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Every now and then an image appears online which people claim shows a time traveller somewhere they shouldn't be. But are they just cases of people letting their imaginations run wild?

We've rounded up some of the best and most interesting images of time travellers throughout history. Some turned out to be plain fakes or cases of mistaken identities, but others are certainly intriguing.

Which have you seen before?

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The time travelling hipster

This photo was snapped in 1941 at the re-opening ceremony for the South Fork Bridge in British Columbia.

If you look carefully, on the right-hand side you can see an unusually dressed man in what appears to be modern clothing, sporting sunglasses at a time when most were wearing hats and smart jackets.

Many argue this is a time traveller, while others have countered that he's simply a man with a fashion sense ahead of his time. Snopes has shown his clothing is relevant to the time and the area, but it's still great to imagine.

World Cup celebrations

This photo comes from the 1962 World Cup and shows the celebrations as the Brazilian team lifts the trophy.

If you look closely though, you'll see in the bottom centre of the image what looks like someone with a mobile phone snapping a photo of the event.

Could this be a time traveller as well? A bit odd to think someone in the future might have a flip phone , but then they have been making a comeback recently and we know folding phones are about to be big too .

The time travelling sun seeker

This image from 1943 apparently shows British factory workers escaping to the seaside for a break during the midst of wartime. The clothes and beachwear of most people certainly fit the era, but in the centre of a frame appears to be a man dressed like Mr Bean checking his mobile phone.

Or maybe it's a time travel device? Likely a bit of a stretch or a case of overactive internet imagination, but we still enjoy the thought. Maybe there are no public beaches in the future?

Mohawk time traveller

This image from 1905 appears to show the usual happenings of the time - including workers and a banana boat delivering its goods.

However, if you look near the edge of the boat you can spy a man in a white shirt with what appears to be a Mohawk-style haircut. A very unusual haircut for the time and possible proof of a time traveller? Who can say?

Film footage captured during the recording of Charlie Chaplin's 1928 silent film "The Circus" appears to show a lady dressed all in black, wearing a hat and walking around the set talking on her mobile phone.

The footage is a little iffy as is the idea that anyone could be talking on a mobile device in the 1920s, but it's certainly got some suggesting it might be proof time travellers are among us.

The ancient astronaut sculpture

In Salamanca, Spain, there's a cathedral with multiple sculptures carved into its sides. One such sculpture appears to show the likeness of a modern-day (or perhaps futuristic) astronaut.

Considering the cathedral's construction dates back to 1513, people have taken this as proof that time travellers made their way back to that time. However, the truth is the astronaut is merely a modern addition to the artwork carried out by Jerónimo García de Quiñones during renovations in 1992.

Time travelling celebrities

There's an interesting trend of people who closely resemble folks from a bygone era. This could just be a spooky coincidence, but maybe it's proof that time travel is possible.

Perhaps these celebrities are living a double life in another century. Here, Marxist-Leninist Revolutionary Leader Mahir Cayan who was born in 1946 and died in 1972 is shown to bear a striking resemblance to TV star Jimmy Fallon. Is Jimmy Fallon living a double life as a revolutionary communist? Seems hilariously unlikely.

A man and his mobile phone

Some claim that this oil painting by Pieter de Hooch, which was lovingly crafted in 1670 appears to show a young man holding his mobile phone. In an age where such a thing would probably have seen him burnt at the stake, this one is hard to believe.

A description of the image also suggests the young man is a messenger and that's a letter in his hand, not a phone, but it's still nice to let your imagination run wild once in a while. We've often wondered what it would be like to be able to travel back to simpler times to see what life was like for ourselves.

The Adidas trainers mummy

A couple of years ago, an ancient mummy was unearthed by archaeologists digging in Mongolia. At the time, it was suggested the funky-looking footwear she was wearing bore a striking resemblance to Adidas trainers. More evidence of a time traveller visiting ancient times? Investigation of the body dated it around 1,100 years old. That's one heck of a blast through the past.

However, further unearthing showed the woman was more likely to have been a Turkic seamstress which might explain the fresh kicks. She was found with an ancient clutch bag, a mirror, a comb, a knife and more. But no mobile phone.

