A photograph from 1941 showing a line of young people outside a cinema has become the latest picture to set the internet arguing about time travel. Some viewers are convinced that a boy at the edge of the frame is holding a modern tablet. Others say the truth is much more ordinary.
A snapshot from Chicago’s South Side
The picture was taken by photographer Edward Rosskam on Chicago’s South Side. It shows a line of well-dressed young people waiting outside a movie theater. At first glance there is nothing remarkable about it.
The attention has settled on one boy standing right at the edge of the shot. Sharp-eyed social media users are adamant that he appears to be clutching an iPad while he waits for a screening. The idea quickly spread through online communities that love to hunt for supposed time travelers in old images.
On Reddit’s timetravelerscaught community, one person summed up the claim by writing: "iPad carrying movie goer, all the way to the right." The post has since drawn plenty of replies.
The skeptics step in
Not everyone was persuaded. Many commenters argued that the object in the boy’s hands is far more likely to be a simple notebook. One wrote: "Looks like a book to me."
Another contributor offered some historical context about cinema habits. They explained: "Back in the day of early film, ushers scanned the audience for pens and notepads as to prevent bootleg recreations of the film." If that is right, a notebook would have been an unusual thing to carry into a screening.
One commenter also poked fun at the whole theory. They asked why anyone with a tablet and the ability to time travel would pick the South Side of Chicago in 1941 to watch a matinee of "The Aldrich Family". Their post ended with a stunned "!" and a reference to God, and it summed up how odd the claim seemed to many readers.
Admiring the Sunday best
As the debate went on, some people stopped looking at the boy’s hands and started looking at what everyone was wearing. The crowd outside the theater is smartly dressed, and several viewers loved that.
One person wrote: "They all are dressed so nicely. To wear your Sunday best to see the movies, it must have been a fantastic treat." Another added: "Part of me wishes we would all dress up like that for the little things, and then I debate if I am even going to shower today."
A third viewer simply said: "Amazing how nicely dressed they all are. The little men’s hats are so adorable."
Not the first time
This is not the first picture to be pulled into the time travel debate. Not long ago, fans of Elvis Presley claimed they had spotted something bizarre in a photo from a 1977 concert, and that image was also said to have exposed a time traveler.
For now, the Chicago photograph remains a talking point. No one has proved that the boy is holding anything other than an everyday object from the era. The most likely explanation is a notebook, but that has not stopped people from enjoying the mystery, or from admiring the hats.
Image credit: Edwin Rosskam/Reddit
Source: The Mirror US
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