What if Greta Thunberg is a time traveller sent here to warn us about the inevitable downfall of our planet?
The 16-year-old climate change activist has made headlines all around the world this year, condemning UN officials for their lack of action on the global stage, shutting down hecklers and travelling from country to country to help fight the cause.
However, today is slightly different: conspiracy theorists believe they’ve spotted the teenager in a photograph… from more than 120 years ago.
What a plot twist it would be if Greta had actually discovered the mysterious art of time travel. What if – hear me out – she’s witnessed the implosion of Earth after centuries of ecological mismanagement?
Well, she obviously hasn’t, but the picture in question is absolutely uncanny.
Uncovered in the picture archives of the University of Washington, the image shows three children working at a gold mine in the Yukon Territory in Canada and was taken around 1898.
The child on the left really does look like the teenage activist… but alas, it’s just one of those weird coincidences. For example, how Bruce Willis looks exactly like General Douglas MacArthur.
However, that hasn’t stopped people from pointing it out online. One user wrote: ‘That has to be photoshopped surely, they’re identical.’ Another replied: ‘No, hun. What it is, right, is that actually she’s a time traveller, and she’s come to warn us about the future. It’s the only explanation.’
While she’s not a time traveller, she’s still managed the titanic feat of kickstarting a worldwide call to arms for action on climate change.
Greta is currently somewhere across the ocean north of Bermuda, after travelling around North America to raise awareness.
She was originally scheduled to appear at the 2019 United Nations Climate Change Conference, also known as COP25, in Santiago, Chile, next month. However, a few weeks ago, the UN revealed COP25 would be held in Madrid, Spain instead – forcing Greta to search for a lift.
Fortunately, goodwill was on her side: she was offered a ride from Virginia. Naturally, she isn’t flying – Greta has opted for sailing, a far more eco-friendly form of travel.
She’s been sailing with a kind family since November 13, and hopes to make it to Madrid in time.
The 16-year-old sent her apologies to Chile:
I’m so sorry I’ll not be able to visit South and Central America this time, I was so looking forward to this. But this is of course not about me, my experiences or where I wish to travel. We’re in a climate and ecological emergency.
I send my support to the people in Chile.
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After graduating from Glasgow Caledonian University with an NCTJ and BCTJ-accredited Multimedia Journalism degree, Cameron ventured into the world of print journalism at The National, while also working as a freelance film journalist on the side, becoming an accredited Rotten Tomatoes critic in the process. He’s now left his Scottish homelands and took up residence at UNILAD as a journalist.