Time travel is a characteristically contemporary way of approaching the past. If reality is defined as the sum of human experiences and social practices, all reality is partly virtual, and all experienced and practiced time travel is real. In that sense, time travel experiences are not necessarily purely imaginary. Time travel experiences and associated social practices have become ubiquitous and popular, increasingly replacing more knowledge-oriented and critical approaches to the past. Our discussion covers some of the implications and problems associated with the ubiquity and popularity of time travelling including the benefits of methodical anachronism. The deliberate use of anachronism is an important method in understanding ourselves and the nature of knowledge gained about the past. We also discuss whether time travel is inherently conservative because of its escapist tendencies, or whether it might instead be considered as a fulfillment of the contemporary Experience or Dream Society. Whatever position one may take, time travel is a legitimate and timely object of study and critique because it represents a particularly significant way of bringing the past back to life in the present.