John Titor: Difference between revisions

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Latest revision as of 21:51, 26 August 2025

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{{short description|Alleged time-traveler; fictional human described on bulletin boards}}

[[fr:John Titor]]

{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2023}}

{{Use American English|date=July 2023}}

[[File:Titor insignia.jpg|thumb|right|250px|Titor's purported military insignia]]

'''John Titor''' and '''TimeTravel_0''' are pseudonyms used in communications and on internet forums between 1998 and 2001 by an individual claiming to be an American military [[time travel]]er from the year 2036.<ref name="TTIFirstPost">{{cite web|url=https://timetravelinstitute.com/threads/time-travel-paradoxes.943/|title=John Titor's first thread: Time Travel Paradoxes|work=Time Travel Institute|date=October 23, 2000 |access-date=December 4, 2023}}</ref><ref name="TTISecondThread">{{cite web|url=https://timetravelinstitute.com/threads/topics-limited-to-11-pages.1016/|title=John Titor's second thread: Topics Limited to 11 Pages|work=Time Travel Institute|date=January 26, 2001 |access-date=December 4, 2023}}</ref> His posts discussed various aspects of time travel, and described future calamitous events, including a global [[nuclear war]] that he predicted would take place in 2015.

The story fascinated internet communities, but the increasing inaccuracy of the predictions and other inconsistencies led many to view it with skepticism and try to discover who created it. A 2009 investigation suggested that the affair was a hoax started by Larry Haber, a Florida entertainment lawyer, or one of his brothers, John Rick Haber or Morey Haber, both of whom have careers in computers and information technology. However, the Habers and other suspects have denied these reports, and no one has publicly claimed to be the originator of the Titor posts.<ref name="Telegraph">{{cite news|title=Who was John Titor, the time traveler who came from 2036 to warn us of a nuclear war? |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/science/11945420/Who-was-John-Titor-the-time-traveller-who-came-from-2040-to-warn-us-of-a-nuclear-war.html |work=[[The Daily Telegraph|The Telegraph]] | date=October 21, 2015 |last=Dodds |first=Laurence |access-date=April 22, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170622161305/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/science/11945420/Who-was-John-Titor-the-time-traveller-who-came-from-2036-to-warn-us-of-a-nuclear-war.html |archive-date=June 22, 2017 |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.postbulletin.com/rochester-magazine/john-titor-who-was-the-time-traveler-that-visited-rochester | title=John Titor: Who was the time traveler that visited Rochester? | date=October 30, 2020 }}</ref>

'''John Titor''' is the name of a purported [[time travel|time traveller]] from the year [[2036]]. He posted on several time travel-related [[Internet]] [[bulletin board]]s during [[2000]]/[[2001]]. A notable feature of Titor's claims is that they are literate, elaborate, evocative, and reasonably consistent; they are even accompanied by [[photography|photographic]] evidence. As a result, many in the [[pseudoscience|pseudoscientific]] community believe his claims; however, those who are more [[scientific skepticism|skeptical]] hold that his claims are a [[Internet hoax|hoax]] or possibly an example of [[kook]]ery.

==Synopsis of Titor's claimsposts ==

Titor first appeared on July 29, 1998, and sent two faxes to [[Art Bell]], the host of the popular paranormal-focused radio show ''[[Coast to Coast AM]]''. The two faxes told the story of the discovery of time travel in 2034 and the devastation that followed the Y2K disaster.

==Synopsis of Titor's claims==

John Titor's military symbol appeared on the ''Time Travel Institute'' forums on November 2, 2000, under the username ''TimeTravel_0''<ref name="TTIFirstPost"/> (The name "John Titor" was not used on these posts.) The posts discussed time travel in general, the first one being the "six parts" description of the components required for a working time machine and responses to questions from other posters about how such a machine might work. These early posts tended to be short. A second thread was also made due to shortcomings of the forum software used at the time.<ref name="idU4w">{{cite web|url=https://bbs.timetravelinstitute.com/threads/topics-limited-to-11-pages.813/|title=John Titor's second thread|date=August 2000 }}</ref>

During the period that Titor posted on [[bulletin board]]s, he made several specific, [[falsifiability|falsifiable]] predictions about events in the near future that will ultimately prove his story true or false. He also did not give an explicit, detailed account; the below is a composite of his statements.

