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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

To ask if you believe in time slips?

257 replies

midnightmeows · 12/10/2024 20:00

I'm on the fence about woo things, however I do like reading stories.

There are lots of stories about time slip experiences, with the most well known being Bold Street, Liverpool. The stories I find interesting are when more than one person (from the 'present' time) sees the 'past' at the same time. In that case it can't be a hallucination - they're either both colluding liars or they really did see 'something'.

Has anyone had any such experiences? I suppose if such a thing exists, we could 'slip' an hour or a day into the past and not even realise.

OP posts:
Thread gallery
6
Rosscameasdoody · 12/10/2024 21:27

Babbadoobabbadock · 12/10/2024 20:50

Wasn't one of the Bold St stories about a lad who was shoplifting ?

Yep. In 2006. The story goes that a 19-year-old youth - Sean - had been shoplifting in the area when a security guard saw him and chased him down an alleyway - a dead end. Sean said that when he turned around he expected to see the security guard hot on his heels, but he was nowhere to be seen.

On walking back into the street, he said the road had changed entirely with people in strange dress, outdated looking cars and road works he’d seen minutes earlier had gone. He saw a newspaper stand and was shocked to see the date on the newspapers - May 1967. He had his mobile phone with him but when he checked it, it was dead and he said at that point he panicked and ran, and as he did he could make out the streets in front of him beginning to return to normal, but behind him still looked like the old fashioned street. He eventually jumped on a bus and got home.

The local paper picked up his story and interviewed the security guard who chased him. The guard told the journalist that when he was chasing Sean, the pair had headed down the blind alley, and he had witnessed Sean vanish into thin air in front of him. The details Sean gave about 1967 Bold Street were exactly how the street would have looked and both men’s stories remained consistent when retold - and both men said they were profoundly affected by the experience.

Moonlightdust · 12/10/2024 21:29

Well the nearest thing I have experienced to it is when I went for a walk during the Summer with my daughter and son who was on a scooter. My son scootered ahead of us, turning the corner and hid behind the bus stop, waiting to jump out at us! However, my daughter and I passed the bus stop and saw my son about 30 metres ahead rapidly going downhill. It was clearly him; distinguishable in a bright orange jumper, white scooter and patterned helmet. I was so confused! My daughter on seeing the same sight declared “How did he get so far ahead so quick?!” We quickened our pace, only for my son to jump out from behind the bus stop we had just passed! It was so bizarre! We hastily made our way down the road looking everywhere for my son’s doppelgänger only to no avail.

Treesnbirds · 12/10/2024 21:29

Moujojojo · 12/10/2024 20:10

Yes.

I don't think we understand anywhere near as much about time and the universe as we like to think we do.

Exactly this.

Rosscameasdoody · 12/10/2024 21:31

Barbiepink1 · 12/10/2024 20:56

While the equations of physics (such as those in quantum mechanics) do not technically "prefer" a direction of time, our experience is governed by thermodynamics, and the increase in entropy gives time its arrow. Cox explains that though there is no fundamental physical law that says time cannot run backward, the overwhelming trend in nature towards increasing disorder (entropy) prevents us from experiencing backward time.

Thank you.

ClairDeLaLune · 12/10/2024 21:34

TwoLeftSocksWithHoles · 12/10/2024 20:12

Didn't you ask the same question tomorrow?

😂

Pocketfullofdogtreats · 12/10/2024 21:36

Starbright885 · 12/10/2024 21:02

one of the best time slips stories I’ve ever read as been on mumsnet and they lady who wrote it either is a complete fantasist or her story is real and she can not even make sense of it. I’m not sure it’s real but I don’t think we can completely rule it out. Read and heard some pretty convincing debates about it.

Was it the one about lift doors opening onto a WW1 operating theatre?

I remember one about someone seeing some Roman soldiers marching, but she could only see them from the knees up. Turned out they were marching at the level of the Roman road.
There was also one on TV a long time back about people going back in time at Versailles.

I'm happy to believe that this is a phenomenon that's rare, but does happen.

