Footage from 1938 shows woman using a mobile phone

Unearthed footage from 1938 featuring a woman using a mobile phone has left people scratching their heads. Some have even claimed it's "proof" that time travel exists.

The old clip uploaded to YouTube shows a woman holding what some believe to be a phone as she smiles at the camera.

The plot thickened when one YouTuber under the name Planetcheck claimed she was his great-grandmother.

The device was allegedly an experimental wireless phone developed by industrial giant Dupont at their factory in Leominster, Massachusetts.

"The lady you see is my great-grandmother Gertrud,e Jones," the user said.

"She was 17 years old. I asked her about this video and she remembers it quite clearly. She says Dupont had a telephone communications section in the factory.

"They were experimenting with wireless telephones. Gertrude and five other women were given these wireless phones to test out for a week.

"Gertrude is talking to one of the scientists holding another wireless phone who is off to her right as she walks by."

Massena Time Traveler Cell Phone 1938www.youtube.com

Conspiracy theorists had a field day in the comments, with one saying: "Well, that's the advanced time traveller from 2056. Time travel is invented a few years from now and we still have cell phones."

Another rightfully highlighted: "If she was the only one with a cell phone back in 1938 who the hell was she talking to?"

It comes after bizarre claims that an 1860s painting also featured the modern detail.

The painting shows a man crouching with a flower, while the woman stares down at what appears to be a phone.

Peter Russell, who made the observation told Motherboard: "What strikes me most is how much a change in technology has changed the interpretation of the painting, and in a way has leveraged its entire context."

He added: "The big change is that in 1850 or 1860, every single viewer would have identified the item that the girl is absorbed in as a hymnal or prayer book. Today, no one could fail to see the resemblance to the scene of a teenage girl absorbed in social media on their smartphone."

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