In January 2001, ''TimeTravel_0'' referred to himself as "John Titor" and began posting at the Art Bell Post-2-Post [[Bulletin board system|BBS]] Forums,{{Citation needed|date=December 2023}}. The final Titor post was made in late March 2001.

Titor claimed to be a serving soldier who was recruited to a governmental time travel project. He was supposedly sent from [[2036]] back to [[1975]] to retrieve an [[IBM 5100]] computer which he claimed was needed to overcome a [[Unix]] bug - Unix-based machines would no longer function after [[2038]] - a known [[computer bug|bug]] related to the [[32-bit]] nature of the Unix [[clock]].

Later, around 2003, various websites compiled Titor's posts, re-arranging them into narratives. Not all of these sites refer to the original dates that the messages were posted on the forums.<ref name="WVGiL">{{cite web|url=http://www.johntitor.com|title=John Titor – Time Traveler|access-date=August 4, 2021|date=April 4, 2011}}</ref>

He then travelled to [[2000]] for unstated personal reasons; it has been conjectured that wished to see the effects of the [[Y2K bug|millennium bug]]. This seems unlikely, because Y2K made the changeover from [[1999]] to [[2000]] critical, not the one between [[2000]] and [[2001]].

[[File:IBM 5100 - MfK Bern.jpg|thumb|right|[[IBM 5100]] computer]]

Titor began open discussion on [[Internet]] [[bulletin board]]s, apparently to gauge people's reactions upon encountering an actual time traveller. His first post was on [[November 2]], [[2000]], initially using the username '''Timetravel_0''' before switching to '''John Titor'''. It is therefore possible that 'John Titor' itself is a [[pseudonym]].

In his online postings, Titor claimed to be an American soldier from the year 2036, based in [[Tampa, Florida]]. He said that he was assigned to a governmental time-travel project, and that as part of the project he was sent back to 1975 to retrieve an [[IBM 5100]] computer, which was needed to [[debug]] various [[Legacy system|legacy]] computer programs that existed in 2036 – a possible reference to the [[UNIX]] [[year 2038 problem]].<ref name="Telegraph" /> The IBM 5100 runs the [[APL (programming language)|APL]] and/or [[BASIC]] programming languages, depending on the model.{{Explain|reason=Please explicitly connect these languages to the reason he needed the IBM - I recall that they are important but can't remember why exactly.|date=July 2023}}

Titor said that he had been selected for this mission because his paternal grandfather was directly involved in the original assembly and programming of the 5100. He attempted to provide proof of this by describing unpublicized features of the 5100, which led some people to believe that a computer scientist must have been behind the postings.<ref name="Telegraph" />

Titor was also happy to hold question-and-answer sessions during his stay. He posted pictures including blueprints of the time machine, a picture of the machine in use (including light being bent from a laserpointer), pictures of the machine itself ''in situ'' in his vehicle, and a representation of the badge insignia of his army unit.

Titor said that he was on a [[Layover|stopover]] in the year 2000 for "personal reasons":<ref name="Telegraph" /> to collect pictures lost in the (future) [[civil war]], and to visit his family, of whom he spoke often.

On [[March 24]] [[2001]] Titor stated that he would be returning to his own time, and did not post again. There is apparently video footage of his time machine disappearing, but this has never been released.

Titor also said that for several months he had been trying to warn anyone who would listen about the potential threat of [[Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease]] spread through [[beef]] products, and about the possibility of an upcoming civil war within the United States.

Many find that a provocative aspect about Titor's story is that it is accompanied by a well-described theory of how exactly Titor manages to travel in time that is consistent with known concepts of time travel and [[black hole]] mechanics, along with the [[philosophy|philiosophical]] impact on Titor's society created by the realisation of the existance of multiple [[timeline]]s. The theory was supported by pictorial evidence, including schematics and photographs of his "time distortion gravity displacement" machine, as well as a photograph of it in use showing laser light being bent by the time displacement outside the 'vertical safe distance' of the time travelling vehicle.

