The Why Files: Operation Podcast - 17: 9 Time Travel Stories | Is Time Travel Possible? Evidence says yes, it is.

Episode Date: June 26, 2022

Is time travel possible? According to physicists, yes. Time travel *to the future* is not only possible, it's been scientifically proven.   But what about traveling to the past? Well, that's a little trickier.   BUT, there does seem to be evidence that travelers from the future have visited us in the past; and may be among us right now.  The human race has been fascinated with traveling through time ever since, well, ever since the human race understood what time was.   But has time travel been achieved by future humans? And if so, did they leave us clues that they were here?   We've scoured the internet for the best time travel stories we could find. You may know some of them. Some are hoaxes. A few have been debunked. But there are a couple of stories that defy explanation.  Why are we so obsessed with time travel? Probably because we're obsessed with time. Time rules our lives.    Who doesn't wish they could go back and talk to our younger selves, or meet our ancestors, or witness historical events.   Time creates possibilities; but time also *ends* possibilities. It's finite. When a moment is over. It's over. There are no second chances.   The expression "time is money" isn't exactly true. Time is much more valuable than money. Wealth can be made; lost and made again. But time? Once we lose it, we can never get it back.  Time is the most valuable thing you have.   Spend it wisely. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/thewhyfiles/support

If it's a flat or a squeal, a wobble or peel, your tread's worn down or you need a new wheel, wherever you go, you can get it from our Tread Experts. Until May 30th, purchase four new Michelin passenger or light truck tires and receive up to $70 by prepaid MasterCard. Conditions apply. Details at Michelin.ca. Find a Michelin Tread Experts dealer near you at TreadExperts.ca slash locations. From tires to auto repair, we're always there at Treadexperts.ca slash locations. From tires to auto repair, we're always there, treadexperts.ca. Is time travel possible? Well, according to physicists, yes, time travel to the future is not only possible, it's been scientifically proven. But what about traveling to the past?

Well, that's a little trickier. But there does seem to be some evidence that travelers from the future have visited us in the past, and may be among us right now. Let's find out why. The laws of physics seem to be compatible with time machines. This is very unsettling. Welcome to the Y-Files, where cool nerds laugh and learn. The human race has been fascinated with traveling through time ever since… well, ever since the human race understood what time was.

But has time travel been achieved by future humans? And if so, did they leave us clues that they were here? Well, we've scoured the internet for the best time travel stories we could find. You may know some of them. Some may be new to you. Some are hoaxes. A few have been debunked. But there are a couple of stories that defy explanation. Let's get into it. In 1950, a New York City police officer working missing persons cases examined the body of a 30 year old man who was brought to the morgue.

The man had appeared in the middle of Times Square at eleven fifteen p.m. that evening. A witness described him as gawking and looking around at the cars and at the signs like he'd never seen them before. He then tried to cross the street against the traffic lights, was hit by a speeding taxi and died. Pockets of his clothing had coins and currency that had not been in circulation for decades. Yet many of them were in mint condition. He also had items from businesses that no longer existed in New York City, like a bill from a livery stable, a brass slug from a saloon and a letter postmarked 1876. He also had identification bearing the name Rudolph Fence with an address on Fifth Avenue.

Now, the name Rudolph Fence didn't appear in the New York City phone book, and the Fifth Avenue address listed on the dead man's card had been a business for many years, not a residence, and no one there had ever heard of Rudolph Fence. The deceased fingerprints matched nothing on file, and no current police reports fit the man's description. Also, his clothes appeared to be about 75 years out of date. Tags on his clothing had the name and address of a tailor that no one had ever heard of. And his hat, which looked new, came from a shop that had been closed for over 50 years. The investigating officer finally turned up a listing in an old phone book for a Rudolph

Fence Junior, a man in his 60s who had passed away five years earlier. Now, his widow was still living and said her husband's father, Rudolph Fence Jr., a man in his 60s who had passed away five years earlier. Now, his widow was still living and said her husband's father, Rudolph Fence Sr., had disappeared sometime in the 1870s. He had gone out for a walk one night around 10 p.m. and was never seen again. This is crazy. I know. So a search of an old missing persons report turned up of Rudolph Fence dated 1876, and the man's clothing and address matched those of the man killed in Times Square in 1950. So that missing persons case was finally closed after 75 years. But a different case remains open.

