After the release of the German TV show Dark (2017-2020), many people got interested and excited on the subject of time travel. Throughout the show, many characters were presented, and their very confusing plots about different versions of themselves creating time paradoxes. Spoiler alert: even one of the character’s daughter is her own mom and still her daughter at the same time. Super confusing, I know. While watching this show, I admit that I had a timeline with all the characters’ names and faces to see their story as a whole.
Following Dark, more lightly and spontaneously, Palm Springs (2020) is also about this subject. Starring Andy Samberg and Cristin Milioti, the characters who met at a wedding party live infinite time loops associated with quantum theories involving a secret cave. Although this movie is funny, it also explores this theme of time loops and makes us, the audience, wonder what we would do if that happens to us.
Of course, I could not leave out the incredible Back to the Future (1985) movie. In this one, Marty McFly travels back in time by using Dr. Emmett’s time machine. However, throughout the plot, we can see that the different decisions and changes he makes to the past significantly affect the “present,” with a risk of himself not existing in the first place. All this makes us wonder if time traveling would be such a good idea.
To be honest with you, I am a stern believer in things I cannot see scientific proof for, and for a long time, I did not see time traveling as something that could happen. But as I watched the shows and movies I mentioned, I got more interested in knowing about people’s stories about time travel and what they saw.
Another occurrence that completely changed my mind about time traveling is the story of Sergei Krikalev, a Russian cosmonaut. He traveled to the future through time dilation when he was at the International Space Station. The cosmonaut stayed 803 days in space!
However, it’s hard to prove such activity as many people may not have strong evidence or show what they saw. Some stories are found to be urban legends, and others part of the sci-FI world. However, if you are interested in knowing more about people who have evidence that they traveled through time, here are some of the best time travel stories that can blow your mind:
- Moberly & Jourdain
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In 1911, Anne Moberly and Eleanor Jourdain published the book An Adventure about their time travel event under Elizabeth Morison and Frances Lamont’s names. The book shares their experience and aims to convince people that what happened is, in fact, true.
Moberly and Jourdain’s story dates back to 1901. The Englishwomen traveled to France and decided to visit the Palace of Versailles. In their visit to the palace, they wanted to see the Petit Trianon, a chateau given to Marie Antoinette as a gift from Louis XVI. In the little chateau, Marie Antoinette spent most of her time drawing and painting.
When the two women got close to the Petit Trianon’s palace grounds, some people walking by them were wearing clothes that belonged to another time. Their behavior was very odd, and the buildings and overall structure seemed too outdated for 1901. When they got closer to the little chateau, Moberly and Jourdain said they saw Marie Antoinette in the corner drawing in a book.
How they got off that scene? The women affirm that when the tour guide called them, they were brought right back to their present. Moberly and Jourdain claimed they experienced a time slip phenomenon: a plot device that seems to travel people through time by unknown resources.
- 2000s Hipster In the 1940s
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In 2010, a photograph went around the media dating back to 1941, registering the South Fork Bridge’s reopening in British Columbia, Canada. Everything seemed pretty normal until people started to notice that a man stood out from the crowd with his modern clothing and a pretty digital camera. The man was wearing a graphic t-shirt, a sweater cardigan type, sunglasses, and a camera around his neck with a shoulder strap.
What is odd about this occurrence is that all the other people in the same picture are wearing clothes from the 1940s: men wearing hats and suits, women wearing coats and iconic hairstyles from the decade. It just seems weird to see a modern hipster wearing 2000s clothes in this picture. Many people claim the photo had been photoshopped; however, the original one was released, and people noticed the men after some time. Others argue that the clothes he is wearing in the picture could be bought in 1940. However, it was never proven any of these claims.
- John Titor
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In the year of 2001, John Titor came out with his time travel story. He claimed that a company he worked for sent him back to 1975 to bring an IBM computer to 2038, his present time. So what was he doing in 2001? Titor stated that he wanted to take care of some personal business before going home in the 2000s. Why could that possibly be? As we saw in Dark and Back to the Future, changing our past may not be the best option.
Titor also shared that he was sent to get the computer to solve a big issue called “The Year 2038 Problem” by UNIX. As of 2017, no one has heard or seen John Titor for 16 years, which can sign that he was telling the truth. His story is also linked to the speculation that by 2034 the first “time machine” will be built by GE. It can also prove Titor’s story. I guess we will have to wait until 2034 to find out!
- Victor Goddard
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In 1935, Victor Goddard decided to fly over the RAF station Drem in Scotland to get to Andover, England. After the First World War, the Drem station was blocked and out of use. Goddard also stated that he saw nothing but an abandoned airfield when he flew by the Drem station.
When he returned from Andover to Edinburgh, Goddard decided to take the same route: through the Drem station. However, he struggled to maintain control of the plane in the middle of a storm, and during this, he saw the Drem airfield completely functioning and as a busy airfield. Victor Goddard, confused with what he was seeing, continued fighting against the storm and broke into the clouds to try to get away from that terrible weather. He dodged the plane as he saw another storm coming his way and found another route back home.
In the same way as Moberly and Jourdain, Goddard believes he lived a time slip and decided to write the book Flights Towards Reality on his experience.
Curiosity: we don’t know if Goddard time-traveled to the future or the past because four years later, from his occurrence, the Drem airfield was reopened and was very much busy as he saw from the plane.
Although it’s tough to distinguish what is true or not in those stories, they are fascinating. I tended to be very skeptical about things related to this, mainly because I’m no expert. However, these stories definitely opened up my mind to think more than what we’re used to seeing as a possibility in this world.
One thing is for sure: changing our past is definitely not a good idea, it’d only be if you’d like to change every aspect of your life until this point. Seeing the future can also be tricky. Would we make the same decisions if we knew what our future looks like? The future is something exciting yet scary. I think the best thing is definitely to live in the present moment.
What about you? Do you believe in time travel?