Time Traveler Caught in 1941 Photo?

Psychicwolf · Post by **Psychicwolf** » 03-29-2010 11:58 AM

interesting...mid page.
Is This a Time Traveler, Or What?

It's a picture of the "Reopening of the South Fork Bridge after flood in 1940" and it was snapped at the South Fork Bridge at Gold Bridge BC in 1941. When my reader-friend sent this in he asked a simple question...but first click here to see the picture itself.

But along comes the readers question: "What is the guy in sunglasses doing in this picture? If it’s Photoshop, it’s an excellent job."

http://urbansurvival.com/week.htm

Raggedyann · Post by **Raggedyann** » 03-29-2010 12:54 PM

Very interesting. I have to say though, that the guys head looks bigger and a smidge out of sync with all the other heads in the pic. It could be because he is very tall, dunno. What I found just as interesting further on in this article is this:

"Titor claimed that as a 13-year old, in 2011, he fought with the "Fighting Diamondbacks", a shotgun infantry unit of Florida, for at least four years. However, in other posts he describes himself as hiding from the war. As a result of the war, the United States splits into five regions based on various factors and differing military objectives. This civil war, according to Titor, will then end in 2015 with a brief, but intense, World War III:

Joolz · Post by **Joolz** » 03-29-2010 02:58 PM

Hmmmmm... reminds me of the guy called "the Observer" in Fringe (or CBG for "Creepy Bald Guy" by some fans). Only he's not bald and wearing a black fedora.

That guy (CBG) also shows up at particular eventful moments. It's unsure whether he's a time traveler, an alien, or from an alternate universe, but is a similar idea... It's science fiction, of course (from the mind of J.J. Abrams), but then, sometimes we find that what we call science fiction holds grains of truth...

Swerdloc · Post by **Swerdloc** » 03-29-2010 03:46 PM

After looking at the photo, I'm not so sure that there's anything out of place (or time). The sort-of anomalous guy has a haircut that's about right for 1941, and the glasses may be some sort of industrial safety glasses with side shields, which have been around for a long time. It looks like he's wearing some kind of college or athletic sweatshirt/jersey with a letter on it.

Joolz · Post by **Joolz** » 03-29-2010 03:58 PM

I agree that his haircut looks 1940s appropriate. And there may well be perfectly rational explanations for his clothing choices. He looks to be an odd duck one way or the other, though -- one of those people who just doesn't quite fit in.

Joolz · Post by **Joolz** » 03-29-2010 04:04 PM

The shirt with the big "M" on it is what seems most out-of-place to me, but it is quite possibly a college team jersey or something of the sort from the era. It looks silk-screened, but it's hard to tell. In the 1940s, it would have been appliqued, and it's just too hard to tell in this photo how the "M" is applied to the shirt. Inconclusive...

Swerdloc · Post by **Swerdloc** » 03-29-2010 04:26 PM

Joolz wrote: He looks to be an odd duck one way or the other, though -- one of those people who just doesn't quite fit in.

I resemble that remark.

Psychicwolf · Post by **Psychicwolf** » 03-29-2010 04:59 PM

It was the camera that got me. As the blogger says, it appears to be matte black and rather compact, which was most unusual for the time.
http://images.google.com/images?um=1&hl ... i=&start=0

Live365 · Post by **Live365** » 03-29-2010 05:37 PM

When I looked at the pic this morning, my instincts fell in line with Swerdloc's. There just wasn't enough there to blow me away. While I agree our eyes tell us he looks like the 1980's and beyond, you can still 'splain it. But it is mysterious enough to be mysterious.

racehorse · Post by **racehorse** » 03-29-2010 07:06 PM

Live365 wrote: But it is mysterious enough to be mysterious.

Indeed it is.

megman · Post by **megman** » 03-29-2010 07:36 PM

The glasses are glacier glasses. I have a pair. The side and nose shield are designed to eliminate glare off the ice.

Joolz · Post by **Joolz** » 03-29-2010 09:27 PM

I didn't make any assessment of the camera, since I couldn't tell much about it in the photo, so I cropped it out, blew it up and lightened it a bit to see more detail. Honestly, it doesn't look like a modern camera to me. It looks rather boxy, more like an old Brownie camera. It looks to me like he's holding it against his body with the lens pointed forward so it would be in the correct position should he raise it to take a photo. There is what appears to be a round lens visible on the front, and it is a boxy, extended camera much like a Brownie, which was readily available at that time.

Here's the blown up and enhanced cropped portion of his hands holding the camera:

Joolz · Post by **Joolz** » 03-29-2010 09:30 PM

And here's an ad for Brownie cameras from 1937 (click HERE to see ad full size). What do you guys think? I think it looks a lot like a Brownie.

starrmtn001 · Post by **starrmtn001** » 03-29-2010 09:46 PM

Joolz wrote: The shirt with the big "M" on it is what seems most out-of-place to me, but it is quite possibly a college team jersey or something of the sort from the era. It looks silk-screened, but it's hard to tell. In the 1940s, it would have been appliqued, and it's just too hard to tell in this photo how the "M" is applied to the shirt. Inconclusive...

I was born in 1946. In those days the letters were sown onto the sweaters. But it is hard for me to tell from the photo whether the letter is silk-screened or sown on.

Psychicwolf · Post by **Psychicwolf** » 03-29-2010 10:22 PM

Oh, nice job Joolz, it does, indeed, look like one of those old Brownies. I had one of the boxy ones as a first camera in the late fifties.