[knarf]

The scientists digitally opened four letters using this groundbreaking method, deciphering the contents of one letter, DB-1627. Penned on July 31, 1697, it was written by a man named Jacques Sennacques to his cousin Pierre Le Pers, who lived in The Hague. Sennacques, a legal professional in Lille, France, requested an official death certificate for a relative named Daniel Le Pers, "perhaps due to a question of inheritance," the scientists wrote.

"His request issued, Sennacques then spends the rest of the letter asking for news of the family and commending his cousin to the graces of God," the authors wrote. "We do not know exactly why Le Pers did not receive Sennacques' letter, but given the itinerancy of merchants, it is likely that Le Pers had moved on." Tens of thousands of such sealed documents can now be unfolded and read virtually, the researchers reported.

[AZJeep]

Since there is no death certificate, he can still vote!