This Has Me Puzzled...

I don't normally post film related viral videos, normally they're just altered by some guy in a basement with a 1996 Video Toaster, or are just some stupid clip spliced into some other video or another, and are all pretty generally stupid and not really worth my time. Not hating on those of you out there who feel the need to watch Arnold yelling "GET ON THA CHOPPA!!!" done to a dance beat or slowed down videos of kids singing horrible in a 1990 Mary Kate and Ashley Olson video, but just not my thing normally.

That being said, I happened across this video, thats become so viral its made it to many a television, print and internet news outlets, and though thats not really all that uncommon these days, I felt the need to share it regardless, simply because I can't really figure out just what it is, is it the most brilliant bit of CGI aided live action footage ever made? Is it real? Is it promotion for the man in the video's movie production company he mentions at the beginning? Is it some forgotten bit of early technology that had a short time of use and was more then likely forgotten to the scattered winds of time? There are just so many questions. So in the name of all things film, sci fi and Gallifrey, I went out this morning and bought a copy of this box set the video's creator mentions, which really isn't a big thing because I been wanting to get it anyway, my massive movie collection was lacking in Charlie Chaplin films as it was, so, you know, double word score.

So after cuing it up, and watching the segment thats shown in the video on my 42 in. HDTV in slow motion, going as close to frame by frame as possible, I can tell you this, it is there, I have no idea what it really is, but its clearly there, just as the video and many other videos related to it show, its clearly a woman or woman-ish person, talking into what looks like a modern style cellphone shaped object, but I can't for the life of me figure out what the hell it is.. But before I go any farther, here, let me show you the video, let you have a look for yourselves.

Its gonna be abit of this guy talking about who he is, and why he is making the video, and then many angles of the video in question, so have a look..



So what do you all think?

Could it be what it looks like? Could it really be someone thats traveled back in time to see opening night for one of Charlie Chaplin's greatest films, and felt the need to hide as a woman for some reason? That sure would explain afew things, the way "she" is dressed for one, to my knowledge of the time period those odd looking shoes weren't exactly what people were wearing in 1928, they actually look not only out of place, but a tad manufactured using modern means, though to be fair my knowledge of cobblers and all things shoe making related is limited to stories about small central European village cobblers who kill 7 flies with one swing of a belt and felt the need to brag about it till the townsfolk send him off to deal with giants just to shut him up, the mink coat and the hat are pretty timeless and date back to earlier then that time, but those are common today too, so they don't look out of place.

But that leaves the question of what exactly it is "she" is talking into. Its 1928 or something, and looking at what was available back then, its still completely baffling that she's talking into it, there is nothing that could look at all like that, that A) actually fits that visual reference B) would allow "her" to talk into it as if she's conversing with someone and C) would be available, even to the rich of the world that you could talk into like a cellphone, because whatever that is, its clear that "she" is talking directly into it.

Its not a small radio, again this is 1928, they didn't have transistorized radios that were that small back then, let alone ones that didn't require a large long antenna which would clearly be visible. Its not a hearing aid, because hearing aids as we know them, weren't readily available then, and also didn't look like a small rectangle you hold to your ear. Its not a two way shortwave radio, those again were not exactly commonplace back then nor were they with out the giant antenna, much like the handheld radio theory. As much as it pains me to say so, the only logical answer really is Time Traveler, because nothing else tech wise could possibly be in that shot, and nothing that could come at all close, would have been something that you would talk directly into. Thats what gets me, "she" is clearly having a conversation into whatever that thing is, there were no two way radios that were that small, there was no way its AM Radio, none of that stuff at all, its completely crazy, because the only logical answer is, thats a cell phone. A Modern, Iphone or android style cell phone.

And before anyone brings it up, I did some research, and though yes, the first wireless telephone was patented in 1912 or so by a man named Nathan Stubblefield, a googling and wiki read later, its clearly obvious that his over all failure at the idea would not have allowed for such things to be possible, plus, most homes didn't actually have telephones back then, let alone magical mystery out of place cellular phones.

So I don't know about any of you, but I'm left scratching my head on this one, logical inspection and research says that shouldn't be, but she is clearly dressed somewhat out of character and style for the time, and is clearly talking into a device when no such thing was available even to the super rich, at that point in history. So I am stumped. Part of me wants to blame Doctor Who, but The Doctor wouldn't be that subtle, so again, I'm left confused and scratching my head.. what about the rest of you?

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BC