How exactly were the capsules prepared and mixed in the 1969 draft lottery, and what first‑hand accounts describe the procedure?
This fact-check may be outdated. Consider refreshing it to get the most current information.
Executive summary
The 1969 draft lottery used 366 small blue plastic capsules, each containing a slip with one calendar date, which were drawn publicly to assign induction order; the capsules were displayed in a clear glass container and removed one-by-one by hand on live television, with Congressman Alexander Pirnie drawing the first capsule and Selective Service chief Lewis Hershey presiding [1] [2] [3]. Contemporary witnesses and later analysts give broadly consistent descriptions of filling and drawing the capsules but diverge sharply on how the mixing was done — eyewitnesses describe dumping and hand‑mixing in a glass bin or tumbler [3] [1], while statistical reviewers and technical reconstructions argue the mixing was insufficient and likely biased by the way capsules were loaded [4] [5].
1. The materials: what went into each capsule
Organizers prepared 366 blue plastic capsules — one for each day of the leap year calendar, including February 29 — and placed a small slip of paper with a single calendar date into each capsule before the drawing [1] [4]. Multiple official histories and museum summaries repeat that each capsule represented one date and that the completed set of capsules represented every possible birthday for registrants born 1944–1950 [2] [1].
2. Filling, pre‑mix handling, and staging for the camera
Accounts agree that after the slips were prepared they were placed into capsules and those capsules were gathered for the televised event; one detailed reconstruction says the slips were mixed in a shoebox before being placed into capsules, after which the capsules were put into a large glass jar for the draw [4] [1]. Contemporary press and later retrospectives describe the set as low‑budget: the jar sat atop a step stool on a nondescript stage and the capsules had been “unceremoniously dumped” into it prior to drawing [3] [2].
3. The mixing and drawing procedure as described by witnesses
On December 1, 1969 the capsules were in a clear container and drawn by hand one at a time on live television; the first capsule was drawn by Congressman Alexander Pirnie and then youth delegates selected subsequent capsules in turns while the slips inside were opened and posted in order [2] [3]. Several contemporary and official summaries state that the capsules were “drawn from the container” and that drawers reached in and removed capsules by hand [1] [6].
4. Conflicting, vivid descriptions of the mixing step
Eyewitness popular retellings and some technical writeups describe a mechanical‑looking bin or tumbler into which capsules were poured and briefly tumbled or spun before drawing — metaphors range from a “tumbler” to a “hamster treadmill” — and some reconstructions even claim an official stuck his hand into the bin to mix the capsules [7] [8]. Official Selective Service texts and museum summaries emphasize hand‑mixing in a large glass container without detailing extensive mechanical tumbling, leaving room for divergent impressions among witnesses [1] [2].
5. First‑hand participants and observers: who testified about the method
Primary actors in the televised event included Congressman Pirnie drawing the first capsule and Selective Service director Lewis Hershey presiding, with youth delegates taking subsequent turns — these roles are recorded in official histories and press accounts [2] [3]. Later commentators and statisticians who analyzed the drawing’s fairness relied on the broadcast record and participant testimony to reconstruct the physical steps, but those analysts are not witnesses to every backstage handling decision and instead inferred mixing protocols from film and outcome patterns [3] [4].
6. Why the mixing mattered: first‑hand reactions and technical critiques
Immediate public reaction included outrage and suspicion that the procedure had favored certain months because statistician critiques found late‑year birthdays disproportionately low in draft numbers, which statistical analyses linked to the way capsules were loaded month‑by‑month and insufficiently randomized during mixing [4] [5]. Historical summaries record that these critiques did not change the lottery results but did prompt procedural changes in subsequent lotteries, which used two tumblers and a paired‑draw method to reduce bias [5] [8].