Top 10 Time Machines From Pop Culture
#10: Homer’s Time Travel Toaster “The Simpsons Halloween of Horror V” (1989-)
Kicking off our list is the most unlikely gizmo to transport anyone through time, let alone Homer Simpson! In this seasonal horror episode short “Time and Punishment”, Homer attempts to fix his broken toaster. These modifications somehow turn his toaster into a time machine that sends him to prehistoric times, repeatedly. Inspired by Ray Bradbury’s A Sound of Thunder, each trip to the past wreaks terrible and often hilarious consequences on the future.
#9: Hot Tub “Hot Tub Time Machine” (2010)
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Equally ridiculous, and just as awesome, is this hot tub capable of not only sending travellers into the past, but reverts them back to their younger selves when it does so. This one is fuelled by the illegal energy-drink called Chenobly. Created by Chevy Chase’s mysterious repairman, mind bending hallucinations are par for the course with every trip!
#8: The Box “Primer” (2004)
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Now to another modern day time machine, this one from a cult indie film. This box was created by a group of friends in their garage with household parts, and it certainly looks that way. Made to reduce the weight of an object, it instead manipulates the amount of time the object inside experiences, making objects, including people, travel back and forth in time.
#7: The Time Tunnel “Time Tunnel” (1966-1967)
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You may have seen this on re-runs at your grandparent’s house. A classic 60s time machine, it was the product of the aptly named Top Secret Project “Tic-Toc”. Obviously, its name comes from its appearance, which is round hallway into the past and the future. Wisely, this one is housed in a hidden underground base and away from public eyes.
#6: Phone Booth “Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure” (1989)
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Taking a page out of a certain British sci-fi series, this American phone booth became the McGuffin of this Keanu Reeves comedy. A device piloted by George Carlin as a visitor from the utopian future, the year 2688, it’s used to help the air guitar-wielding duo finish a history report. The phone booth is unique for being so simple to operate that even these guys could use it.
#5: Ocarina “The Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time” (1998)
Videogames have also had their share of time travel gadgets. Chief among them is this potato shaped instrument. Passed down for generations by the royal family of Hyrule, this treasured heirloom can open the door of time. It can also change the time of day. Useful and pleasant on the ears.
#4: Time Displacement Sphere “Terminator” trilogy (1984-2003)
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Okay it’s true that we never see the actual Skynet device that sent Kyle Reese and several Terminators back in time. However, we see enough from the time spheres to know we dig it. Their gimmick is that they are unable to send anything inanimate back in time, like clothing or weapons, which is why the terminators have to get sent back in tightly rapped human skin packages. Oh, and it’s always one-way.
#3: Time Sled “The Time Machine” (1960/2002)
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If literature has anything to say about time travel, it’s best summed up by the H.G. Wells literary classic. Don’t let that retro steam punk charm fool you; it’s travelled 30 million years into the future. Since the novels’ release in 1895, there have been a few films to feature the vintage time apparatus. From the open one-person cockpit to spinning disk and lever, it’s the ultimate original.
#2: The DeLorean “Back To The Future” trilogy (1985-1990)
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Doc said it best! Sending Marty on his misadventures through time, this sucker requires 1.21 Giga Watts of juice, and must hit 88 Miles an hour to activate. It’s impossible for anyone to think of a time machine and not equate it with this gull-winged stainless steel car beauty, retrofitted with a Flux Capacitor that leaves trails of fire in it’s wake! With so many interesting and iconic time machines to pick from, we had to draw the line somewhere. Here are some of the honorable mentions.
#1: The Tardis “Doctor Who” series (1963-)
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Taking the top spot on our list is the only time machine said to have travelled over 100 trillion years, from before the big bang to the edge of time itself. A spaceship time machine constructed by the time lords, it uses its chameleon circuits to alter its exterior appearance. Of course with those fried, it remains in the iconic and budget friendly form of a blue Police Call Box. Agree with our list? What’s your favorite time machine from popular culture? For more inventive top 10s published every day, be sure to subscribe to WatchMojo.com.