What really happened to Rudolph Fence? Depending on a trajectory you take around a black hole, you can come out and end up in the past of when you started. In 2003, the FBI arrested 44-year-old Andrew Carlson for suspicion 126 consecutive high risk profitable trades, turning his eight hundred dollars of seed capital into a portfolio worth three hundred and fifty million dollars. Naturally, the SEC wanted this looked into. Naturally, people with money don't want anyone else making money. I can't deny that. Now, normally when someone is arrested for insider trading, they deny it. But during a four hour interrogation, investigators got an explanation they didn't expect.

Carlson stated he traveled back in time from two hundred and fifty years in the future, bringing knowledge of high risk, high profit stock trades in his videotape confession, Carlson said it was just too tempting to resist. He planned to make it look natural by losing a little here and there, but got caught up in the moment. So the SEC said he was either a lunatic or a pathological liar because the only way he could pull this off was with illegal information. And they said he's going to sit in jail until he agrees to give up his sources.

But Carlson did not give up his sources. He stuck to his story. Even in the future, snitches get stitches. Yeah. So knowing he was going to prison, Carlson said in exchange for a lighter sentence, he'd be willing to reveal the cure for AIDS and the location of Osama bin Laden. He also said he didn't care about the money. He'd give it back. He just wanted to return to his time craft and go back to his own time. But he refused to reveal the location of the craft for fear that it would fall into the wrong hands.

So bail was set at $1 million and he was put into holding to await trial. And you would think that's the end of the story. Carlson had no family, no friends and no longer had any money. But after a few weeks in custody, a mysterious, unidentified man posted Carlson's bail of a million dollars. What? Who was the mystery man? Well, we don't know. The mystery man and Carlson were never seen or heard from again. And even stranger, there's no record of anyone named Andrew Carlson before the day he was arrested.

Hey, question for you. Yeah? Did he mention anything about GameStop? Time travel is possible if you're focusing upon time travel to the future. OK, this one gives me chills. Tyson's boxing match with Peter McNeely in 1993 was notable for being Iron Mike's first since his release from prison. It lasted only 89 seconds and was stopped after McNeely was knocked down twice. But the most remarkable moment occurred outside of the ring where footage shows a spectator holding up a smartphone years before

they were invented. The white-colored camera has the distinctive slim-line design of a smartphone with a lens in the top left corner, another innovation associated with modern-day recording equipment. Alright, enough talk. You gotta take a look at this. What is that? I honestly don't know. Camcorders were everywhere in the 90s, but they were bigger than this. And this guy obviously is holding it with one hand.

A lot of people think it looks like an iPhone or a Samsung Galaxy, but those wouldn't be invented for years. So. it looks like an iPhone or a Samsung Galaxy, but those wouldn't be invented for years, so... Always there, helping you with Michelin tires you can trust. Until May 30th, receive up to $70 by prepaid MasterCard with purchase of four new Michelin passenger or light truck tires. Find your pro at your local TreadExperts. From tires to auto repair, we're always there. TreadExperts.ca You sailed beyond the horizon in search of an island scrubbed from every map.

You battled krakens and navigated through storms. Your spade struck the lid of a long-lost treasure chest. While you cooked a lasagna. There's more to imagine when you listen. Discover best-selling adventure stories on Audible. While you cooked a lasagna. There's more to imagine when you listen. Discover best-selling adventure stories on Audible. You searched for your informant. Who disappeared without a trace.

You knew there were witnesses, but lips were sealed. You swept the city. Driving closer to the truth. While curled up on the couch with your cat. There's more to imagine when you listen. Discover heart-pounding thrillers on Audible. You searched for your informant, who disappeared without a trace. You knew there were witnesses, but lips were sealed. You swept the city, driving closer to the truth. While curled up on the couch with your cat.

