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Five of the most bizarre 'proofs' of time travel in historic paintings

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This 17th century painting by Dutch painter Pieter de Hooch appears to show a man holding what some people think is a smartphone - despite the devices not being invented for another 250 years (Image: Universal Images Group via Getty Images)
This 17th century painting by Dutch painter Pieter de Hooch appears to show a man holding what some people think is a smartphone - despite the devices not being invented for another 250 years (Image: Universal Images Group via Getty Images)

What did Marty McFly, Doctor Who and a painting from the 17th century all have in common?

They all feature time travellers - potentially. As new Disney+ movie The Greatest Hits features time traveller Lucy Boynton, the film is by no means the first fictional character to return to the past.

But what about evidence of real-life time travel? There are plenty of mysterious cases from history of reported glitches in the fabric of time, from Liverpool's famous Bold Street time slips to bizarre paintings and photographs featuring apparent time travellers.

These images depict all kinds of clues that eagle-eyed viewers have pointed to suggesting their subjects may be from a different era, with evidence of smartphones and Nike trainers.

Five of the most bizarre 'proofs' of time travel in historic paintings qhiqhhiddkiekprwCharlie Chaplin movie still from 1928 'proves time travel is real' as woman spotted with 'mobile phone' (The Circus)

Great Scot!

Even the most seasoned pilot is no fan of gliding through the skies in dodgy weather, but for RAF Air Marshal Sir Robert Victor Goddard, it was more than turbulence he came across in 1939. The senior commander during WW2 went across a disused air force base in the village of Drem, East Lothian and noted it was in a rough state with cows eating grass which had grown through cracks in the tarmac.

Neville poses Liverpool question sparking furious Carragher reply - "Nonsense!"Neville poses Liverpool question sparking furious Carragher reply - "Nonsense!"

After heavy rain sent him off course, he chose to go back in the direction of the base to regain focus. Looking down he found a renovated airfield with mechanics wearing blue overalls and four yellow planes on the runway, including a model he had never seen before.

It was thought Goddard had been in a time slip as four years later the airfield was up and running with RAF training planes now painted yellow instead of silver, and air force mechanics swapping their tan overalls for blue.

Call me

A woman holding what appeared to be a mobile phone to her ear in the background of Charlie Chaplin’s 1928 movie The Circus caused a time travel riddle, Daily Star reports, as the devices were not commonplace until 50 years later. Meanwhile, a 1930s photo also appeared to show a man holding a mobile to his ear in the middle of Union Square in New York. And artwork by Dutch painter Pieter de Hooch from 1670 seemingly showed a man from the past holding an iPhone.

Five of the most bizarre 'proofs' of time travel in historic paintingsThis man 'holding a mobile phone to his ear' in 1930s New York City has sparked time-travel theories (Berenice Abbott / Brooklyn Museum Collection)

Future mapped out

Waiting to go through passport control at the airport is always painful, but imagine what would happen if as they went to place a stamp immigration officers told you the country yours was issued from didn’t exist? In July 1954 it’s said a man arriving at Tokyo International airport found himself in exactly this situation leading police to arrest him.

He claimed his hometown Taured was between France and Spain and was over 1,000 years old but the area he pointed to on a map was Andorra. Despite two guards outside his hotel room, the mystery man had disappeared by the next day.

Sneaker peeper

The painting Portrait of a Boy by Dutch Master Ferdinand Bol left art fans baffled as the 17th-century child appeared to be wearing shoes with a famous Nike white tick. Despite being painted more than 300 years before Nike kicked their trainer-making into action in 1964, it saw conspiracy theorists question whether the lad, thought to be Frederick Sluysken, the second cousin of the painter’s wife, had hopped into the future for his footwear.

Five of the most bizarre 'proofs' of time travel in historic paintingsThis young boy in a painting by Ferdinand Bol appears to be wearing a 17th century form of Nike trainer
Five of the most bizarre 'proofs' of time travel in historic paintingsCan you spot it?

Clock hop

Former US army helicopter pilot Alex Collier claims to have travelled through time after being abducted by aliens in the '80s. He said he was kept on their spaceship for three months and given a belt to wear so they could hear his thoughts and when he returned to Earth he had only been gone for 18 minutes.

At a 2007 talk in Japan, Alex said: “Their own day is equivalent to 31 days on our world. They thought I wasn’t well because I kept having to take naps."

Susie Beever

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