the science behind its effects on the brain, and shines a light on the painful balance between human endurance and cruelty in the annals of coercion.

Max Headroom Incident: America’s Creepiest TV Hack
In 1987 a man hijacked a television station during an episode of Dr. Who and wore a Max Headroom mask and uttered nonsense, and he still hasn’t been caught

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.

What Was the Beast of Gévaudan?
Between 1764 and 1767, a mysterious animal called the Beast of Gévaudan terrorized the French village called Gévaudan. It attacked and killed about 100 adults and children. While most believe it was a wolf, some say it may have been a wolf-dog hybrid, hyena or even a lion, but without any genetic evidence, the beast will remain a mystery forever.

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.

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.

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

Shizo Kanakuri’s 1912 Olympic Marathon Finished 54 Years
At the 1912 Olympics, a marathon runner quit and went home to Japan without telling officials and was considered a missing person in Sweden for 50 years. In 1966, he was invited to complete the marathon. His time: 54 years, 8 months, 6 days, 5 hours, 32 minutes, and 20.379 seconds.

Medieval Medicine: A 1,000-year-old onion and garlic salve kills modern bacterial superbugs
Scientists recreated an Anglo-Saxon manuscript-based 9th century onion and garlic eye remedy and discovered that it killed 90% of antibiotic-resistant staph bacteria (MRSA).

Why was the Eiffel Tower almost demolished
The Eiffel Tower was intended to be a temporary structure for the World's Fair in 1889, but it was nearly dismantled and sold for scrap metal. It was saved because of its potential use as a radio antenna, and it now serves as a tourist attraction as well as a working broadcast tower.

Nuclear bomb accidentally dropped on North Carolina in 196
4 January 1961: The 4241st Strategic Wing's Boeing B-52G-95-BW Stratofortress, serial number 58-0187, was on a 24-hour airborne alert mission off the United States' Atlantic Coast.

The incredible story of Julia "Butterfly" Hill and her legacy
American environmental activist Julia “Butterfly” Hill lived in a 1500-year-old California Redwood tree for 738 days to prevent it from being cut down by the Pacific Lumber Company. The Simpson’s episode “Lisa the Tree Hugger” was inspired by Hill’s story.

The Baltic Way: the longest unbroken human chain in history
On August 23, 1989, about 2 million people from Latvia, Estonia, and Lithuania formed a human chain that united all 3 countries to show the world their desire to escape the Soviet Union and the communism that brought only suffering and poverty. This power stretched 600 km.

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.

Why the Brooklyn Bridge Was Once Crossed by 17 Camels and 21 Elephants
On May 30, 1883, a rumor that the Brooklyn Bridge was going to collapse caused a stampede, which killed at least at twleve people. To prove the bridge was safe, P.T. Barnum led a parade of 21 elephants over it.

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.

15 interesting facts about Queen Elizabeth II
Queen Elizabeth II, who ruled Britain for 70 years, has away at the age of 96. She was the country's longest-reigning monarch. Here are some little-known facts about her.

Top 10 Greatest and shocking Archaeological Discoveries of All Time
While we're all locked at home, there's no better way to escape to another time and place than to learn about amazing archeological sites and discoveries from around the world. Here are the 10 greatest and shocking archaeological discoveries —and don't be shocked if they inspire future trip plans whenever it's safe to do so again.

Ancient Egyptians Had Pregnancy Tests Over 3500 Years Ago
The ancient Egyptians used a pregnancy test that involved potentially pregnant women peeing on barley and wheat seeds. Plant growth indicated pregnancy: barley for a boy and wheat for a girl. Later tests revealed that pregnant women's urine causes plant growth 70% of the time, whereas non-pregnant women's urine does not.