The ability to travel forward and backward in time has inspired countless sci-fi books and films, yet some remain convinced that a few individuals have secretly mastered this superpower in real life.
Many on social media point to small details in old paintings or photos, such as modern-looking objects that seem out of place, to support their theory.
Highlights
- Some netizens claim King Henry VIII's shoes in a portrait look like Greggs steak bakes, sparking time travel theories.
- Greggs, a UK bakery famous for sausage rolls, joined the joke by responding with a jab at Henry VIII.
- The 1882 painting 'The Betrothal of Burns and Highland Mary' sparked claims the couple held an early iPhone.
One example is the famous portrait of King Henry VIII, the English monarch who ruled in the 16th century.
Image credits: Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Antica
He was notorious for his six marriages, his elimination of the Catholic Church's authority in England, and, according to Luke from Manchester, his time-travel abilities.
Luke’s suggestion that Henry VIII was a time-traveler recently resurfaced online. Posting on X alongside a picture of the portrait, he asked, “Why do Henry VIII’s shoes look like a Greggs steak bake?”
Image credits: Google Arts & Culture
The theory that the English monarch traveled from the 1500s to the largest bakery chain in the UK to get himself new shoes amused many netizens.
"Because they are, needs to keep those toes warm during winter,” one user replied.
"On another note - ciabatta (bread) translates to slipper. This has been going on a long time,” another shared.
"Bro, that's cheese and onion. Get a grip,” quipped a separate observer.
Image credits: Greggs Official
Image credits: Google Arts & Culture
“Yes, Henry was well known for walking around in pastry shoes. He also invented the pork pie hat and jelly shoes,” one user added.
Luke’s message, which received nearly 3,000 likes, even got a reply from the bakery itself, which wrote, "Losing our heads over this."
Image credits: Greggs Official
Image credits: Royal Collection
Greggs is a popular bakery best known for its sausage rolls. Brits have an insatiable appetite for the treat, of which the bakery reportedly makes one million every day.
As for the man at the center of the theory, he did not execute all his wives, as some believe. But he did execute two: Anne Boleyn for treason and Catherine Howard for adultery.
His desperate need for a male heir finally came true when he had Edward VI with Jane Seymour. The boy, who became king at nine years old, lost his life after falling ill at age 15.
Image credits: Greggs Official
Similarly, others have made the bizarre claim that the 19th-century painting The Betrothal of Burns and Highland Mary shows two people holding one of the earlier versions of the iPhone.
The artwork depicts the famous Scottish poet Robert Burns and his lover, Mary Campbell, by a stream, gazing into each other’s eyes as they hold a mysterious black rectangular object.
Though it was painted in 1882, more than a century before Apple released its first iPhone, some observers remain convinced that the couple traveled in time to get hold of the revolutionary gadget.
Image credits: bauhaus1000
The tender scene captures the moment of their engagement, so the pair was likely holding a Bible with a black leather cover, in what was reportedly a Scottish custom: exchanging Bibles as a symbolic gesture of commitment and faith.
"So you know, the time travel theorists are saying that an 1882 painting called The Betrothal of Burns and Highland Mary shows a man holding an iPhone. That's their proof that time travel is possible. I will require a little more convincing,” someone wrote on social media.
A smartphone-like object can also be seen in Umberto Romano's Mr. Pynchon And The Settling of Springfield, painted in 1937.
Image credits: bauhaus1000
The painting depicts a man holding something that looks like a contemporary device to his face, even cradling it in his hand with his thumb free, as if he were scrolling through his social media feed.
Barak Shoshany, a theoretical physicist at Brock University in St. Catharines, Canada, did not entirely dismiss the possibility that people could one day travel through time.
When asked by the BBC whether it will ever be possible to go backward in time, he said, "It may or may not be possible. What we have right now is just insufficient knowledge, possibly insufficient theories.”
"This is what happens when you think of nothing else but food," one netizen joked
