[KarlInOhio]

It's a portable music box invented by Zebidahah Jobs. For only 99¢ you could buy a new cylinder with an entirely new song on it. He called it the iPlink and sold three dozen of them before the music industry had him beaten in a railyard.

[Retired Greyhound]

Guess they didn’t have Bluetooth where she’s from.

[A CA Guy]

In Chaplan’s time, where would be the infrastructure to carry that wireless call?

[Hot Tabasco]

Mysterious 'Time Traveler' Spotted

They're everywhere now......

Notice the guy on the left......

And here, the guy once again in the background with the hat.

I'm glad you brought this up, these appearances are getting down right creepy........something's going on I tell ya!

[ThomasThomas]

It is a message to the grandmother who had raised her to let her know that she was doing well and that she loved her.

[HereInTheHeartland]

She is on the phone with Warren Buffet getting info to place a trade. Do people really think he is that smart, or does he just have some other means of making money?

[fr_freak]

Watching the video at the link is much more informative. There probably is a natural explanation for what the person is doing, but if you watch the video, it looks every bit like he/she is talking on a communication device the size of a cellphone.

Now, as I said, there probably is a natural explanation for this, but the dismissals of this fun little mystery are illogical. Let's assume, for a moment, that it is some sort of communication device:

1) The news guys call it a cellphone, but that doesn't mean it actually is a cellphone. That is merely the most analogous thing we have in 2010 to explain what the person is doing. Frankly, if it were a time traveler, he/she would have technology beyond even 2010, which makes it unlikely that he/she would be using a cellphone modeled on 2010 technology, which requires cell phone towers, satellites, etc.

2) If you watch the video, the person is not holding onto his/her hat, eyeglasses, covering the face, etc. It is quite clear that the person is holding an object roughly the size of a large cellphone (think 1990s) up to his face, and does appear to be talking, but that is not quite clear. The movement of the person is exactly that of a person talking on a cellphone (or some other communication device). That is probably why it jumped out at the guy - the way the head is oriented in a single direction as when one is focused on the voice in the phone rather than the world around, and the steady shuffling walk.

3) As for why this person would be dressed in the fashion of the 1920s, why wouldn't he be? If you were going to travel back in time and blend in, wouldn't you wear 1920s clothes? To do otherwise would be silly.

[bgill]

A cigarette case would be about the right size. I’ve heard of blowing smoke out your backside but not your ear, so it still makes no sense.

[B Knotts]

Finally, the explanation for Obama’s election!

I knew something seemed off...Howard Dean went back in time and caused some change in the space-time continuum!

[Captain Peter Blood]

Has the “Fringe” Investigative group been broought in yet? This sounds like a job for Dr. Walter Bishop and group.

[Captain Peter Blood]

Has the “Fringe” Investigative team been brought in yet? This sounds like a job for Dr. Walter Bishop and group.

[Ronin]

Hey, I am writing a silly short science fiction love story right now that involves time travel and iPhones. It just goes back to 1974 though.

It involves a portal. One side is 2010, other side is 1974.

Who can I sue about this?

[Hot Tabasco]

For what it's worth, after watching that video over and over and over, and studying still frames, that ain't a woman, that ain't a woman's hand, that's a man dressed up as a woman and he is definitely talking on a device of some sort.

If the argument is that it is a "cell phone" and the argument against it is that there were no means to support such a cell phone then I would have to say that if it is indeed a "time traveler" then HE would certainly have access to technology far superior to what we have today.

With that being said, I believe it is a man dressed up as a woman definitely talking into some sort of hand held device. So either this video is authentic OR it has been doctored...........

I'm just offering this opinion as my observation, I'm not going to argue in favor of it one way or the other.

If other folks here can explain it without derision then please do so.........It definitely is an interesting topic.

[stylecouncilor]

ping

[NELSON111]

Well...we KNOW it's not a time traveler talking on a phone. And HOW do we know that boys and girls?

Said time traveler is years ahead in the future...and right now...his error is being saved forever on the internet...because once it goes digital...you can't erase it.

So...said time traveler's boss calls "John" into his office and says "Hey...I have a mission for you...I need you to go back to the early 20th century and observe silent film making. BUT...don't talk on your communicator this time..."

"What are you talking about?" Asks the time traveler...

"Well..." says the boss, "Some dude in 2010 bought a bunch of cheap videos and caught you talking on it...AND figured out you were a man. SO...when you go on the trip...1) Don't walk in front of the camera...and 2) Leave your communicator in your pocket and only use in case of emergencies. Tell your wife you don't care where you eat for dinner...it's her decision."

And boom...just like that...THIS never happened...and I never typed all of this.

That's how we know its not a cell phone or a time traveler.

[Revolting cat!]

[Retired Greyhound]

I think Chaplin probably just told the actor to cover his face so that the audience couldn’t tell it’s not a woman.

But I did see Lee Harvey Oswald on that grassy knoll behind the tree.

[paulycy]

"Can you hear me now?"

[50mm]

Can you hear me now?

[giotto]

Time traveler. Right. Start with the least likely explanation.

First of all, she does appear to be talking into a cell phone. Secondly, the woman is not in the frame by accident. She isn't just some homeless bag lady talking to herself who happened to wander onto the movie set. That wouldn't happen. She's there by design. Whose design?

I vote for a clever bit of film editing by some bored prankster who had the tedious job of transfering celluloid films to DVD. An expert could tease this out, to see if the figure is consistent with the rest of the set.