The time surfer

Another image of an out-of-place individual that people have latched on to as proof that time travel is a reality.

This image dates back over 100 years and shows some smartly dressed Canadians sitting on the side of a hill.

On the left-hand side though, sits a young man in what appears to be a t-shirt and shorts with ruffled hair. He was quickly referred to as the surfing time traveller due to how unusual his attire is. Others have suggested people in the photo appear shocked by his appearance, even pointing out the woman on the right who seems to be gesturing in his direction. Again, this a bit of a stretch as would a time traveller really go through time dressed like that?

A visitor to wartime Reykjavík

This photograph apparently shows a scene from downtown Reykjavík in 1943.

In the heart of wartime, soldiers and sailors can be seen everywhere in the streets among civilians. The man circled though, appears to be on a mobile phone.

We've really got a theme going with these smartphone using time travellers. Who is he calling? And how? And if he is a time traveller, why is he not in Berlin trying to assassinate Hitler?

The dabbing WWII soldier

There's an apparent theme to these time traveller photos that not only includes smartphone users, but also people visiting the second world war.

In this image, a young soldier is seen dabbing, a dance move that became popular around 2014, but certainly wasn't known in wartime.

Of course, it turns out this photo isn't an image of a time traveller, but rather just an image of some actors from 2017's blockbuster Dunkirk . The fact that most of the soldiers are smiling should also be a bit of a giveaway with this one.

Greta Thunberg

In 2019, the internet discovered a photograph from 1898 which showed three children working at a gold mine in Canada's Yukon territory.

The image seemed to show a girl with an incredible likeness to the young climate activist Greta Thunberg. Does this make Thunberg a time traveller who's come through time to save the planet? Weird year for her to choose, but it's a nice idea.

A woman clutching a smartphone (1860)

The painting " The expected one " from 1860, by Ferdinand Georg Waldmüller appears to show a woman walking along a rough path, about to be accosted by an adoring young man clutching a pink flower.

A close look though and you'll see she appears to have her attention firmly glued to a modern smartphone. Is this woman actually a time traveller?

Vladimir Putin

A few years back, a number of images surfaced online that seemingly showed Russian President Vladimir Putin snapped over various decades without ageing. Either proof that he's a time traveller or perhaps just immortal?

If true, he's incredibly patriotic, with each image showing him serving his country in one way or another. Though it's more likely to just be a strong likeness.

The AI time traveller

Here's a time traveller with a difference. Stelfie the Time Traveller has been using AI to travel through time. Or at least to give the illusion of doing so.

This creative individual has been using Stable Diffusion to insert the likeness of a modern man into ancient civilisations including Egypt when the pyramids were being constructed, Rome with the centurions and the land of the dinosaurs . It's fun to imagine these as being real, though if you look closely they're clearly AI-generated. As this artificial intelligence improves we'll no doubt get even better images like this. Interestingly even the character taking the selfies isn't real here, but is also made using AI.

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20 Famous Time Traveler Photos & Videos You Must Have Seen

Ollie Mattison

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Time traveling is a mystery yet to solve. It has been one of the most discussed topics in the science fiction industry over the years- both movies and novels. Besides movies and books, some time traveler photos also get revealed from time to time.

In this article

Part 1: is time traveler believable.

Would you believe it if someone tells you that they have visited the past or the future? Well, if you follow science fiction and are a time-travel enthusiast, it might be a possible thing to believe for you. But people, in general, might not find time traveling believable. However, time travel pictures may guide them to the exact opposite belief. Time-traveling seems possible as a person of science due to its correspondence with motions and physics laws. Nevertheless, to this day, time-traveling remains on the verge of being both believable and unbelievable.

Part 2: 10 Famous Time Traveler Photos You Should Know

From time to time, some pictures get viral as time travel photography. Here are 10 such time travel images that you should know about.

1. Greta Thunberg time travel

Greta Thunberg is a young climate activist and environmental heroine. In a 120-year-old picture, there seems to be a girl resembling her. That is where the gossip started. Could Greta Thunberg be a time traveler who traveled through time to save mankind from its uprising climate crisis? Maybe, maybe not. But the 1898 image shows a goldmine operator, ‘Greta Thunberg.’

