I've been wracking my brain with this one. I'm sure one of you will know the answer. I'm trying to recall the title of a short story Ray wrote (pre 1980) about time travel. I read it back in high school and can't remember the name of the story. I thought it was in The Illustrated Man, but I looked recently and couldn't find it there. The story is about a group of people who travel in time back to a prehistoric era. Despite strict instructions not to alter the environment, one of the visitors steps on and kills a butterfly. When the travelers return home, they find subtle differences vs when they left (e.g. words spelled differently on billboards). Anybody have any ideas where I could find this story? Any help would be appreciated.

Everyone:

May I have the pleasure this time?

The name of the story you're looking for is A Sound of Thunder.

Pete

Thanks, Pterran. Sounds like it's one that many Bradbury fans are familiar with. Do you know which anthology it might be in? It's really a great story. Certainly makes one think about the lasting effect we have on the world around us. Bradbury was brilliant to have put the thought in such a thought-provoking context.

Did you know, Time Traveler, that a movie is being made of this story? I can't wait!!! There is also a short version of it as one of the Bradbury Theater episodes.

I just pulled up some further data about the upcoming movie. It sounds like it will be a major film. Produced by Warner Bros, starring Ed Burns, Ben Kingsley. Great stuff. I also found a version of A Sound of Thunder on the web and re-read the story. It's even more impactful than I remember. Ray wrote this story even before the Butterfly Effect was theorized by meteorologists in the late 1950's and early 1960's. Truly a man ahed of his time.