This post is based on material from chapter 2 of my new book, How to Time Travel.

Let us start with a word of caution. Anecdotal evidence is not scientific evidence. It may be bogus, and all anecdotal evidence should be treated with skepticism. However, the sheer volume of time travel anecdotal evidence on the internet makes it hard to ignore. For example, if you do an Internet search with Google using the keyword phase “time travel evidence” (without the quotes), you will get about 258,000,000 search returns. Most of the evidence falls into three categories:

  1. Old movie clips: There are a number of YouTube videos of old movies showing people using devices, such as a cell phone, that would not have existed when the movie was made.
  1. Old photographs: Many sites include old photographs that show people out of context, for example, wearing clothing that does not fit the time, such as modern sunglasses, or using devices, such as a 35mm camera, that did not exist at the time the photograph was taken.
  1. Archaeological finds: There are archaeological finds of modern devices, such as a one-hundred-year-old Swiss-made watch found in a four-hundred-year-old Ming dynasty tomb in Shangsi County, Guangxi, in southern China.

Let us examine one piece of anecdotal evidence, from category 1, old movie clips. One example that comes up numerous times is Charlie Chaplin’s 1928 film The Circus, featuring a woman who appears to be talking on her cell phone. Just do a YouTube search using the keyword phrase “time travel evidence Chaplin film” (without the quotes). You will get back about a 100,000 search returns. The first page or two of search results have clips of this video, typically with some commentary.

Debunkers argue that the woman was just holding a primitive hearing aid known as an ear trumpet. Surprisingly, a 1928-ear trumpet looks like a cell phone from a distance. Proponents dismiss this as an explanation because the woman is talking into it. However, you see some people talking aloud to themselves all the time. This does not mean they are crazy. This is just how they process information and think. Almost all of us talk to ourselves privately in our minds. It is called thinking. Does this explain the film clip? Obviously, this explanation does not satisfy everyone.

Where does this leave us regarding time travel evidence from the Internet? In a phrase, it leaves us on “shaky ground.” I examined only one of the most popular pieces of time travel evidence on the Internet, and it is far from conclusive. Evidence that is more conclusive may lie buried in the 258,000,000 Google search returns for the keyword phrase “time travel evidence.” The challenge is finding it. A true scholarly effort would likely take a lifetime. However, in my opinion, the real world, and the universe, is stranger than any work of fiction. Therefore, I am keeping an open mind.

Remember, at the beginning of this article I clearly stated that anecdotal evidence is not scientific evidence. However, I also stated the sheer volume of time travel anecdotal evidence on the internet makes it hard to ignore. Is this an example of real time travel evidence caught on film? I suggest you do the Google search, view the clip and make up your own mind.