Mysterious photo from 1917 with 'surfer man' has people wondering if time travel exists – The Mirror
The picture, entitled ‘Last Picnic’, shows a group of adults and children sitting on a mound in Canada in 1917 – but one person appears to stand out from the rest
A mysterious photo from over 100 years ago has people wondering whether time travel exists.
The picture, entitled 'Last Picnic', shows a group of adults and children sitting on a mound in Canada in 1917. The women can be seen wearing long skirts while the men are dressed in blazers and bowler hats.
But what captured people's attention is a man bearing an uncanny resemblance to someone from the 20th century. He stands out from the rest, wearing a baggy t-shirt and shorts, as well as sporting a shaggy haircut.
The "surfer man", as some have dubbed him, appears to similarly confuse those surrounding him. A man to his left is seen looking his way in apparent disbelief, while a woman on the other side points towards him.
YouTuber Jamie D. Grant stumbled across the photo in Lester Ray Peterson’s 1974 historical book, The Great Cape Scott Story. In a video previously posted on the social media platform, he says: “Notice the group, their clothes, their hats. Even how they sit poised for a photo.
“Now look closer. His head uncovered, his hair, his shorts. The man on the left stares in disbelief. Has a mysterious traveller proved the impossible and journey through time? What do you think?”
Viewers took to the comments to give their opinions, with one writing: "I looked through this book as a small child and noticed this picture; not only is it real; but at the time I just felt his clothes were a little ahead for being in this picture. It still gives me the chills."
Another added: "The guy looks like he was caught off guard in the picture. He definitely looks like he's from another time period. Cool video." However, others cast doubt over the speculation.
According to Express.co.uk, a person commenting on the book on GoodReads.com referenced a Post Gazette article, saying: "In the comments to the article, someone mentioned that t-shirts were around then and that they made it into the common lexicon soon after that date – it appeared in the Merriam-Webster Dictionary in the 1920s.
“Considering that other guys in the picture are also wearing shorts, I'm going to say that he's not a time traveller. Other than Bill and Ted, what time travellers would think that a t-shirt and shorts would be the best thing to wear when time-travelling into the past anyway?”
Recently, it was reported how unearthed footage from 1938 appeared to show someone using a mobile phone. In the clip of people walking toward the camera, one young woman could be seen holding something to the side of her head.
Conspiracy theorists claimed the woman had been caught on film chatting on a phone, decades before the technology was invented. The woman can be seen chatting as she walks in the crowd of people, with the device clamped to the side of her head with one hand.
She then lowers it before the film clip ends. As the woman, clad in a stylish 30s dress, lowers the object from her ear, it can be seen as a dark hand-sized item; the same dimensions as a modern mobile phone.
The mystery deepens when one YouTuber came forward claiming the woman in the shot was their great-grandmother, and she was in fact using a mobile phone. According to YouTube user Planetcheck, the divide is an experimental wireless phone developed by industrial giant Dupont at their factory in Leominster, Massachusetts.
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