Babbadoobabbadock · 12/10/2024 21:37

The Roman soldiers was in York - famous ghost story rather than a time slip

Pocketfullofdogtreats · 12/10/2024 21:39

Rosscameasdoody · 12/10/2024 21:27

Yep. In 2006. The story goes that a 19-year-old youth - Sean - had been shoplifting in the area when a security guard saw him and chased him down an alleyway - a dead end. Sean said that when he turned around he expected to see the security guard hot on his heels, but he was nowhere to be seen.

On walking back into the street, he said the road had changed entirely with people in strange dress, outdated looking cars and road works he’d seen minutes earlier had gone. He saw a newspaper stand and was shocked to see the date on the newspapers - May 1967. He had his mobile phone with him but when he checked it, it was dead and he said at that point he panicked and ran, and as he did he could make out the streets in front of him beginning to return to normal, but behind him still looked like the old fashioned street. He eventually jumped on a bus and got home.

The local paper picked up his story and interviewed the security guard who chased him. The guard told the journalist that when he was chasing Sean, the pair had headed down the blind alley, and he had witnessed Sean vanish into thin air in front of him. The details Sean gave about 1967 Bold Street were exactly how the street would have looked and both men’s stories remained consistent when retold - and both men said they were profoundly affected by the experience.

It's a shame that the "bullshit" brigade can't have an open mind about stories like this. You have two separate accounts which match.

Grammarnut · 12/10/2024 21:39

Three stories.
My late DH lived for many years in the Shetlands. One day he and his best friend were hunting the hare. The mist down as it does often in Shetland but they walked on, confident they and their dogs knew where they were going. At this point, remember they are hunting the hare. The mist lifts and they do not recognise the landscape at all. It is nowhere on Main island they have ever seen. There is a road they don't recognise, a ruined church, ruined crofts. The dogs are confused. The hare - as is her wont, for she is Eostre - has gone. They walk and walk. Eventually they find a road they think that they know. There's mist and they walk out of it, onto the scattold they know. A few days later they drive round looking for the croft and the church - nowhere to be found.
Did they time slip?
I am driving about my city quite late at night. Have been doing some private English tuition for a GCSE candidate and I am tired. I hit the roundabout that will take me home and take the 12 o' clock exit and find myself somewhere I do not know. A tree-lined avenue of red brick semis, large ones with paved front gardens. I haven't a clue where I am...12 years later I drive down a street in a new town where I have bought a house and I recognise the street where I got lost when I was utterly tired...it's here in the new place where our new life begins...
My late DH has a constant dream that he is in the Shetlands but it is a strange, changed place, a place of high cliffs. He dreams this dream often. In it he feels he has come home. One day, in our new town, he looks about at the tall houses, of 3 or 4 storeys and says, this is my dream, these are the cliffs, this is my new Shetland.
Time slips?

3hrMax · 12/10/2024 21:41

Rosscameasdoody · 12/10/2024 21:27

Yep. In 2006. The story goes that a 19-year-old youth - Sean - had been shoplifting in the area when a security guard saw him and chased him down an alleyway - a dead end. Sean said that when he turned around he expected to see the security guard hot on his heels, but he was nowhere to be seen.

On walking back into the street, he said the road had changed entirely with people in strange dress, outdated looking cars and road works he’d seen minutes earlier had gone. He saw a newspaper stand and was shocked to see the date on the newspapers - May 1967. He had his mobile phone with him but when he checked it, it was dead and he said at that point he panicked and ran, and as he did he could make out the streets in front of him beginning to return to normal, but behind him still looked like the old fashioned street. He eventually jumped on a bus and got home.

The local paper picked up his story and interviewed the security guard who chased him. The guard told the journalist that when he was chasing Sean, the pair had headed down the blind alley, and he had witnessed Sean vanish into thin air in front of him. The details Sean gave about 1967 Bold Street were exactly how the street would have looked and both men’s stories remained consistent when retold - and both men said they were profoundly affected by the experience.

Crucially, though, "Sean" has never been identified and nobody has ever been able to find any relevant news article or report, despite the events being claimed to have occurred fairly recently (well into the age of online news). There is no record of the details that Sean gave about 1967 Bold Street either.