2. The modern hipster

When you see a picture with someone with a totally different kind of clothing, it must raise the question of whether they are a time traveler. This time travel picture has most people in hats and suits, whereas a man seems to wear sports glasses and modern clothing, like a t-shirt and a sweater.

3. World Cup 1962

If the football world cup 1962 is not remembered due to the game, it must be remembered due to the time travel image. When the champion team was celebrating with their trophy, the picture shows that a man seems to capture the moment with his cell phone. A cell phone in 1962? That must be time travel.

4. A cell phone?

A common practice of identifying a picture as time travel pictures are through cell-phone or such modern devices in age-old pictures. Here is another one. It shows a man speaking through his cell phone in a time, which seems to be too advanced for a cell phone.

5. Time traveler skips town?

This was actually the heading of the news in a newspaper. Andrew Carlssin, a self-proclaimed time traveler, was jailed for insider-trading charges. He claimed to be from the year 2256. More to the amusement, he just vanished from inside the cell.

6. Another cell phone?

Here is another picture that could be one of the time travel pictures involving a cell phone. But this time, it is a woman with a cell phone. The photograph was captured from behind the scenes of a movie of Charlie Chaplin.

7. An astronaut in the 1600s?

Space travel was introduced only a few decades back. But what if you see pictures that tell otherwise? Here is the picture of a sculpture on the wall of a church building. The building was built in the 1600s-1800s. So when the sculpture is that of an astronaut, it is pretty weird.

8. The same tattoo?

This is another self-proclaimed case of time traveling. A man from Sweden claims that he has traveled to the future through a time travel portal from under his sink. The claim even includes a photograph, which shows two hands with the same tattoo. The man claimed that he had taken a picture of the tattoo of his future self, and that was it. It could be better if he took an image of his future version.

9. A time travel ad!

In 1997, a newspaper clipping got viral, which had an advertisement for time traveling in it. The ad owner was looking for someone who could go back in time with them. The movie, Safety Not Guaranteed, was created based on this event.

10. John Titor time machine photos

Now comes some photos of a claimed-to-be time machine. John Titor designed the machine. He is known as the most famous time traveler across the world. His predictions were quite vague. However, they were pretty specific, making it a plausible explanation for time travel.

Part 3: Top 10 Time Traveler Videos

Here are some of the videos that stand for time travel and teleportation.

1. Time traveler caught on camera

If you were a time traveler, you would never want others to find out. The man didn’t want to either, as it seems from the footage. However, the camera caught him trying to do so. Watch time traveler video here.

2. The Charlie Chaplin movie

The scene was caught behind the scenes from a Charlie Chaplin movie. A woman was seen walking with a cell phone in her ear. It may not seem anything weird as for today, but it was pretty awkward for that time.

See Charlie Chaplin movie here.

3. Same tattoo from the future self

Previously, we have shown the time travel picture of two hands with the same tattoo, which was claimed to be the person with his future self. Here is the video footage of the person describing the whole claim. Let’s see if we can believe the theory.

4. Vonhelton

There are only a few instances where time traveling is thought to be really real. It is one of those instances. Vonhelton claims that he has traveled through both time and space. He even shows specific pictures of himself being in England in 1857, France in 1916, and Germany in 1945. Let’s give in to imagination for the rest.

5. A Cell-phone time travel video

The film goes back to 1938. It shows a woman who seems to be talking on a cell phone or a similar device. One thing is for sure, no such devices were available at that time.

6. The Mike Tyson Fight

We all know that smartphones weren’t available until recently. However, the time travel video shows something different. It was a fight between Mcneely and Mike Tyson, and one of the audience seems to bring a smartphone and take pictures. Quite a time travel, right?

7. The time traveler biker

The footage shows a biker riding his bike. After a while, he just disappears from the footage into something that seems to be a flash of light.

8. Lost in the troops

The incident took place in Russia. On March 19, a person appears on the train platform wearing the same military dress as in the 1940s. He claims that he got lost with the troops. He also carries an ID card that was issued in 1930.

