zOMG! A time-traveler was caught on film in 1928!

[laconicsax]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8I3O_qa82RA

[charlie]

1. It's Nikola Tesla

He invented everything. Including the fedora 'n skirt ensemble for men.

[salvorhardin]

2. Of course

Because nobody would think anything strange about a person walking along talking to a small box in 1928. Nope. Perfectly ordinary occurrence.

[trotsky]

3. LOL

Not just at the absurdity, but if you watch the slow-mo zoom-in, you can see the person's hand is empty; they've just got their hand on the side of their head in a confused, head-scratching manner. But of course, why go for the mundane, common explanation when you can get some YouTube views?

[realisticphish]

4. If you look carefully

you can see an odd blue box just to the side...

[HuckleB]

5. Meanwhile...

On Halloween, some people plan to hand out pamphlets proclaiming that the moon landing was a hoax, because, well, candy is evil.

[trotsky]

8. LMAO

:rofl:

That one is a piece o' work, that's for sure.

[TZ]

9. SUGAR IS TEH EVUL

One should never ever ever put any sugar in ones body. Whats that? Cellular respiration uses "sugar"? Its a hoax by those evil scientists to make us all fat!

[Behind the Aegis]

6. Here's a link to TVGawker

http://tv.gawker.com/5672973/is-there-a-time+traveling-cell-phone-user-in-charlie-chaplins-1928-film

The person who put forth this "theory" says:

"I have studied this film for over a year now - showing it to over 100 people and at a film festival, yet no-one can give any explanation as to what she is doing.

My only theory - as well as many others - is simple... a time traveler on a mobile phone. See for yourself and feel free to leave a comment on your own explanation or thoughts about it."

Read some of the comments; they are a fucking scream! My personal favorite:

"Hello OnStar? I got lost in the early 20th century, can you send help?"

[laconicsax]

7. What I like about all of this is the underlying belief that the film is taken from a documentary.

Apparently back in the late 20s, the people on screen weren't costumed, given props, or direction about where to walk/stand and when.

[muriel_volestrangler]

11. It's meant to be footage of people walking past the premier of the film

in Los Angeles. It's from the extras on a DVD. I think it is a genuine member of the public.

[DavidDvorkin]

10. That's the simple theory?

I wonder what the complicated theory is.

[trotsky]

12. Here's another bit to chew on.

Let's say this person has a time machine. Clearly they're from well beyond the 21st century, can we agree?

Given how we've seen mobile phone technology change in just the past 10 years, are we to believe the same people who have time machines are still talking on a 21st century handheld device?

[charlie]

17. Yes, that's the way it always is, innit?

Blinkered imaginations. Like the way 1950s UFOs looked like... 1950s UFOs. Gray metal. Lumpy. Portholes. Antennas and struts. Fuel tanks.

19th century UFOs looked like Flying Dutchmen.

This guy probably didn't notice others walking and talking, with their hands at their sides. Bluetooth!

Anyway, he's a filmmaker. Publicity is publicity.

[onager]

13. My favorite comment...

Posted by jenatixel:

..."Doc, i kind of broken your DeLorean, could you come to 1928 and fix it for me?"

:rofl:

More evidence of how some humans, when presented with an event that could have umpteen mundane explanations, will instantly reach for the most bizarre, far-out theory possible to explain it.

I loved the illustration of this in the 2003 movie about Joan of Arc, The Messenger. With that Milla YooHoobottle woman and Al Pacino as "The Conscience."

Joan tells "The Conscience" how Gawd magically dropped a sword and she found it, proving she was the Chosen One, bla-bla-bla. Pacino patiently re-plays all the OTHER ways the sword might have got there - a passing soldier dropped it, lost it in a fight, etc. etc.

"A thousand ways that sword could have gotten there! But no! YOU decided that GOD gave YOU the sword..."

I normally avoid religious-themed movies like a Biblical plague, except for the Unintentional Humor angle. But in addition to good battle scenes, "Messenger" is worth watching for John Malkovich and Faye Dunaway as two completely cynical royals who know the power of religious myth. "I remember an old folk tale about a maid from Orleans who will lead armies..."

[cleanhippie]

14. Couldn't the only way for that to be true.....

was if that were not a cell phone (as there were no cell networks then) but a time-space continuum phone, much like a sub-space communicator from Star Trek or something.

[TZ]

15. Pretty much

My cell phone is constanly dropping calls from a friend in NJ. And someone has a cell phone that can connect through time and space? Not from this time frame!!! :rofl:

[TheWraith]

16. And it would require time travellers to be so dumb...

...that they couldn't think to only use it in private, not while walking down the street. :eyes:

[onager]

18. Also so dumb...

That they would walk right in front of this contraption while using the Communicator. And being from a technically advanced civilization, NOT be able to figure out what the contraption is:

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_kxPG6y8Qctk/Sw_0USBE5OI/AAAAAAAAQrY/hAk8j6NWSlY/s1600/Charlie+Chaplin+Photos.jpg

(BTW, that's Charlie Chaplin himself behind the camera. Probably doing what he was doing when the video footage of Cell Phone Lady was captured.)

[drm604]

19. I think this is more startling, at least at first glance.

http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/time-travelling-hipster

Explainable, but unexpected.

[Dead_Parrot]

20. "The Treachery of Time Travelers"

From http://www.artmonkeyworld.com/2010/10/29/the-treachery-of-time-travelers/

:)

[lazarus]

21. 16 possible explanations

from Cracked.

It's an ear trumpet, though.

[salvorhardin]

22. This can be the only viable explanation