Dotto · 12/10/2024 21:43

What's more likely... That time slips are a rare yet real and as yet unexplained phenomenon, or...

People are just making shit up, as usual.

Babbadoobabbadock · 12/10/2024 21:44

www.thesun.co.uk/news/25119628/time-slips-bold-street/amp/

There's a 'witness' named here - apologies for it being The Sun

SabreIsMyFave · 12/10/2024 21:45

Moonlightdust · 12/10/2024 21:29

Well the nearest thing I have experienced to it is when I went for a walk during the Summer with my daughter and son who was on a scooter. My son scootered ahead of us, turning the corner and hid behind the bus stop, waiting to jump out at us! However, my daughter and I passed the bus stop and saw my son about 30 metres ahead rapidly going downhill. It was clearly him; distinguishable in a bright orange jumper, white scooter and patterned helmet. I was so confused! My daughter on seeing the same sight declared “How did he get so far ahead so quick?!” We quickened our pace, only for my son to jump out from behind the bus stop we had just passed! It was so bizarre! We hastily made our way down the road looking everywhere for my son’s doppelgänger only to no avail.

Shock Ooooooooooooh!

This puts me in mind of when DH and I were out in the car some 12-13 years ago. We had a rather distinctive looking car - like a bright green Mazda MX - and we were driving down the duel carriageway to the town centre of the town we lived in then.

We both spotted (simultaneously) the exact same car as ours, same colour and everything, coming in the opposite direction on the duel carriageway. And the 2 people in it (from the bit of a distance we were away) looked exactly like us!

We both looked at each other briefly for a second and then laughed. Basically we both said 'that's us going home in 2 hours after we've been to town!' Seemed so much like a weird time slip, where we saw ourselves - 2 hours later - coming back from where we were going.

Naunet · 12/10/2024 21:47

Pocketfullofdogtreats · 12/10/2024 21:39

It's a shame that the "bullshit" brigade can't have an open mind about stories like this. You have two separate accounts which match.

Hold on though, I love these stories and would love for them to be true, but it’s not ‘open minded’ to blindly believe things without fact checking them. All we have is the name Sean in the above, I’d want to cooperate it first at least!

Dotto · 12/10/2024 21:48

Pocketfullofdogtreats · 12/10/2024 21:39

It's a shame that the "bullshit" brigade can't have an open mind about stories like this. You have two separate accounts which match.

The problem with open-mindedness, is that your brain tends to fall out...

Biggirlnow · 12/10/2024 21:49

Rosscameasdoody · 12/10/2024 20:52

An astrophysicist from the university of Maryland says that the best evidence we have that time travel is impossible, is that we haven’t been invaded by hordes of tourists past and future !!

I read a brilliant short story about this once. Loads of time travelling tourists went back to Israel to see the crucifixion. During the clamour at Pilate's to crucify Jesus, all the tourists had been told to join in, so as not to look suspicious. It turned out that all the local people were at home, and it was the tourists who had caused the crucifixion all along.

CraftyPlumViewer · 12/10/2024 21:51

This reply has been withdrawn

This message has been withdrawn at the poster's request

Bogginsthe3rd · 12/10/2024 21:52

Barbiepink1 · 12/10/2024 20:23

Time Travel in the Montauk Project: An Intelligence Analysis
Contents:

  1. Introduction
  2. Origins of Time Travel Claims
  3. 2.1 Theoretical Foundations and Scientific Basis
  4. 2.2 Camp Hero’s Role in Time Manipulation
  5. Mechanics of Alleged Time Travel
  6. 3.1 The Montauk Chair
  7. 3.2 The Zero-Time Reference and Space-Time Vortex
  8. Testimonies and Whistleblowers
  9. 4.1 Preston Nichols' Account
  10. 4.2 Al Bielek’s Time Travel Experiences
  11. Time Travel Projects: Experimentation and Goals
  12. 5.1 Temporal Probes and Exploration
  13. 5.2 Strategic Military Use of Time Manipulation
  14. Analysis of Time Travel Claims
  15. 6.1 Scientific Feasibility of Time Travel
  16. 6.2 Psychological and Sociological Implications
  17. Conclusion
  1. Introduction

