Buy The Time

October 29, 1971

1971-10-29 22:00 UTC

Held by The Museum. Not for sale.

The first email

The first email
Photo: Andreu Veà, WiWiW.org · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Ray Tomlinson sends a message between two machines standing side by side.
Source ↗

Questions and answers

When exactly did the first email take place?
It is recorded at 1971-10-29 22:00 UTC — October 29, 1971 in Coordinated Universal Time. Every minute in this registry is stored in UTC so it reads the same anywhere in the world.
Can this minute be bought?
No. Museum minutes are curated historical entries held permanently by the registry and are never for sale. The minutes around them can be claimed.
What does owning a minute mean?
Buy The Time is a novelty registry. Nobody buys real time or property — an owner buys a permanent, public entry against one UTC minute in this database, visible to everyone.
Independent proof

Recorded on the Bitcoin blockchain

Confirmed on October 1, 2026 in block 969,500. Anyone can verify this record exists, without us.

SHA-256 0e765f3c4343f482f7a5f1e31d6eeeb64cd3db3db35824c2492ab820538fc52e

Download proofVerify at opentimestamps.orgHow verification works
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Adjacent minutes

Every minute within five minutes of this one is unclaimed.

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