9. Cell-phone aging over 800 years

A few years back, some researchers unearthed a cell-phone-like ancient structure, which is supposed to be from 800 years back. The interesting fact is that the cell phone resembles a Nokia phone to quite a great extent. This raises the question of whether the cell phone is really from another civilization or a time travel.

10. Future, revealing time traveler

A person named Noah claims to have visited the future. He also shows a video that is claimed to be from the future. Nevertheless, Noah predicts some future incidents for the Philippines, what he claims to be prophecy.

If time travel is really possible remains a question till the day. Whether it is true or not, we see some pieces of evidence of it from time to time through time traveler photos and videos.

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Five eerie pictures that 'prove time travel exists' with experts around the world baffled

Claims of time travel seem to be getting more and more frequent as conspiracy fans collect their "evidence" that movement between certain points in time is very possible

• 07:14, 11 Mar 2023

It's usually the stuff of fiction found buried inside fantasy novels or big-budget sci-fi films .

But claims of time travel are become more and more regular - and people are unearthing more 'proof' that the hands of time are being twisted and turned in all directions.

Digging up some photos and artwork from the past, the number of believers appear to be growing by the day.

Conspiracy fans are convinced people have been going back to the future - and they say the evidence is starting to stack up!

Here's some of the photos that have been causing a stir and gives a little credibility to the theories that movement between certain points in time is possible.

Calling time on the doubters!

Many are convinced that a mural from the 1930s proves that time travel really does exist - after spotting a 'mobile phone' in the painting.

The artwork, titled Mr. Pynchon and the Settling of Springfield, was created by Italian artist Umberto Romano in 1937 and depicts the arrival of settlers to the town in the 1620s.

In the scene, a Native American local is holding up a small, black rectangular object similar to the shape of an iPhone and looking directly at it, almost as if he was snapping a selfie.

The peculiar object has left viewers baffled, with many drawing the conclusion that it could be a sign of time travel as iPhones were not invented until 2007.

Is that you, Greta?

There's a lot she can do, like shaping minds across the world when it comes to the evils of climate change.

But can Greta Thunberg go back 120-years and a plant herself among three children working at a gold mine in Canada 's Yukon territory?

People aren't ruling it out!

The picture of "Greta" has taken the internet by storm after social media users were convinced the age-old snap of a woman mining in a field is actually the Swedish activist.

Beach bewilderment

Even an image of hundreds of Brits getting away from the trauma of World War II caused time traveller debate.

An historic picture showed families relaxing on the sands in Cornwall back in 1943.

Yet there is an apparent imposter on the crowded beach which social media users claim doesn't fit.

The brown-suited man, who is standing, can be seen looking at an object in his hand which appears to be a modern-day electronic device.

Unsurprisingly, the suggestions were laughed off by others, who insisted he was just well dressed and rolling a cigarette.

'Hipster time traveller'

Back in 2010 a 'hipster time traveller' was spotted in an intriguing crowd photograph from the 1940s.

The picture in question was taken in 1941 at the reopening of the South Fork Bridge in Canada.

A crowd is stood watching the reopening with one man that stands out due to his clothing and accessories that seem far too modern for the time.

He is sporting a dark t-shirt, sunglasses and a hooded zip jumper while holding a small portable camera and those around him are wearing tailored suits which were in fashion at the time.

The man can be seen wearing a printed T-shirt which bares the letter 'M' underneath a hooded jumper as well as trendy sunglasses.

Apple in the art

Mobile phones being seen before their time is not a new thing.

But art lovers believe they may have found an iPhone in a 350-year-old painting!

The picture, the work of Dutch painter Pieter de Hooch showing a quaint domestic scene, is so convincing even Apple's CEO seemingly thinks it shows one of his company's models.

It can be seen in the hands of a man standing to the right of the picture, according to conspiracy theorists. He is holding a small object, while a couple of women and dogs look on.

Apple boss Tim Cook said: "I always thought I knew when the iPhone was invented, but now I’m not so sure anymore."