The Montauk Project is widely known for its controversial claims about secret military experiments, with one of the most prominent allegations being the manipulation of time and space. The narrative around time travel within the Montauk lore suggests that government scientists and military personnel at Camp Hero were able to breach the barriers of time, allowing human subjects to travel to different points in history or alternate dimensions. These stories, fuelled by individuals claiming insider knowledge, continue to capture the public's imagination despite lacking concrete evidence. This essay will critically explore the origins, mechanics, and analysis of these time travel claims, grounding them in both scientific scrutiny and psychological exploration.

  1. Origins of Time Travel Claims

The concept of time travel in the Montauk Project is intimately linked to the aftermath of earlier alleged government experiments, such as the Philadelphia Experiment, which was purported to involve teleportation and invisibility. While many regard this precursor event as fictional, its link to Montauk set the stage for more ambitious claims of temporal manipulation.

2.1 Theoretical Foundations and Scientific Basis

Time travel, as described by Montauk proponents, allegedly involved breakthroughs in advanced physics and quantum mechanics. At its core, time travel within the Montauk Project is said to have been based on the manipulation of space-time through the use of highly specialized equipment. The central theory often cited involves the creation of a wormhole or space-time vortex, which theoretically could allow individuals to bypass the linear progression of time and visit past or future events.

This claim, although speculative, draws loosely on scientific principles related to general relativity, particularly the work of physicist Albert Einstein and his theories on the curvature of space-time. The idea that strong gravitational fields, such as those near black holes, could theoretically distort time provides a pseudoscientific grounding for the Montauk claims, though without substantive evidence to support their application in a military context.

2.2 Camp Hero’s Role in Time Manipulation

The former Air Force Station at Montauk, referred to as Camp Hero, allegedly housed the sophisticated technologies needed for these time travel experiments. A radar tower on the site is often claimed to have been an integral part of the project, with conspiracy theorists positing that it acted as a key mechanism in creating time rifts. According to the lore, the Montauk scientists discovered ways to generate massive energy fields capable of bending space-time, using highly secretive technology developed by the military in cooperation with alien entities or reverse-engineered extraterrestrial equipment.

  1. Mechanics of Alleged Time Travel

At the core of the Montauk time travel narrative are several key pieces of technology and experimental methods that allegedly allowed individuals to traverse time.

3.1 The Montauk Chair

The "Montauk Chair" is a recurring element in the time travel claims. This device, according to testimony, was a central piece of equipment used in the experiments. It is said to have been able to tap into the psychic powers of human subjects, often those with latent psychic abilities, to enhance and amplify their mental energy. This energy, in conjunction with the chair's advanced technology, could supposedly create a portal through which the subject could travel to other times.

The chair was allegedly developed using alien technology and involved linking the subject's brainwaves to electromagnetic fields, which could then alter the fabric of space-time. According to Preston Nichols, who claimed to be part of the project, certain individuals were able to project themselves through time while seated in the Montauk Chair.

3.2 The Zero-Time Reference and Space-Time Vortex

Another key component of the time travel theory is the "zero-time reference." Proponents claim that this concept involved anchoring time travel experiments to a fixed point in space-time, allowing for the creation of a stable wormhole or vortex. By using this reference point, Montauk scientists could supposedly control the flow of time, preventing time travelers from becoming lost or displaced in alternate timelines.

The space-time vortex is described as a tunnel or conduit through which subjects would travel to other periods. The creation of such a vortex, if true, would represent a monumental breakthrough in physics, but it is more likely an imaginative extrapolation of theoretical ideas rather than a practical reality.

  1. Testimonies and Whistleblowers

The time travel claims of the Montauk Project are largely built on the testimonies of a few individuals who have come forward with detailed but unsubstantiated accounts.

