Item from Futurama by Matt Groening & David X. Cohen
A time machine that can only travel forward in time — never backward. Fry, Bender, and the Professor used it to travel past the end of the universe, twice.
The Forwards Time Machine represents one of the show's cleverest sci-fi concepts: a time machine with a fundamental flaw. It can only go forward, never back. When Fry, Bender, and the Professor accidentally activated it, they overshot their target and had to keep going forward — past the end of the universe, through the next Big Bang, through an entirely new universe identical to their own, and past the end of THAT universe before finally arriving back at roughly where they started. The machine doesn't technically travel in time — it allows time to pass its occupants by, so they don't age during the journey. This makes Fry, Bender, and the Professor technically out-of-universe observers, existing in a reality they were never born into.
A spherical transparent capsule large enough for three occupants, mounted on a mechanical base. The interior has comfortable seating and controls. The machine keeps its occupants static while time passes around them — they don't age.
Also known as: Forwards Time Machine, Time Machine