When questioned about the topic, Titor also expressed interest in mysteries such as [[UFO]]s, which he said remained unexplained in his time. Titor suggested that UFOs and [[Extraterrestrial life|extraterrestrials]] might be time travelers with superior time machines, from much further into the future than his own time.

He claimed his time machine - a "[[C206 time displacement]]" machine - was created by [[General Electric]]. Supposedly, he transported it in a standard motor vehicle and the car also served as his vessel whilst travelling through time (it remained stationary throughout with the engine off). He claimed that the public is fully aware of [[time travel]] in his time period, although the extreme skeptics of his day do not believe it exists.

=== Time machine ===

==Titor's description of the future==

Titor described his time machine on several occasions. In one early post, he described it as a "stationary mass, temporal displacement unit powered by two top-spin, dual positive singularities", and producing a "standard off-set [[Frank J. Tipler|Tipler]] sinusoid".<ref name="Telegraph" />

The earliest post was more explicit, detailing the components of the machine:

Titor's description of events between [[2000]] and [[2036]] effectively describes [[World War III]] and two decades of recovery.

* Two [[Magnetism|magnetic]] housing units for the dual micro singularities

* An electron injection [[intake manifold|manifold]], to alter mass and [[gravity]] of the micro [[Gravitational singularity|singularities]]

* A cooling and [[X-ray]] venting system

* Gravity [[Sensor|sensors]], or a variable gravity lock

* Four main [[cesium clock]]s

* Three main computer units

According to the posts, the device was installed in the rear of a 1966 [[Chevrolet Corvette]] convertible.<ref name="tnr">{{cite magazine|url=https://newrepublic.com/article/116091/physicists-searched-internet-time-travelers|title=Two Physicists are Looking for Time Travelers on Facebook|last=Steadman|first=Ian|magazine=[[The New Republic]]|date=January 3, 2014|access-date=August 6, 2018}}</ref> Later posts mentioned a 1987 truck with [[four-wheel drive]].<ref name="Telegraph" />{{Specify|date=July 2023|reason=Did he mention two separate cars? Or did he describe the same car differently on separate occasions? And what is the timeline for when he posted these statements?}}

=== Predictions ===

He claims that the seeds of this conflict will begin to be seen in [[2004]]/[[2005]] around the time of [[U.S. presidential election, 2004]]. Continuing [[Muslim]]/[[Jewish]] tensions are still a problem at that time but are not the cause; instead, an [[United States of America|American]] [[civil war]] is brought on by increasingly intrusive [[police state]] tactics more or less resembling the massacres at [[Waco]] and [[Ruby Ridge]]. The "second civil war" sees those in the [[city|cities]] fighting those in [[rural]] areas (Titor fought on the rural forces, joining a "shotgun [[militia]]" when he was 13).

Although he frequently invoked the [[Multiverse#Level III: Many-worlds interpretation of quantum mechanics|many-worlds interpretation of quantum mechanics]], whereby events from his timeline may differ from our own, Titor also said that the differences would be minimal. As such, some have interpreted his descriptions of his timeline as predictions, and have compared them with actual historical events that have occurred since Titor's final post in 2001.

The most immediate of Titor's predictions foretold a civil war in the United States having to do with "order and rights". The war as Titor described it would begin in 2005<ref name="John Titor, 2/1/01 8:36">John Titor, 2/1/01 8:36</ref> with [[civil unrest]] surrounding the [[2004 United States presidential election|presidential election of the previous year]]. According to Titor, this civil conflict, which he described as "having a [[Waco siege|Waco]] type event every month that steadily gets worse",<ref name="John Titor, 2/1/01 8:36" /> would be "pretty much at everyone's doorstep" and erupt into war by 2008. As a result, the United States would split into five [[Region|regions]] based on a variety of factors, including differing [[Strategic goal (military)|military objectives]].