MORE ON Time travel

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Time Travel Photography: 5 Intriguing Images That Might Prove Its Mysteries

Time travel has long intrigued science fiction, inspiring a vast genre, including numerous films and novels, with characters journeying through time and contemplating its consequences.

There have been numerous people claiming they have time traveled and there are even photos and videos that might back up their claim. But is it possible to travel through time?

Time Travel Is Possible

In a way,  time travel is possible  since everyone is constantly moving through time at a consistent rate of one second per second. Whether they are watching paint dry or wishing for more hours, everyone always travels through time at this uniform pace.

However, this isn't the kind of time travel that captures the imaginations of science fiction writers. While it's an idea that has spawned an extensive genre with over 400 titles in the category of "Movies about Time Travel," true back-and-forth time travel, like in those stories, remains elusive.

Despite the fascination with altering the past or glimpsing the future, no one has demonstrated the sort of time travel often depicted in science fiction or proposed a method for sending a person through substantial periods without dire consequences. Even the absence of hordes of tourists from the future visiting us suggests the implausibility of time travel.

Nevertheless, there are scientifically grounded concepts like Albert Einstein's theory of special relativity , which suggests that time is relative and moves differently depending on the observer's speed.

For instance, an observer traveling near the speed of light would experience time more slowly than a stationary observer, as demonstrated by astronaut Scott Kelly, who aged slightly less during a year in orbit compared to his twin brother on Earth.

While some scientific theories explore the possibility of time travel in connection with wormholes, black holes, and string theory, these ideas are mostly confined to the realm of science fiction, present in books, movies, TV shows, comics, video games, and more.

READ ALSO: Time Travel Now Possible With The Use Of Math, Researcher Explains

5 Photos of 'Time Travelers'

Every so often, certain images gain popularity as examples of time travel photography. Here are five such time travel pictures  you should be aware of:

Greta Thunberg Look-Alike From 120 Years Ago

Speculation about Greta Thunberg being a time traveler arose from a 120-year-old picture that features a goldmine operator that resembles her, but no conclusive evidence supports this claim.

120-year-old photo sparks theories that @GretaThunberg is a 'time-travel' who has returned to save our planet! https://t.co/Tkrk1uTYJW pic.twitter.com/lSFca6jl8X — Mia Farrow 🏳️‍🌈 🌻🇺🇦 (@MiaFarrow) November 21, 2019

Modern Hipster

A picture featuring a man in modern clothing among people wearing hats and suits sparks speculation about potential time travel.

11. THE MODERN HIPSTER When you see a picture with someone with a totally different kind of clothing, it must raise the question of whether they are a time traveler. This time travel picture has most people in hats and suits, whereas a man seems to wear sports glasses and modern… pic.twitter.com/xdfsKysE87 — Oba Henry 👑🖌️ (@HenryFo36303094) September 21, 2023

The Man From 2256

The news headline featured the story of Andrew Carlssin, a self-proclaimed time traveler who was arrested for insider trading, claimed to be from the year 2256, and mysteriously vanished from his jail cell.

19. RIME TRAVELLER SKIPS TOWN This was actually the heading of the news in a newspaper. Andrew Carlssin, a self-proclaimed time traveler, was jailed for insider-trading charges. He claimed to be from the year 2256. More to the amusement, he just vanished from inside the cell. pic.twitter.com/4GEcPVeD0h — Oba Henry 👑🖌️ (@HenryFo36303094) September 21, 2023

 An Astronaut in the 1600s

Despite space travel being a recent development, a peculiar 1600s-1800s church sculpture featuring an astronaut prompts questions about its origins.

13. AN ASTRONAUT IN THE 1600S Space travel was introduced only a few decades back. But what if you see pictures that tell otherwise? Here is the picture of a sculpture on the wall of a church building. The building was built in the 1600s-1800s. So when the sculpture is that of… pic.twitter.com/sKKeDAfcdx — Oba Henry 👑🖌️ (@HenryFo36303094) September 21, 2023

Cellphone at World Cup 1962

The 1962 football World Cup is notable not only for the games but also for an intriguing time travel image, as it appears to depict a man using a cellphone - a technology that was not invented until the late 20th century.