4.1 Preston Nichols' Account

Preston Nichols, one of the most vocal proponents of the Montauk Project, claimed to have been involved in the time travel experiments directly. He detailed how human subjects were sent to various points in history, often for reconnaissance purposes or to manipulate events. Nichols' testimony is filled with claims of government-sponsored time travel missions, although there is no independent verification of these assertions.

4.2 Al Bielek’s Time Travel Experiences

Al Bielek, who also claimed to be part of the Montauk Project, provided one of the most elaborate accounts of time travel. Bielek alleged that he and other participants were sent forward and backward in time, even describing trips to the year 2749, where he claimed to have witnessed a future society governed by artificial intelligence. Bielek also tied his experiences to the Philadelphia Experiment, asserting that the two projects were connected and shared the same scientific foundation for temporal manipulation.

  1. Time Travel Projects: Experimentation and Goals

5.1 Temporal Probes and Exploration
According to Nichols and Bielek, the Montauk Project conducted exploratory missions through time. These missions were said to have involved "temporal probes," where individuals were sent to various historical epochs to gather information or alter key events. These missions allegedly had far-reaching consequences, including the creation of alternate timelines or dimensions.
5.2 Strategic Military Use of Time Manipulation

The ultimate goal of the Montauk time travel experiments, as claimed by the whistleblowers, was to harness time travel for strategic military purposes. This could theoretically give the military the ability to influence the outcome of wars, gather intelligence from the future, or avert catastrophic events before they occurred.

  1. Analysis of Time Travel Claims

6.1 Scientific Feasibility of Time Travel

From a scientific perspective, the claims made by Montauk proponents are extremely dubious. While theoretical physics has explored the possibility of time travel through concepts like wormholes and the bending of space-time, no practical technology exists to achieve such feats. Furthermore, the energy requirements for creating a space-time vortex or wormhole would be astronomical, far beyond anything achievable with modern science, let alone Cold War-era military technology.

6.2 Psychological and Sociological Implications

It is possible that the time travel claims of the Montauk Project are the result of psychological phenomena, such as false memory syndrome or delusions of grandeur. Both Preston Nichols and Al Bielek have made numerous extraordinary claims that lack corroborating evidence, leading many to speculate that their accounts may be fabrications or the result of psychological disorders. The appeal of time travel as a concept may have played into their narratives, capitalizing on the public's fascination with the idea of altering history or glimpsing the future.

  1. Conclusion

The time travel aspect of the Montauk Project remains one of its most intriguing yet unsubstantiated claims. While the idea of government-backed time travel experiments has captivated the imaginations of conspiracy theorists and popular culture, there is no credible evidence to suggest that such experiments were ever conducted at Montauk or anywhere else. The scientific and technological limitations of the era, combined with the lack of corroborating documentation, strongly suggest that these claims are more likely the product of creative storytelling than historical fact.

Did you mean to be so rude ?

User14March · 12/10/2024 21:55

Computer Simulation, as others have said, feels more plausible as does a ‘multi dimensional world’ we don’t yet understand. Is it possible for some to glimpse parallel universes in a dream state or alternate realities?

As an aside I have never understood people thinking aliens must be carbon based ‘little green men’. Surely AI a real possibility or something ‘chemical’ in ultra hot environment?

Anyone think re: ancestor simulations too? We destroy ourselves and there are several re-runs?

User14March · 12/10/2024 21:57

@Biggirlnow what was story called?

Demonhunter · 12/10/2024 21:59

3hrMax · 12/10/2024 21:14

I think physics makes it near impossible - not least because the Earth is never in the same place twice. If you went back in time 1, 2, 10, 50 or whatever number of years but did not also simultaneously travel millions of miles in the blink of an eye, you'd be in the empty void of space.

So, if this phenomenon is real, not only does it involve time travel but the universe (or whatever force that might cause these slips) would also have to somehow know exactly where Earth was located at the time, teleport you to the exact same location on Earth (instantaneously, without you realizing) and then teleport you back.

Basically I think it'd have to be a deliberately act by God or some other sentient, omniscient and omnipotent being, rather than a natural phenomenon.

