MovieChat Forums > The Time Machine (1960) Discussion > Time traveling tips

Time traveling tips

posted 9 years ago by oushined
19 replies | jump to latest

(1) If you want to learn more about your newly discovered civilisation do not go to the communal dining hall and sit down at the "boring table". Look behind you (where all the noise is coming from) these people seem more affable.

(2) Build a time machine with wheels or some other means of lateral propulsion on it. It's not always best to assume that the burgh of London you time travelled several millennia through is representative of the complete evolutionary cycle of an entire planet.

(3) When later recounting your time travelling exploits, do not choose drunken Luddites to tell it to. They are likely to refute any physical evidence you may have brought back with you then disappear into the night two minutes after you have finished telling your story.

[–] TheButlerDidItYes 9 years ago

(4) If you want to convince your friends that your time machine is real just show them the damned thing and let them see you go into the future with it which from their point of view they will see you vanish and then reappear in a few moments. Or if you really want to mess with their heads move the time machine and go back in time arriving before you left. Then enjoy seeing how they try to rationally explain the presence of not only two time machines but two of you.

(5) Bring a space suit and oxygen tank with you. Because if you do this in real life and you stay in the same space as you travel through time the earth and solar system will leave you behind and you will be in the vacuum of space. You might want to bring some sun block and a personal air conditioner as well because you may end up inside a star.

[–] oushined 9 years ago

Hahaha nice one :)

[–] Shuggy 9 years ago

(6) When you meet people who know nothing of books or writing or work or government or empathy, make sure you use lots of words they show no sign of understanding.

(7) When it's night and you're in peril from creatures of night that fear fire, your fire is far outshone in all directions by enough unexplained light to illuminate a night football match.

All that is visible must grow beyond itself...
http://www.cafepress.co.uk/ahua/8761658

[–] wittmann73 9 years ago

take a blanket with you in case you are entrapped in a mountain for ages.

[–] Shuggy 9 years ago

(9) When a legible page of an ancient book breaks, crumple the entire book in your fist and dash your hand through the rest of the row of irreplaceable books.

(10) You can't miss your beloved in a crowd (though they are all the same age, height, build and hair colour) because her dress is a brighter pastel than anyone else's.

All that is visible must grow beyond itself...
http://www.cafepress.co.uk/ahua/8761658

[–] Shuggy 9 years ago

(11) Take note of how women in 1899 do their hair before you go. That is all the woman of 802,701 will be interested in.

All that is visible must grow beyond itself...
http://www.cafepress.co.uk/ahua/8761658

[–] goldenagefilmstv (178) a year ago

I also thought that question was pretty shallow on her part, but she turned it into an excuse for him to touch her, understandably enough! ("Show me."). And he took the hint.

[–] TheButlerDidItYes 9 years ago

(9) When a legible page of an ancient book breaks, crumple the entire book in your fist and dash your hand through the rest of the row of irreplaceable books.

I love this one. What a foolish thing for George to do. A lover of knowledge like him would never do such a thing. It's ironic and hypocritical because it's even worse than what he was lecturing the Eloi for doing.

[–] goldenagefilmstv (178) 2 years ago

I think the scene was meant to show that the books were simply too fragile to handle, and were therefore unreadable. It was an important point; that's why they made it such a vivid image.

[–] Shuggy 9 years ago

(4a) To really mess with their heads, and yours (and ours), go back in time and then stop your future self from going back in time.

All that is visible must grow beyond itself...
http://www.cafepress.co.uk/ahua/8761658

[–] TheButlerDidItYes 9 years ago

(12) When visiting a more technologically advanced future assume that the people who are there know better than you what you should be afraid of. If they insist that it is deadly to not follow them into underground shelters either follow them or quickly return to your time machine and return to the safety of the fourth dimension. Don't stand around insisting you are in no danger because you are suffering from culture shock and can't comprehend what deadly threats might exist in the future. And certainly don't try to prevent a native of the future from going underground if he insists there is a danger. Especially if he is a poor old man and the son of your best friend.

[–] TheButlerDidItYes 9 years ago

(13) When you are in the future and everybody there has fled to underground shelters insisting there is a deadly threat and you suddenly see a golden mushroom-shaped cloud of fire sprout up in the distance, the earth shakes, buildings collapse, volcanoes explode and the ground opens up flooding the remaining earth with lava don't just stand there and stare at it all and be very slow about returning to your time machine and the safety of the fourth dimension.