The civil war is effectively ended by [[Russia]] in [[2015]] when it commences [[nuclear warfare]] on most major US cities, eliminating the [[federal government]] and thereby securing a 'victory' for the rural forces. Most major [[urban area]]s in the world are also hit by [[nuclear weapon]]s in tit-for-tat retaliation. [[Europe]], [[Africa]] and [[Australia]] are particularly badly hit in this regard and, Titor claims, are decimated as approximately three billion people die worldwide.

According to Titor, this civil war would end in 2015 with a brief but intense [[World War III]]{{Specify|date=July 2023|reason=Specify what exactly happens in the scenario that he described - various cities were hit by what?}}, which Titor referred to as "N Day". He specified [[Washington, D.C.]] and [[Jacksonville, Florida]] as cities that would be hit in the exchange, and said that after the war, [[Omaha, Nebraska|Omaha]], [[Nebraska]] would be the new U.S. capital. Titor did not detail the exact causes of this World War III scenario, but in one post he said that the hostilities were led by "border clashes and [[Human overpopulation|overpopulation]]".<ref name="FuFUl">John Titor, 2/8/01 9:40</ref> He also pointed to the contemporary [[Arab–Israeli conflict|Arab-Israeli conflict]] not as a cause of the war, but as a [[milestone]] that precedes it.

By [[2036]], people are making progress in recovering from the war. There are five US states (the seat of government is in [[Nebraska]]). [[Society]] is considerably [[decentralization|decentralized]], focused on tight-knit rural communities. There is more emphasis on [[religion]], personal interaction (as opposed to [[mass media]] and other sources of [[social isolation]]) and [[self-sufficiency]]. [[Technology]] does not seem to be widely affected, however, with "predictable" advances such as rapid [[rail]] transport between cities, [[space travel]] and [[genetic engineering]]. [[Water]] must still be filtered or [[distill]]ed to remove [[radioactive particle]]s and life is harsh, with people expected to work in the fields to produce locally-grown food for part of their day.

Titor said that in 2011, when he was 13 years old, he joined a [[Florida]]-based shotgun [[infantry]] unit called the Fighting Diamondbacks for at least four years. In other posts, he described himself as hiding from the war.

Titor's claims of life in [[2036]] strongly resemble ideals held by [[Survivalism|survivalists]], [[militia]]s and some [[Libertarian survivalist|Libertarian]]s.

Titor also said that the "Everett–Wheeler model of quantum physics", better known as the [[many-worlds interpretation]], was correct. According to him, this meant that his time travel had caused the formation of a new [[timestream]], and that in this new (current) timestream, the events that Titor had described would occur somewhat differently than they had in his home timestream. This made his predictions non-[[Falsifiability|falsifiable]].<ref name="Telegraph" />

== Criticism ofand Titor'sdiscussion claims==

''[[The New Republic]]'' described Titor as the most famous of several internet forum posters who claimed to be time travelers.<ref name="tnr" />

An Italian television program, ''Voyager – Ai confini della conoscenza'', aired the results of an investigation of John Titor on May 19, 2008. Private investigator Mike Lynch found no registry evidence, past or present, of any individual named John Titor. He did, however, identify the John Titor Foundation, which was a for-profit company formed on September 16, 2003, and had no office or address other than a rented post box in [[Kissimmee, Florida]]. An [[IP address]] connected with Titor also [[Internet geolocation|geolocated]] to Kissimmee.<ref name="tI1rM">{{cite web|url=http://www.voyager.rai.it/category/0,1067207,239-1078499,00.html|title=Rai.it – Voyager – Ai confini della conoscenza |publisher=Voyager |access-date=2010-09-01 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110722050956/http://www.voyager.rai.it/category/0%2C1067207%2C239-1078499%2C00.html|archive-date=2011-07-22}}</ref>

Titor's story has been criticised on various grounds of internal consistency. Examples include; Titor's mission to collect a 1975 computer makes no sense considering the technological resources available in 2036; and Titor's own self-publicising actions, compared to his descriptions of the ramifications of time travel, vastly increase the chances of his own mission being a failure.

