National Archives Intern Tasked With Singeing Edges Of Constitution To Make It Look Old

WASHINGTON—Trying to find work to keep the new summer hires busy, officials at the National Archives tasked intern Haley Scholtz with singeing the edges of the U.S. Constitution on Wednesday to make it look old. “Just burn it around the margins a bit so it looks old-timey,” said archivist Kevin McManus, telling Scholtz that to get the effect they wanted she was welcome to take the document home with her and bake it the oven or, if she was careful, use a lighter to briefly ignite the paper around its perimeter. “The Constitution’s from a long, long time ago, and it’s important we keep it looking that way. You could use some tea bags or coffee from the break room to give the background a nice sepia tone. Or maybe just wad it up and flatten it back out again so it’s crinkly and weathered in a charming way.” At press time, Scholtz had been lauded for her idea to add cobwebs around the Constitution’s preamble to make it a little spooky.