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Charlie Chaplin Cell Phone Video: Is it a Cell Phone or a Hearing Aid of the 1920s?
The Charlie Chaplin cell phone video has gone viral!
A Charlie Chaplin cell phone discovery is the fun find for the day! Charlie Chaplin cell phone footage from the film “The Circus” was discovered by filmmaker George Clarkeof – naturally, he made a YouTube video to show off his find.
Watch as he breaks down the Charlie Chaplin cell phone discovery – slowing down the footage and zooming in to show a woman appearing to be talking on a black device, knuckles curled as if holding a modern day cell phone.
Could this Charlie Chaplin cell phone video be a proof of time travel?
I don’t think I’d go that far, though his discovery is an interesting one.
The comment section of his YouTube video with the Charlie Chaplin cell phone footage has some excellent theories, indeed.
Some point to the woman (or man, as the case may be) pulling at her coat to shield herself from the sun – or hide from the camera.
But how does that explain that she looks to be talking? Is she talking into a cell phone, or simply muttering to herself?
Others note that it could be a hearing aid of the day – the movie was filmed in the 1920s and in the early 1900s, handheld hearing aids were made.
You can check out some online discussion of the Charlie Chaplin cell phone video here.
Let me know what you think it is!
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20 Comments
madfoot commented on Oct 27 10 at 5:43 pmoh this is too funny. as one of the commenters pointed out, she’d have to also ahve a time-traveling cellular network. Anyway I sent this article off to the people at the silent-film history museum near me, and I await their take on it! They can probably identify the actor, the object, and the weird zebra thingy to boot!
Gautier Langevin commented on Oct 27 10 at 7:23 pmIt’s probably Chaplin’s mother, Hannah. She suffered from mental illness and was talking to little cakes when she was in a crisis… Sad but true.
http://www.ednapurviance.org/chaplininfo/chaplinfamily.html
wardog commented on Oct 27 10 at 9:22 pmNot to E-Z to dismiss,Talking to someone
Natalie commented on Oct 27 10 at 9:54 pmCouldn’t it just be a handheld radio playing some news broadcast that she’s muttering to herslf about?
Bruce commented on Oct 27 10 at 11:00 pmFirst of all, she can’t be “talking” on a cell phone in 1920, because their were no cell phone towers, she would have no cellular signal, and furthermore, in addition to needing a cell phone tower, another person would also need to have a cell phone in order for her to be talking with them. There were no short wave radios that small back in the 1920′s that I was aware of, so it is puzzling, but I can tell you right now, if you time traveled back to 1920, your cell phone would not work, it would just say “No Signal”.
gary lopez commented on Oct 28 10 at 12:16 amMost likely an early battery operated hearing aid as the Acousticon SRB which came with a small handle that attached to the round earphone (2 1/8 inch diam.) if you wanted to hold it up to your ear. Powered by a portable 3 volt battery and manufactured in the 1920′s.
See http://www.hearingaidmuseum.com/gallery/Carbon/Acousticon/info/acousticonsrb.htm .
Some were attached to headsets but the Acousticon SRB with handle would be held similar to the lady in Chaplin’s movie. It was for moderate hearing loss so the unseen carbon microphone was being used to hear the surroundings and perhaps the man in front of her…she may have been speaking to him.
Lee in Olympia commented on Oct 28 10 at 2:22 amI suspect this may be one of the odd video moments. Here’s what I suspect…The man walking before the woman was her husband, she is using a hand-held hearing aid. He walks past, she is shouting at him to wait. That makes the most sense….but time (smiles) will tell.
Gary Mundy commented on Oct 28 10 at 9:30 amCel phone? ” Beam me up Scotty ” That sure looks like William Shatner in drag to me
Betsy S commented on Oct 28 10 at 9:52 amFunny but I think it’s an artifact of looking at it through modern eyes. My guess is that she’s carrying some sort of small ice or herbal pack for an ear ache or tooth ache, and the “talking” is actually a grimace. And working people *wore* heavy practical shoes back when they had to walk all day.
Talking to cakes my arse, commented on Oct 28 10 at 10:15 amWho cares, it’s not a cell phone but this is a chance for this guy to be recognized so he can market his film.
Nat commented on Oct 28 10 at 10:17 amI LOVE IT!!! I KNEW IT!!! TIME TRAVEL IS POSSIBLE!! ROARING 20′S, HERE I COME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
jenl commented on Oct 28 10 at 10:51 amIt kind of just looks like she has her hand to her ear and is babbling to herself….I can’t really see that she’s holding anything in her hand at all.
Brigid Young commented on Oct 28 10 at 1:52 pmsome one said it is an early hearing aid but i never heard of anyone talking into a hearing aid
dee Lang commented on Oct 28 10 at 4:27 pmI think the man in front of her is her husband(they always walk ahead) and she is wearing one of those big and bulky hearing aids they had and she is trying to fix it so it won’t fall off, and she sees the camera, and smiles, that is all!
She is not talking to the hearing aid, she is talking out loud to her husband who keeps walking(just like my husband does). Good fun story though! Did anyone see the space alien behind her? ha, ha.
juan lerma commented on Oct 28 10 at 11:02 pmstop rejecting things that arent easily explained guys. if its is a person that is indeed time traveling dont bash it by saying the most ignorant thing, “there was obviously no signal back in the day” come on seriously? are you telling me someone could figure out how to time travel but not have some sort of advance communication? really? and as far as it being a hearing aid, that could be a possibility but i would rather believe in time travel. interesting article though
Freud-inator commented on Oct 28 10 at 11:05 pmFrom a psychological perspective, this seems to be an example of a man going through some sort of psychological break. He is either a schizophrenic that has yet to be civilly committed OR has recently experienced some sort of major stressor that has caused a psychological breakdown (decompensation). This potentially caused the man to go out into public dressed as a woman and to ramble non-stop. Persons going through such a phase will either talk to themselves or an object. Here he seems to have picked up some small black box (cigarette box perhaps) and is talking into it non-stop. Read more about symptoms here… http://www.schizophrenia.com/earlysigns.htm. This is my logical explanation for this footage. Otherwise, that’s a time travel alright.
Ciboulettey commented on Oct 30 10 at 3:41 pmIMHO “she” is actually Harry Houdini in drag. The clever magician faked his death two years earlier and here we see him having fun with some new gadget while attending the Charlie Chaplin premiere in heavy disguise.
Photos of Houdini shortly before his death show him a face similar to the lady on the cell phone. Can’t quite make out how tall Mr. Houdini was as he was usually photographed alone. He did have a stocky build, rather large feet and a grecian nose.
rebecca commented on Oct 30 10 at 11:00 pmwaz that for real or is it a fake it is so cool but if u think about it why waz it taken to attention now thats wat makes me wonder and her face smiled in the clip like she done it on porpouse so ithink its a hoax .also she looked a modern day person too.
Lorene Farnsworth commented on Oct 31 10 at 5:49 amPerhaps she was CRAZY??? Anyone ever think of that? Besides, those clothes she’s wearing aren’t exactly from the future.
Lilia commented on Jul 29 11 at 2:54 pmSo… What cell phone tower is she using?
Fake.
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