There's more to imagine when you listen. Discover heart-pounding thrillers on Audible. Time travel! What? This is a famous photo known as the Time Traveling Hipster. The image comes from the Brauland Pioneer Museum in British Columbia, and the photograph was taken in 1940 at the reopening of the South Fork Bridge in Canada. When the museum digitized the photo and put it online in 2010, people noticed something strange. At first glance, everything looks right. The men are in jackets, ties, and hats, the women

in bonnets and overcoats. But look at this. Whoa. This guy appears to have a modern haircut, sunglasses, and he's wearing a graphic T-shirt under his cardigan. And what's that he's holding? Doesn't that seem too small to be a camera in 1940? Photoshop? Nope. The museum has confirmed that the photo is authentic and unaltered.

So who is he? Where is he from? Don't is he? Where is he from? Don't you mean when is he from? Quick paths through space time that seem to be permitted by the laws of physics, although it would require a very high advanced technology, much more advanced than us to do it. Out of place technology seems to pop up all over the place if you look for it. In 2010, a video called Chaplin's Time Traveler appeared on YouTube, and the clip analyzes bonus material from a DVD of Charlie Chaplin's 1928 film The Circus. Now, the footage is from the film's Los Angeles premiere at Grauman's Chinese theater. And at one point, a woman is seen walking by holding up an object to her ear and a closer examination. She seems to be talking into a thin black device.

What is this? There are no cell towers or satellites yet, so it's not a modern cell phone. Then what is it? She's definitely talking, but there's nobody else near her. Who is she talking to? She's talking to other time agents. She's saying this movie sucks. Let She's saying, this movie sucks. Let's get In-N-Out Burger instead. Maybe.

And a few years later, this happened again. This is footage from 1938 of people coming out of a DuPont factory. And the woman in the center seems to be talking on a cell phone or some communication device and then puts it away. Now, this video was so convincing that it's been covered by the Huffington Post, Daily Mail, and Yahoo News. Oh, please. What?

Yahoo News should change its name to Yahoo Random Words That Should Never Be Believed. So you don't trust the media? Nah, I'm a fish, not a sheep. Fine, I got it. Don't trust the media. Yeah, the boy. Anyway, Hagley's digital archive has full scans

of every issue of the magazine from nineteen thirteen to nineteen ninety three. And there's no mention of a wireless communication device around the time of the film. So you tell me who she talking to. Mission Control and the mothership. What? Out of place technology can be found not just in film or old photographs, but in art created hundreds or thousands of years ago. Here are a few famous ones.

In 2008, a team of archaeologists had made a puzzling discovery. The team included some journalists. They were filming a documentary at a dig site at a sealed tomb dating to the Ming Dynasty at Shaanxi, northern China. As one of the coffins were being cleared of soil before being opened, a strange metallic object was found. It was a small golden ring with a watch face on its front, approximately two millimeters thick. Tiny hands on the watch showed the time had frozen at ten oh six. And most astonishing of all, the back of the watch had the word Swiss engraved in English. But the tomb had been sealed for 400 years and the watch itself was already 100 years old when it was placed inside.

That dates to the 15th or 16th century. Switzerland wasn't even known by that name in English until 1848. This is like a time traveler lost and found. It kind of is. The Spanish city of Salamanca features a cathedral built in 1102. The carvings are pretty typical for the 12th century, winding vines and leaves, gargoyles, demons, no big whoop. But what the heck is this?

That appears to be a modern astronaut wearing a spacesuit and not just a random spacesuit. This particular suit has features specific to the Apollo 11 EMU worn by Buzz Aldrin. You can see the helmet, the backpack, which held the primary life support system and oxygen umbilical cords. Gills are so underrated. They are. But what really got me were the boots. They feature deep treads that would be used to explore dusty extraterrestrial surfaces like the moon and Mars. And he appears to be floating like he's on a spacewalk.

So how could the artists have predicted all these details almost 900 years before they were invented? Point twenty one. where they were invented. 1.21 gigawatts. Great Scott! You searched for your informant, who disappeared without a trace. You knew there were witnesses, but lips were sealed. You swept the city, driving closer to the truth, while curled up on the couch with your cat.

There's more to imagine when you listen. Discover heart-pounding thrillers on Audible. You sailed beyond the horizon, in search of an island scrubbed from every map. You battled krakens and navigated through storms. Your spade struck the lid of a long-lost treasure chest. While you cooked a lasagna. There's more to imagine when you listen. Discover best-selling adventure stories on Audible.

