# Is there an explanation why Marty McFly is a 17 year old senior, on Oct 25, 1985? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 30, 2017, 1:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-an-explanation-why-marty-mcfly-is-a-17-year-old-senior-on-oct-25-1985/803144 "2017-11-30T13:15:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2017, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-an-explanation-why-marty-mcfly-is-a-17-year-old-senior-on-oct-25-1985/803144/61 "2017-12-04T19:52:24Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > I grew up in the 50s/60s. Large families were not uncommon, especially among Catholics, but most families were smaller. We had 3 kids, which was about typical. And we were Catholics. My mother grew up in a Catholic family at that time and was an only child. Some couples find it easy to have kids, some don’t. ---
**Author:** ![DSYoungEsq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c6cbf5/32.png) [@DSYoungEsq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSYoungEsq)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2017, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-an-explanation-why-marty-mcfly-is-a-17-year-old-senior-on-oct-25-1985/803144/62 "2017-12-04T23:13:26Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > I see now that Marty’s age makes sense because he’s the youngest child. > Thanks My parents managed to wait almost five years before having me after marriage. They were married in the mid-50s, same as Marty McFly’s parents. Amazingly, people don’t just have sex and get pregnant, even in the 1950s. Are you really that uneducated about such things? :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2017, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-an-explanation-why-marty-mcfly-is-a-17-year-old-senior-on-oct-25-1985/803144/63 "2017-12-05T00:43:16Z")
Our family was Catholic. I was born five years after my parents were married. My brother came along four years later. Two kids in nine years. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2017, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-an-explanation-why-marty-mcfly-is-a-17-year-old-senior-on-oct-25-1985/803144/64 "2017-12-05T18:24:28Z")
> [@AlsoNamedBort](#): > > Now that would’ve been a great twist. Marty comes back to find his brother named Marty and he’s named Calvin. No, he’s still named Marty. It’s their firstborn who’s named after the mysterious but beneficent interloper in their lives. ---
**Author:** ![iamthewalrus\_3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/258eb7/32.png) [@iamthewalrus\_3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iamthewalrus_3)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2017, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-an-explanation-why-marty-mcfly-is-a-17-year-old-senior-on-oct-25-1985/803144/65 "2017-12-05T20:15:23Z")
I like that this thread seemed to be a question about a movie, but was really a basic sex education lesson. Yes, there was birth control before the pill. Just because you _could_ get pregnant any time you have sex, doesn’t mean you will. ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2017, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-an-explanation-why-marty-mcfly-is-a-17-year-old-senior-on-oct-25-1985/803144/66 "2017-12-05T20:20:53Z")
Because he was born in 1968? There are other options to avoid popping out kids by the dozen. There were plenty of smaller families throughout history. ---
**Author:** ![notfrommensa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/f14d63/32.png) [@notfrommensa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/notfrommensa)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2017, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-an-explanation-why-marty-mcfly-is-a-17-year-old-senior-on-oct-25-1985/803144/67 "2017-12-05T20:55:59Z")
FWIW, my parents married in April-1946 and did not have their first child until Jul-1954. One Miscarriage before my sister was born. ---
**Author:** ![alphaboi867](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alphaboi867/32/3898_2.png) [@alphaboi867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaboi867)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2017, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-an-explanation-why-marty-mcfly-is-a-17-year-old-senior-on-oct-25-1985/803144/68 "2017-12-06T02:05:29Z")
Marty’s parents are a lot more likely to notice that one day all of Marty’s childhood memories suddenly range from slightly off to completely divergent from reality than they are he likes exactly like a transfer student from their senior year. ---
**Author:** ![Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/son_of_a_rich/32/5439_2.png) [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2017, 4:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-an-explanation-why-marty-mcfly-is-a-17-year-old-senior-on-oct-25-1985/803144/69 "2017-12-06T04:32:41Z")
[Apologies if this was already posted.](https://youtu.be/gR0FptmZKdw?t=21) ---
**Author:** ![WildBlueYonder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/ce7236/32.png) [@WildBlueYonder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WildBlueYonder)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2017, 1:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-an-explanation-why-marty-mcfly-is-a-17-year-old-senior-on-oct-25-1985/803144/70 "2017-12-07T13:20:25Z")
My parents were married in 46 and I was the youngest born in 59. Mother did not expect me and the old man was sent to the clip clip doctor! Anyway, if it was that long ago, how could they could really remember that well what Marty looked like? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-an-explanation-why-marty-mcfly-is-a-17-year-old-senior-on-oct-25-1985/803144.md?page=3)