Strange photo of man holding a 'cell phone' among WWII soldiers has people claiming he's from the future

Time travel remains one of the most debated topics ever. While great scientists, the likes of Albert Einstein and Stephen Hawking have allowed some insight into the, at present, mystical theory, a resurfaced black-and-white photo from World War II has convinced internet sleuths that a time traveler was already among us back in the 1940s. Facebook user Kristjan Hoffmann shared a suspicious snap of a man holding, what appears to be, a cell phone to his ear at a time when the device was not even invented. Although the picture was shared with a private group of people, it somehow gained traction and is now sparking debates all over the internet. 

The photo was clicked in Iceland’s capital Reykjavik in 1943 at the height of World War II, per The Sun. The man in question is spotted leaning against the window of a shop with his hands bound to his ear. For your information, the first portable telephone was invented and sold long after the conclusion of WWII, in 1973– the Motorola DynaTAC 8000X. The picture was posted in the Facebook group Gamlar Ijosmyndir, which means “Old Photographs” in Icelandic. “The American army is taking over Icelandic splendor, as you can see,” Hoffman wrote. Pointing out the man, the photo owner said that his strange appearance and posture “draws attention” to the picture. 

“One thing that draws attention to this beautiful picture is that above the window, in the corner in the middle of the picture, a man is leaning and is on a cell phone,” he declared, even though it could not be proved that it was, in fact, a cellphone. A debate ensued. Hoffman still maintained his stance on the subject of time travel and further highlighted the other aspects of the man that posed similarities to the modern era. I don’t know what to say, I don’t think he’s just talking on the phone. He’s in a stupor, standing alone and wearing a different headdress than the others and a scarf and acting like we would do today,” the man shared. The man was also staring right into the camera which made it even more seeming that he was suspicious amidst the crowd of American troops. 

When the photo was reshared by The Independent on X (formerly Twitter), dozens of people chimed in with several conspiracy theories, some realistic most fantastical. “He’s scratching his ear,” said one user (@DavidAkinsanya) while another (@blackcanine65) quipped, “Because saying he's just taking a cigarette from behind his ear won't get you any SEO points.” On the other side of the debate, some netizens were impressed by the time-travel theory, as reported by Unilad. “The first handheld phone was created in 1983 and WW2 happened in the 1930s-1940s... that is time travel,” a comment reportedly stated. However, another realist countered with logic, saying the cell phone, even if it had existed, would not have worked due to the absence of cell towers to relay the signals. 

English physicist Stephen Hawking suggested that time travel was possible, but his theories did not support backward time travel, as per a report published in PBS. While science fiction movies have made it impossible to not imagine time travel and time-bending. Albert Einstein’s theory of special relativity proposes the illusory nature of time and how it is relative to an observer. Time travel may be possible if an object or human travels at the speed of light, as per a Space report. However, the theory is easier said than done.