Slashdot Mirror
1928 Time Traveler Caught On Film?
Many of you have submitted a story about Irish filmmaker George Clarke, who claims to have found a person using a cellphone in the "unused footage" section of the DVD The Circus, a Charlie Chaplin movie filmed in 1928. To me the bigger mystery is how someone who appears to be the offspring of Ram-Man and The Penguin got into a movie in the first place, especially if they were talking to a little metal box on set. Watch the video and decide for yourself.
Who was she talking to? (considering the lack of cell-phone towers)
Ugh.
And uh, what network was this cell phone connecting to? Because you know there's a series of cell towers and satellites that need to be in place for cell phones to work and I don't recall anyone having the foresight to erect such towers in 1928.
This is such utter drivel. The person in the picture could be scratching his/her head or shielding their ear from a breeze with something (my grandmother does similar things when the wind is strong and she wears a shawl). I don't see a black object, I see two of the fingers around what would be the 'top' of the phone which is uncharacteristically how people hold cell phones. I don't see any shock or expression on the face as they turn it just seems like Clarke is projecting what he wants on the viewer. It could just be a schizophrenic wandering around who is used to shielding their face and mouth when they can't control what they are saying.
It's ridiculous that time traveling is even suggested, let alone continually reinforced by George Clarke.
My work here is dung.
I wonder what network the were using in 1928? Marconi Wireless? (snicker)
Seriously, this has been in the media for days now. It's almost certainly someone using an old-style hearing aid.
46. The Hobo smiles, his eyes glaze over, and he burps. "Beware the man who has lived longer than the Wasteland."
Obviously it's not clear what kind of aid it is, specifically, but it looks like an old ear trumpet.
Like this thing.
It is an early carbonic (electric) hearing aid.
Nuh-uh: "Time traveler w/ cell phone" is the simplest explanation.
This was released in 1924:
http://hearing.siemens.com/sg/10-about-us/01-our-history/milestones.jsp?year=1924
Seems like it could easily be that.
-Valiss
Clear not an actual cell phone, but a tachyon communication device that allowed her to communicate with her native time frame. Duh.
They had to have Schizophrenics back in the 20s, didn't they? Maybe she was just talking to herself and cupping her hands over her ears in an attempt to block out the voices?
The only thing necessary for evil to triumph is for it to be pitted against a slightly greater evil
We just slashdotted the hearing aid museum...
Don't worry!!! She will get hit by a car and Kirk cant save her or else the Nazis will take over.
Watashi wa chikyubutsurigakusha desu.
The "cell phone" theory is a golden example of people projecting their own limited conception of the world onto something they don't recognize. Someone 40 years ago probably would've imagined that they saw someone singing along to a transistor radio. Someone from 120 years ago would've thought they saw someone listening to a seashell and chewing gum. If she's really holding something (IMO the video isn't clear enough to be sure), it's almost certainly a contemporary hearing aid.
http://alternatives.rzero.com/
Completely unimpressive. can't tell if it's a phone or not.
Although, the blue police call box that the person walked in to was interesting. Seemed bigger on the inside than on the outside....
There are some people that if they don't know, you can't tell 'em.
Seriously, that would mean that time travel is so close that cell phones won't change considerably. The chance of that is even smaller than that for time travel per se.
We are pattern-matching machines. We see and interpret in practically the same thought. We are used to people using cell phones like that, so that is what we think we see.
Assorted stuff I do sometimes: Lemuria.org
This is genius. I've never heard of this guy, George Clarke, but now by mentioning his work at the beginning of the video, he's got a great viral marketing campaign!
Of course he doesn't believe a word of it, but he managed to get word to spread of his silly little video, and thus free advertising for his work. Pure genius!
It reminds me of an occurrence one night while I was working as a hospital security officer on nights. A man came in breathless to our office, and asked to speak to Sergeant D* (I don't recall the full last name). We told him he didn't work with us. The man said that the Sergeant was supposed to be there, he was running from the CIA, and had to speak to him. We responded that Sergeant didn't exist. The man then bolted and ran away from us. It kind of shook my world, and I can't stop thinking... did I just ensure the destruction of mankind, by running this guy off?
Who was she talking to? (considering the lack of cell-phone towers)
Ugh.
Not that I believe in this, but if you were time-traveling to the past to be an extra in a Charlie Chaplin movie (which is a plausible thing for any film buff), it's perfectly reasonable that such a person would whip out their cell phones just to be filmed pretending to talk on it. They could then point it out to their friends once they return to their time.
Not only that, but his disguise was a woman!
Nope. It's clearly an iphone 4G. See how s/he is holding it!!
Well, we can clearly see that it's not an iPhone 4, else holding it with her left hand would kill the signal.
1. Go to Vancouver or LA.
2. Find a scene that is being shot in some random TV show.
3. Walk by the scene pretending to use some futuristic device.
4. Repeat this several times with different looking "devices", ie polished pieces of dark coloured plexiglass.
5. Wait 80 years...
6. Laugh my head in a jar off when I get the Slashdot brain download that proof of time travelers exist in old footage of CSI: New York.
Tsukasa: All I really want, is to be left alone...
4) She's talking to a hologram of a man from her own time that only she can see and hear, as she puts right what once went wrong.
If you don't know where you are going, you will wind up somewhere else.
The DVD conversion certainly is a lossy process... if they could get the original film to look at frame-by-frame, you could certainly see a ton more detail, which might let you clarify if she's holding anything at all.
Contact the studio. It'd be great promo for them!
MadCow.
I used to have a sig, but I set it free and it never came back.
All I got from that video was "I hope this video goes viral so I can use it to advertise my movies."