One day, while eating lunch at work, a co-worker asked me this question. "Do you believe in John Titor?"

"Sure I do..." I said. I lied. I had no clue who John Titor was. That night I googled his name on the Internet and accidentally plunged myself into one of the most interesting urban legends this side of Cookooville. Here is a brief summary of what I learned.

John Titor, a self professed time traveler, appeared on Internet message boards during November of 2000. Mr. Titor, a soldier from the year 2036, travelled in a time machine (2034 version) built by General Electric. The time machine, housed in a 1966 Corvette and later a truck, carried Titor back to the year 1975 where he picked up a portable IBM 5100 computer. After this first stop he continued on to the year 2000 where he opened communication on the Internet and recounted future events which included:

1) A second civil war starting in the years 2004/2005.

2) In the year 2015 Russia launches a nuclear war on major American cities.

3) By the year 2036, America has been split up into five different states with Nebraska as the capitol.

4) America will go to war with Iraq, claiming they have weapons of mass destruction, but finding none.

5) Mad Cow disease will become a big issue.

6) War will erupt between Israel and it's neighbors.

After five months of communicating via message boards, he disappeared, apparently returning to the year 2036. Since then, his legend has only grown. His story has spawned books, websites, and even a play. Although some of his predictions did not occur, many of his proponents still believe in his existence. He said he would return, but to date no one has seen or heard from him. In 2005 MIT held a Time Traveler's Convention(more or less a joke) and invited Mr. Titor to make an appearance. He did not show up.