In 2009, a report by John Hughston of the Hoax Hunter website pointed to Larry Haber, a Florida entertainment lawyer, as the CEO of the foundation.<ref name="zQEbz">{{Cite web|url=http://hoaxhunter.blogspot.com/2009/02/john-titor-aka-razimus-report_13.html|title=JOHN TITOR A.K.A. RAZIMUS REPORT|website=hoaxhunter.blogspot.com|date=13 February 2009|access-date=2018-09-15}}</ref><ref name="oPww7">{{Cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4fQ2s5seNrs |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211221/4fQ2s5seNrs |archive-date=2021-12-21 |url-status=live|title=Smoking Gun Proof John Titor Is Morey Haber Hoax Hunter 2016 Documentary by John Razimus|website=youtube.com|date=December 31, 2016 |access-date=2018-09-15}}{{cbignore}}</ref> Lynch concluded that Larry Haber and his brother Richard, a computer scientist, were very likely the men behind John Titor, whom they actually introduced in 1998, accompanied by different predictions, including chaos due to the [[Y2K bug|Y2K "bug"]].<ref name="Telegraph" /> John Hughston also reported that John Titor is a trademark registered with the [[United States Patent and Trademark Office]]; the Titor trademark is now classified as "[[Trademark#Maintaining rights|Abandoned]]".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://trademarks.justia.com/772/08/john-titor-77208486.html|title=JOHN TITOR - Trademark Serial Number 77208486|access-date={{today}}|work=Justia Trademarks}}</ref>

Also, there are discrepancies between Titor's claims of the future and actual events, for example his failure to predict the [[9/11 attacks]]; however, his statements may have been deliberately misleading or affected by changes that he made in the 'worldline'.

In 2018, multimedia artist [[Joseph Matheny]], creator of the alternate reality game ''[[Ong's Hat]]'',<ref name="lpqNC">{{cite web|url=https://gizmodo.com/ongs-hat-the-early-internet-conspiracy-game-that-got-t-1832229488|title=Ong's Hat: The Early Internet Conspiracy Game That Got Too Real|work=[[Gizmodo]]|access-date=August 3, 2021|author=Jed Oelbaum|date=February 21, 2019}}</ref> said that he worked as a consultant for the unnamed individuals responsible for the legend. John Titor "is a story that was created as a literary experiment by people who were observing what I was doing with Ong's Hat and these people wanted to do something like that. I was a consultant on the project, [but] it wasn't my project."<ref name="v850S">{{Cite web|url=https://www.thrillist.com/entertainment/nation/john-titor-time-traveler-predictions-story|title=The Oral History of John Titor, the Man Who Traveled Back in Time to Save the Internet|last=Jensen|first=K. Thor|date=2018-01-19|website=Thrillist|access-date=2019-02-21}}</ref>

Dr. [[Robert Brown]], a physicist at [[Duke University]] analyzes the [[science]] involved in Titor's time travel explanations and states it is impossible, both in theory and practice. He alludes that Titor's story plagiarizes older science novels such as [[Alas, Babylon]] and [[Michio Kaku]]'s [[Hyperspace]] to construct his time travelling stories. He concludes his critique by suggesting that people are extremely gullible to believe the plausibility of Titor's time travel and stories of a post-apocalypse world.

==Titor inIn otherpopular culture media==

* In [[2003]], the '''"John Titor Foundation"''' published a book, '''John Titor: A Time Traveler's Tale'' (sic{{ISBN|1-59196-436-9}})'' Tale''', discussing his claims.; Seethe ISBNbook is now out 1591964369of print.

* The 2009 visual novel ''[[Steins;Gate]]'', which was adapted into an anime in 2011, heavily features time travel and has John Titor as a major part of the plot.<ref name="ah5TC">{{cite web|url=https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2018/03/25/steinsgate-gets-remaster-with-additional-stories/|title=Steins;Gate gets remaster with additional stories|last=Wilbur|first=Brock|work=[[Rock, Paper, Shotgun]]|date=March 25, 2018|access-date=August 6, 2018}}</ref>

* In 2009, a docudrama was created about John Titor called '''''Timetravel_0'''''<ref>{{Citation |last=Norwood |first=Scott |title=Timetravel_0 |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1441914/ |type=Drama, Sci-Fi |publisher=Skucci Films, Corvus Eye Media, Corwood Productions |access-date=2022-06-27}}</ref> directed by Scott Norwood.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Scott Norwood |url=http://www.imdb.com/name/nm3036211/ |access-date=2022-06-27 |website=IMDb}}</ref>

* Titor was referred to in the shonen supernatural horror manga ''[[Magical Girl Apocalypse]]''.

* Japanese rock band ''[[Sōtaisei Riron]]'''s third studio album, TOWN AGE, featured a song, John Q, which references John Titor.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Sōtaisei Riron『TOWN AGE』 Sōtaisei Riron |script-title=ja:相対性理論『TOWN AGE』 相対性理論 |trans-title=Theory of Relativity『TOWN AGE』Theory of Relativity |url=https://mirairecords.com/stsr/2176 |access-date=2024-04-21 |website=Mirai Records}}</ref>

* In an issue of ''[[The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl]]'', John Titor is listed in the ''[[Deadpool]]'s Guide to Super Villains'' card set as an alias of [[Kang the Conqueror]].<ref name="pb6x1">''The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl'' (vol. 2) #42</ref>

* In the video game ''[[Reverse: 1999]]'', John Titor is a senior computer engineer from IBM claiming to be a time traveler who speaks in [[Hexadecimal]] code and was also behind the development of [[IBM 5100]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=John Titor character announcement |url=https://twitter.com/Reverse1999_GL/status/1701415335314825304 |access-date=2023-10-29 |website=X (formerly Twitter) |language=en}}</ref>

==External linksReferences==

{{reflist}}

These links contain his postings plus discussions and analysis on the veracity of his claims.

== External links ==

* http://timetravelportal.com

{{Commons category|John Titor}}

* http://www.johntitor.com

* [https://timetravelinstitute.com/threads/time-travel-paradoxes.943/ John Titor's first thread on Time Travel Institute]

* http://johntitor.strategicbrains.com/

* [https://timetravelinstitute.com/threads/topics-limited-to-11-pages.1016/ John Titor's second thread on Time Travel Institute]

* http://www.anomalies.net/cgi-bin/bbs/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=forum&f=9

* [https://timetravelinstitute.com/threads/parallel-universe.993/ John Titor's third thread on Time Travel Institute]

* [http://www.anomalies.net/cgi-bin/bbs/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=9;t=000040 Discussion headed 'Titor is a Liar' on anomalies.net]

* [https://web.archive.org/web/20231211164511/https://timetravelinstitute.com/enigmas/john-titor.1/page/john-titor-irc-logs.3/ John Titor IRC logs]

* [http://www.anomalies.net/cgi-bin/bbs/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=9;t=000482 Robert Brown's critique]

* [https://timetravelinstitute.com/media/albums/images-from-john-titor.10/ John Titor's images]

* [https://web.archive.org/web/20231211164507/https://timetravelinstitute.com/enigmas/john-titor.1/page/john-titor-fax-1.1/ John Titor Fax 1]

* [https://web.archive.org/web/20231211164507/https://timetravelinstitute.com/enigmas/john-titor.1/page/john-titor-fax-2.2/ John Titor Fax 2]

* [https://web.archive.org/web/20231217231646/https://timetravelinstitute.com/enigmas/john-titor.1/ Overview of John Titor information on Time Travel Institute]

* [https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLxFF8SG8myQOJxsA3aIFRzkgKoDlCahui Square Syndrome musical album Stories Of A Time Traveller]

{{Time travel}}

==See also==

{{Urban legends}}

* [[2015]]

* [[Time Travel]]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Titor, John}}

[[Category:2036]]

[[Category:Internet memes introduced in 2000]]

[[Category:Unidentified people]]

[[Category:Usenet people]]

[[Category:Internet properties established in 2000]]

[[Category:Internet characters introduced in 2000]]

[[Category:Time travelers]]

[[Category:Urban legends]]

[[Category:Year of birth unknown]]

[[Category:Internet mysteries]]