[–] jacowium 8 years ago

(14) A thoroughly useless tip: Fashions change, but mannequins in shop displays don't.

Please click on 'reply' at the post you're responding to. Thanks.

[–] goldenagefilmstv (178) 2 years ago

[deleted]

[–] goldenagefilmstv (178) 2 years ago

Yes, to travel to the EARTH of the future (or past) would mean traveling through *space* as well, since nothing stands still.

The sun is moving at high velocity in its eons-long orbit of the galactic center, taking the planets with it. And for that matter, the galaxy itself is moving!

So the distant past/future is distant in *space* as well as time.

[–] [deleted] 7 years ago

In my opinion, it's both dangerous and relatively useless to make a time machine that doesn't have the following qualifications:

- Protection from any effects of the elements, radiation, etc. (this means fully encased design with at least a layer of lead or a magnetic field / energy field of some kind that repulses particles, micrometeorites, etc., perhaps even generates its own gravity)

- Ability to move also in space freely. This means -at-least- freely on the planet you are doing time traveling on, or perhaps even between planets, galaxies, and dimensions

- Endless energy source that can never be depleted, and lots of equipment that can utilize and convert that energy to anything that has ever been regarded useful - new kinds of energy, old kinds of energy, electricity, different currents, voltages, Hz-rates, etc. All kinds of plugs and outlets and converters for all of this of course

- Computers and massive 'databanks' of information for research (internet might not be always available, but it'd still be nice to be able to use wikipedia and other information sources on various topics) - at least most of the information of the best dictionaries and various other books), and of course entertainment and such

- Multiple capturing devices, including different sort of cameras (GoPros would be nice), microphones and such

- Invisibility (raising the frequency of the energy / magnetic field around the 'time machine' should do the trick) for keeping the time machine a secret from any contemporaries that might be snooping around

- Independent 'Google Maps'-type comprehensive map of the planet

- Room for more than one passenger

- Storage for items

- Inprenetability - ability to lock the time machine in such a way that no one can tamper with it without the Time Traveler's consent

- Also impossible to operate without Time Traveler's consent (a simple key of some kind would do the trick)

- Sturdiness - very, -very- difficult to break or destroy

[–] [deleted] 7 years ago

Things to pack:

- Currency for the period(s) you are planning to visit, or alternatively, something that's considered valuable in that time period (should be easy to acquire, after all, you have a time machine!)

- Food and water supply that lasts for days, preferably as long as possible

- Warm clothes that look inconspicuous in most eras (or at least clothes for each era you plan to visit, plus 'disguises' that might be necessary)

- Flashlights and batteries (it might be dark in places and during eras without electricity, or just far away from civilization)

- Remote control for the most important functions of the time machine

Time machine functionality:

- The time machine should also be able to detect everything important about the environment, even before 'landing' there - the air quality, temperature, population density, etc. and give you a visual preview of the area so you can plan the location of the 'landing' optimally, plus an automatic avoidance of 'materializing inside' anything other than air (or possibly water, if that's what you are going for)

- It should also have very precise controls for when you want to appear - at least down to the second, and the ability to preview and scan the chronoscape around the planned area (at least) a few minutes back and forth to avoid unpleasant surprises

- Ability to map out all the 'major locations', sources of food, and such could be an important bonus option

- A remote drone that can be sent to 'test the temporal waters' might be a good idea also - with a video camera and mic, naturally

- Some sort of device to render someone unconscious, hypnotize them, persuade them, make them fall asleep, or some other 'crowd control' stuff would be a necessity

- Ability to warn you if something is approaching the area, adjustable radius

This would be a good, basic system that I would recommend for traveling through time during any other speed and/or direction than the default.

[–] [deleted] 8 months ago

It is funny how everyone around him was at least talking and laughing about something, showing some interest in life. He sits at a table where everyone stares blankly at their food while they eat and says nothing.

His choice of who to tell it to probably had something to do with them being his friends. I think they were educated men, too, not really luddites, but men of their time. His story was pretty fantastic.

[–] TimeTunnel (4769) 7 months ago

(15) Take enough gummi bears with you! 🧸🧸🧸

This thread deserves a respectful bump. ♥