A photo from 1941 has left some people questioning whether time travel could be real. The historic snap, taken by Edward Rosskam on Chicago’s South Side, shows a lineup of smartly-dressed children and teenagers standing outside a cinema.

But one boy towards the edge of the photograph has left people scratching their heads. Some social media users are now convinced the young man is holding an Apple iPad.

Taking to Reddit’s timetravelerscaught forum, one person captioned the snap: “iPad carrying movie goer, all the way to the right.” But not everyone’s on board with the time-travel theory – and some people think it could be something much more mundane.

Elaborating on historical cinema etiquette, another chimed in: “Back in the day of early film, ushers scanned the audience for pens and notepads as to prevent bootleg recreations of the film.”

Another user added: “If I can time travel, have an iPad and I’m black why in God’s name would I go to the South Side of Chicago in 1941 to watch a matinee of ‘The Aldrich Family’?!”

Here is the relevant bit of the photo: