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

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laconicsax Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Oct-24-10 05:09 PM
Original message
zOMG! A time-traveler was caught on film in 1928!
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charlie Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Oct-24-10 09:50 PM
Response to Original message
1. It's Nikola Tesla
He invented everything. Including the fedora 'n skirt ensemble for men.
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salvorhardin Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Oct-24-10 10:37 PM
Response to Original message
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.
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trotsky Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Oct-25-10 06:42 AM
Response to Original message
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?
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realisticphish Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Oct-25-10 09:16 AM
Response to Original message
4. If you look carefully
you can see an odd blue box just to the side...
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HuckleB Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Oct-25-10 08:25 PM
Response to Original message
5. Meanwhile...
On Halloween, some people plan to hand out pamphlets proclaiming that the moon landing was a hoax, because, well, candy is evil.
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trotsky Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Oct-26-10 07:30 AM
Response to Reply #5
8. LMAO
:rofl:

That one is a piece o' work, that's for sure.
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TZ Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Oct-26-10 07:34 AM
Response to Reply #5
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!
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Behind the Aegis Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Oct-25-10 08:47 PM
Response to Original message
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?"
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laconicsax Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Oct-25-10 09:54 PM
Response to Reply #6
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.
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muriel_volestrangler Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Oct-29-10 08:01 AM
Response to Reply #7
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.
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DavidDvorkin Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Oct-26-10 01:06 PM
Response to Reply #6
10. That's the simple theory?
I wonder what the complicated theory is.
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trotsky Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Oct-29-10 10:57 AM
Response to Original message
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?
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charlie Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Oct-29-10 04:43 PM
Response to Reply #12
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.
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onager Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Oct-29-10 11:17 AM
Response to Original message
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..."





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cleanhippie Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Oct-29-10 11:55 AM
Response to Original message
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.
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TZ Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Oct-29-10 12:19 PM
Response to Reply #14
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:
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TheWraith Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Oct-29-10 01:03 PM
Response to Reply #14
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:
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onager Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Oct-29-10 07:45 PM
Response to Reply #16
18. Also so dumb...
Edited on Fri Oct-29-10 07:45 PM by onager
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.)
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drm604 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Oct-29-10 09:48 PM
Response to Original message
19. I think this is more startling, at least at first glance.
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Dead_Parrot Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Oct-30-10 04:46 PM
Response to Original message
20. "The Treachery of Time Travelers"
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lazarus Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Nov-02-10 01:23 PM
Response to Original message
21. 16 possible explanations
from Cracked.

It's an ear trumpet, though.
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salvorhardin Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Nov-11-10 12:25 PM
Response to Original message
22. This can be the only viable explanation
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