@futurebird though you wouldn't be able to tell when they were from specifically, and there would be plenty of "regular" explanations such as them having had unusual exposure to radiation during their life

@futurebird though you wouldn't be able to tell when they were from specifically, and there would be plenty of "regular" explanations such as them having had unusual exposure to radiation during their life

@ireneista @futurebird

At the coroner's office, after time travel has been invented:

Detective, writing into small notebook: "So, how long ago did the deceased die?"

Coroner, taking another large swig from a bottle: "Who knows? Maybe yesterday. Maybe tomorrow. Maybe right now."

@wakame @futurebird yeah lol the hidden premise of this scenario is that time travel is noteworthy in the setting, ie. not a normal part of society yet

@ireneista @futurebird

Time Traveler: "Time travel will been a rather recent invention."

Linguist: "You know what? I will simply go back in time and buy Microsoft shares instead of getting into a profession where I have to listen to eldritch abominations like 'will been'."

Time Traveler: "Microsoft? The burger chain?"

@wakame @futurebird they really should have known that that was always going to have happened

@ireneista @futurebird

Retrohistorian: "So what happened is this: A lot of time travelers, and I mean... a lot show up on April 4th, 1975, to buy a share of Microsoft.
And Billy 'Buns' Gates, always the entrepreneur, sells each of them a burger with fries, for $20, reselling food that costs $1.20 at the time.
After that, he basically bought a company named 'McDonalds' and rebranded it.
What do we learn from that? Always compare prices whenever you go."

If a person were a time traveler how might that show up in their skeleton, eg in the isotopic analysis of their teeth?

@futurebird on another note, we don't remember who wrote it but there was a short story once about time travelers who attempt to rob the library of Alexandria right before it burns down, but get caught by local law enforcement, who correctly deduce they're time travelers because......... they attempt to pass coins that are real gold, but all identical rather than showing individual variation in their manufacture

@futurebird though you wouldn't be able to tell when they were from specifically, and there would be plenty of "regular" explanations such as them having had unusual exposure to radiation during their life

@futurebird

Microplastics?

I do remember one science fiction story where a human fossil was obviously a time traveller, because:

A) a human skeleton was found in Cretaceous rock, 60 odd million years before anything human evolved

B) the scientist studying the fossil compared an x-ray of the unique pattern of bumps inside the skull, and found a modern human who matched 100%...himself.

@ireneista @futurebird
there are at least 4 different sources of natural C14 variations; high solar activity results in more cosmic rays striking the upper atmosphere, resulting in more C14, skewing dates slightly older. Low solar activity does the opposite. Similarily, up and down variations in magnetic field or ozone layer also cause C14 variations. Large scale fires of coal, oil, and gas deposits can occur naturally, and inject large amouts of old carbon that doesn't contain any C14.

If a person were a time traveler how might that show up in their skeleton, eg in the isotopic analysis of their teeth?

@futurebird Great question, with no non-fictional answer because time travel is not possible