20. WORLD CUP 1962 If the football world cup 1962 is not remembered due to the game, it must be remembered due to the time travel image. When the champion team was celebrating with their trophy, the picture shows that a man seems to capture the moment with his cell phone. A cell… pic.twitter.com/3UMHQB6Pou — Oba Henry 👑🖌️ (@HenryFo36303094) September 21, 2023

Check out more news and information on Time Travel  in Science Times.

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Time Travel in Photography

All aboard the anachronism express! The photographs on these pages may look as if they were taken a century ago, but in fact they were all made in the past 15 years. Lensman Joel Jensen’s romance with the rails began in 1984, when the Mason City, Iowa, native got stuck in a Wyoming roundhouse while bumming around the country as a young man and spent the night on the cab floor of Union Pacific’s Engine No. 844. Years later, by chance, he saw his first working steam engine chuffing down the tracks. “Ironically, it was the same one that offered a dirt-poor, freight-train-riding college kid a place to sleep,” he says. “From that point on, steam became an obsession.”

Jensen, now 54, is not alone: There are 1.5 million “railfans” in the United States, many of them steam buffs. And although mainline railroads had converted to diesel-electric engines by 1960, as of the latest count there were still some 221 operational steam locomotives in the U.S. and Canada, most of them tourist attractions. To capture his carefully framed, timeless portraits of these singularly American icons, Jensen has ridden the rails behind steam locomotives for more than two decades and 10,000 miles, with whistle-stops in some of the most magnificent landscapes in the American West. Ready to take a ride in a time machine? It’s pulling out of the depot.

All aboard!

The Iron Horse

The West was won with thousands of miles of track that,with the Golden Spike in 1869,connected the vast expanses of a transcontinental nation. Railroads also severed the arteries of American Indian life, making it possible for the descendants of European immigrants to gobble up natural resources and carve out settlements across the continent, as well as interrupting the migrations of species on which the Indians depended. The burgeoning industry created a new species—the railroad man, as peripatetic as his distant cousin, the hobo. And by 1926, there were 69,114 steam engines that could—and did. Fast freights and passenger trains crisscrossed the land, highballing it down the tracks.

Where There’s Smoke

A steam engine is just that: a power plant on wheels. The fireman feeds the firebox with coal, wood or, nowadays, oil carried in a tender behind the engine. The firebox heats water to build up a head of steam. The pressurized steam goes into cylinders and pushes pistons connected to the driving wheels, as well as powering the brakes, bells and whistles. The steam and smoke, made up of soot and cinders, exit through the smoke box and a stack, creating the distinctive plume. A fireman’s job requires not only strength—some shovel tons of coal—but also careful calibration to ensure that the right amount of steam is produced. Most firemen these days are buffs trained by retired railroad employees. Indeed, Jensen himself has stoked a firebox or two.

Back at the Roundhouse

Union Pacific still runs the last two steam engines made in the U.S., No. 3985 and the only mainline locomotive never retired, No. 844. Like many other “heritage” trains, they are corporate symbols that travel to rail festivals and other special events. Restoration can take years, with costs running into the millions; for every hour of operation, a steam engine requires hours of upkeep. Most are provided by volunteers who pound stakes, clean coach toilets, get greasy in machine shops or, as in Jensen’s case, rebuild boxcars. Their only reward is a ticket to ride on what former Smithsonian curator John H. White Jr. calls “monuments to our industrial past.” The photographer who gets the close-ups lives conveniently near the Nevada Northern Railway, listed on the National Register of Historic Places, in Ely, Nev.

Clickety-clack. Click.

Originally published in the April 2012 issue of American History. To subscribe, click here .

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In 1964 an Ohio woman took up the challenge that had led to Amelia Earhart’s disappearance.

During the War Years, Posters From the American Homefront Told You What to Do — And What Not to Do

If you needed some motivation during the war years, there was probably a poster for that.

Buffalo Bill’s Tours of Italy and the ‘Spaghetti Western’ Inspired Replica Old West Firearms

Rifles and revolvers made by Uberti, Pietta, Pedersoli and other Italian firms remain popular.