26-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Record
Time travel 'evidence' as iPhone spotted in 1882 painting of Robert Burns
A painting of Robert Burns and 'Highland Mary' has caused a stir among social media users after some claimed the image shows the Scottish poet holding an iPhone
A 19th Century painting has ignited theories of time travel due to its apparent depiction of an iPhone.
The Betrothal of Burns and Highland Mary, completed circa 1882 by R. Josey and James Archer, portrays the globally renowned Scottish bard Robert Burns and his sweetheart, Mary Campbell, professing their love for each other.
The artwork features the couple standing by the River Ayr, exchanging glances, each holding a dark-coloured rectangle with rounded corners that bears a striking resemblance to an early iPhone model.
This peculiar detail has given art enthusiasts food for thought, leading some to speculate whether Scotland's national poet possessed clandestine time-travelling abilities – especially considering the image predates the iconic smartphone by a staggering 125 years, reports the Daily Star.
Could Highland Mary have been scrutinising Burns' Instagram DMs?
Or perhaps the poet was sharing a meme with his beloved?
If you're convinced of time travel by this painting, there might be a straightforward explanation for the enigmatic object.
Burns and his lover famously met to pledge their intent to wed by the west Scotland river in 1786, marking the event with an age-old Scottish custom – exchanging Bibles over a flowing stream.
Thus, it appears the mysterious black rectangle could likely be a religious book rather than an uncanny foreshadowing of future technology.
However, this isn't the first instance of smartphones seemingly cropping up in historical artworks.
It was previously revealed that sharp-eyed art enthusiasts had noticed what seemed to be an iPhone in a painting from nearly 90 years ago.
Umberto Romano's Mr Pynchon And The Settling Of Springfield was painted in 1937, a good 70 years prior to the launch of Apple's first smartphone.
Despite this chronological incongruity, observers are adamant they can spot a man in the bottom right corner of the mural holding what appears to be a distinctly contemporary device to his face, even cradling it in his hand with his thumb free, much like one would while scrolling through an ex-partner's new flame on social media or swiping on Tinder.
Speculation abounds as to what the mobile-like object could be, with suggestions ranging from a knife to a mirror.
Romano passed away in 1982 – before mobile phones became commonplace – so we may never truly uncover what this seemingly anachronistic piece of tech was intended to represent.
Similarly, a British vintage photograph taken also sent time travel enthusiasts into a frenzy.
Taken in Cornwall in September 1943, it shows a man on a crowded beach who has been called a "quantum leaper" thanks to him appearing to be glued to a tech device.
As well as questioning his outfit choice, social media users became embroiled in a fierce debate over what was preoccupying the man.