Nothing is impossible in physics because we still don't really understand the vastness of the universe, whether there are multi verses (Stephen Hawkings final theory) quantum mechanics is always evolving, decades ago, they never thought they'd find higgs boson and as our brains still can't fully comprehend time/space and with time not being linear - theory of relativity, what that actually means for how the universe works.

Namechangeforthis88 · 12/10/2024 22:05

I love a time slip tale! I'm slightly obsessed. I thought I was in one once when I was canoeing on the Tweed and the three other people I was with just disappeared. I was half expecting a line of Jacobite soldiers to come marching over the horizon but it turned out the others were just hidden from view. Bit disappointed.

Anyway. You all need to read this book I'm reading at the moment, it starts slow and gets good. Where I'm at now they're talking about stuff being found completely encased in rock that could not have existed when the rock formed. https://www.amazon.co.uk/Time-Slips-Journeys-into-Past-Future-ebook/dp/B07XG2CQCD/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?crid=2WNBBPYSLRZ68&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.-F-tuj_4PAU06LCe2C0g8A.VqJzI6mOd0LilA8CA7szP2kiPeUnP-a2IcTAnU8oL4c&dib_tag=se&keywords=time+slips+journeys+into+the+past+and+future&qid=1728766788&sprefix=time+slips+journeys+into+the+past+and+future%2Caps%2C112&sr=8-1

Time-Slips: Journeys into the Past and the Future eBook : Davies, Rodney: Amazon.co.uk: Books

Time-Slips: Journeys into the Past and the Future eBook : Davies, Rodney: Amazon.co.uk: Books

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Time-Slips-Journeys-into-Past-Future-ebook/dp/B07XG2CQCD/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?crid=2WNBBPYSLRZ68&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.-F-tuj_4PAU06LCe2C0g8A.VqJzI6mOd0LilA8CA7szP2kiPeUnP-a2IcTAnU8oL4c&dib_tag=se&keywords=time%20slips%20journeys%20into%20the%20past%20and%20future&qid=1728766788&sprefix=time%20slips%20journeys%20into%20the%20past%20and%20future%2Caps%2C112&sr=8-1&tag=mumsnet&ascsubtag=mnforum-am-i-being-unreasonable-5186010-to-ask-if-you-believe-in-time-slips

kirbykirby · 12/10/2024 22:08

Rosscameasdoody · 12/10/2024 20:44

I remember watching Prof Brian Cox explaining something about the arrow of time and how for very scientific reasons that went right over my head, it can only move in one direction. I live not far from Bold Street in Liverpool and have heard many a tale about the legendary time slip that occurs there.

Edited

Because of entropy.

TakemedowntoPotatoCity · 12/10/2024 22:11

I don't believe in them, but time is a strange concept. Why do we have memories? Why can cameras do the impossible i.e. capture time? These things lead me to believe there is somehow more to manipulate which we haven't discovered or maybe never will be able to. I heard if you travel faster than the speed of light time goes backwards. Not sure if it's true. I know that we are looking at some stars in the sky that appear as they looked x number of years ago. It's fascinating and beyond my comprehension.

Bogginsthe3rd · 12/10/2024 22:25

TakemedowntoPotatoCity · 12/10/2024 22:11

I don't believe in them, but time is a strange concept. Why do we have memories? Why can cameras do the impossible i.e. capture time? These things lead me to believe there is somehow more to manipulate which we haven't discovered or maybe never will be able to. I heard if you travel faster than the speed of light time goes backwards. Not sure if it's true. I know that we are looking at some stars in the sky that appear as they looked x number of years ago. It's fascinating and beyond my comprehension.

To help you .. you heard wrong. No matter can travel faster than the speed of light. Nothing (other than the fabric of space time) can travel faster than the speed of light. If you were to travel much closer to the speed of light than your twin and return to your twin, you would have aged much slower than your twin. So in a way that's time travel but only slowing time rather than going back in time (which is not possible according to current understanding).
You are right in that we are looking at the light that travelled from stars and if the star was (for example) 1000 light years away, you are seeing that star as it was 1000 years ago.