A 1917 photo showing a 'surfer man' with long hair has many convinced he might be a time traveler

The dialogue around time travel is ceaseless. Time travel fanatics and conspiracy theorists have pondered over accounts like a boy from 1941 holding an "iPad" to the photo of a man holding a cellphone in the World War II era. In the most recent episode, a photograph taken over 100 years ago has emerged showing a “surfer man” sitting amongst people of a different generation has sparked debates about time travel once again. A YouTube user Jamie D. Grant (@JamieDGrantMagician) stumbled on the picture from 1917 in an old bookstore and marked it as a “proof” of time travel. 

The viral video, viewed 3.8 million times, actually documented the vintage picture, titled “Last Picnic” from Lester Ray Peterson’s 1974 historical book, The Great Cape Scott Story. In it, a man with long hair wearing baggy shorts and an oversized T-shirt sits among a crowd of people comprising women, children, and men on a hill in San Jose Bay, on Vancouver Island, Canada, a report by Indy100 revealed. The striking contrast between the appearance of the “surfer man” and that of his triggered debates about time travel. 

The man, dressed appropriately for a 21th-century being, seemed to have traveled to the past, to 1917 precisely, as others around him stared in amazement. The crowd, on the other hand, was dressed in old-fashioned clothes. The women wore modest ankle-length dresses and bonnets while the men wore complete suits with ties and hats. Most of the people were spread out through the hill but a few of them sat in proximity to the “surfer man” in question. They appeared poised and ready for a photograph, as if amazed by the wonders of a camera whereas the surfer man was relatively indifferent. A woman from the right of the frame seemed to point in his direction while the men sitting next to the mysterious traveler gazed at him in disbelief.

“Notice the group, their clothes, their hats. Even how they sit poised for a photo,” the video creator mentioned in his video, further highlighting that his head was also uncovered and his clothes from another time. Fueling the debate, Grant asked if a traveler had, in fact, journeyed through time and into the past. “Time Travel proof found. Truth or Illusion?” the caption insinuated. The vintage photo undeniably created a lot of buzz on the internet. Droves of netizens poured in possible explanations and facts about time travel. 

“The guy looks like he was caught off guard in the picture. He definitely looks like he's from another time period. Cool video,” wrote someone (@damonlariche1906). A second netizen (@loriprihoda8731) quipped, “Just folks born before their time.” A time-travel fan (@AndrewSauls) was rather enthused about the video, and said, “Excellent posting and presentation, especially the topic of time travel,” On the critical side, a person (@shook198) said, “Oh, we do time travel. Just not backward. We're constantly moving forward through time. Not back,” while another (@alisonadams8018) questioned, “If time travel was possible then why wouldn't someone have come back from the year 4785 or something and told us all that we can do it?” 

Some unserious viewers resorted to jokes. “It's true...I was there yesterday...I brought the dude in the shorts a caramel macchiato from Starbucks. He was grateful,” joked another critic (@BrianGBizu). While there is no evidence of time travel, the original creator reflected in the video description, saying that this instance is not scientific proof of it but rather a perspective of telling interesting stories. 

You can follow @JamieDGrantMagician on YouTube for more videos.