Okay, these stories are certainly fun, but are they real? Can they be explained? Maybe. You be the judge. Let's go through them. The case of Rudolph Fence is an urban legend that's been around since the 1970s, maybe even earlier. I first heard it from my dad when I was a kid. But it's not true. It's actually an excerpt from a short story called I'm Scared, which was written by Jack Finney. We might know as the author of The Body Snatchers.

The story was published in Collier's magazine in 1951, about the time when Rudolph Fence supposedly appeared. Nice to believe it. I know you do. The Andrew Carlson story is one of my favorites. I love this one. It has all the makings of a great conspiracy. Millions of dollars, a mysterious benefactor, a missing person. But this one originated as a fictional piece in Weekly World News, a satirical newspaper.

Later, the story was picked up by Yahoo News, so naturally people believed the story. It was then reported by other newspapers and magazines as fact, and this drove word of mouth, creating one of the great modern urban legends. So the lesson here is don't believe anything the media says you're learning. OK, so the Mike Tyson fight, although the device in the video does resemble a type of camera phone not sold until years later, it also could be one of a number of handheld cameras that were, in fact, widely available. The resolution and size of the original video make it difficult to determine the specific features of the device, but some believe it's similar to either the Casio QV 10 a the

Casio QV 100 or the Logitech Photoman. So debunked, probably maybe. I'm not sure if you think you know what kind of camera that is, please let us know in the comments. The idea that the hipster in the photograph is a time traveler hinges on three items that appear to be too modern for 1940 a logo, T-shirt, a small portable camera and the wraparound sunglasses. But all of those items were readily available in the 1940s. The Internet says he's wearing a Montreal Maroons embroidered jersey,

and the Maroons were a hockey team that played in the NHL from 1924 to 1938. Okay. While glasses with protective side shields were not widespread, you could get them in 1940. And the camera in his hand? There definitely were cameras that small back then. They were unusual and they were pretty expensive, but they did exist. So debunked? Nope.

The woman on the cell phone, quote unquote, in the Charlie Chaplin clip is thought to be using an early hearing aid. I'm not sure why she's talking to herself and looking around like people do when they're on the phone, but she could be talking to herself. I mean, I do that when I'm alone. Do we really want to discuss what you do when they're on the phone, but she could be talking to herself. I mean, I do that when I'm alone. Do we really want to discuss what you do when you're alone? No, I don't. But the DuPont video from 1938 is a little trickier. After the story went viral, the women's family claimed that her name was Gertrude

Jones and she was working for DuPont and using an experimental wireless telephone developed by the company. OK, that's fine. But look at the size of it. The earliest cell phones were huge. And this is before World War Two. So you're telling me we had the technology to make batteries that small? OK, fine. Let's say the battery technology did exist.

It wouldn't be big enough to power a wireless radio. The walkie talkie was only patented in 1936. And in the war, radio operators were followed around by another guy with a backpack that carried the transceiver and battery, which weighed over 30 pounds. 18 kilograms. Heavy. So I don't know if this one is debunked. The ancient watch found in the Chinese tomb? That's a straight up hoax.

Photoshopped. Debunked. The astronaut on the Cathedral of Salamanca? Well, the sculpture is definitely real, but when the cathedral was renovated and restored in 1992, the artist added their own modern touches, including the astronaut. Debunked. Crap! Those were good ones! I know, they were. But three or four hundred years from now, when someone looks at that church, they are going to be confused.

They say time is the fire in which we burn. So why do we want so badly for these stories to be true? Why are we so obsessed with time travel? Well, probably because we're obsessed with time. Time rules our lives. Time creates possibilities. But time also ends possibilities. It's finite. The expression time is money isn't exactly true. Time is much more valuable than money. Wealth can be made

and lost and made again. But time, once we lose it, we can never get it back. Time is the most valuable thing you have. Spend it wisely. Thanks for hanging out with us today. My name is AJ. That's Hecklefish. This has been the Y-Files. If you had fun or learned anything today, help us out by liking, commenting, or sharing this video. Only with your help can we defeat the algorithm.

Let's crush the algorithm. Until next time, be safe, be kind, and know that you are appreciated.