# On June 12, 198- ? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 24, 2003, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-june-12-198/184165 "2003-06-24T23:07:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Aslan\_of\_Narnia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecd19e/32.png) [@Aslan\_of\_Narnia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aslan_of_Narnia)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2003, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-june-12-198/184165/1 "2003-06-24T23:07:33Z")
What’s with leaving out a blank in dates in fiction? Why do that? ---
**Author:** ![Why\_A\_Duck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/13edae/32.png) [@Why\_A\_Duck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Why_A_Duck)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2003, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-june-12-198/184165/2 "2003-06-24T23:09:03Z")
I think it’s all Mme. \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_'s fault. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2003, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-june-12-198/184165/3 "2003-06-24T23:09:24Z")
Same as the (older) convention of leaving out place names, I’m sure. That’s being discussed [in THIS thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=193147). ---
**Author:** ![mobo85](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@mobo85](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mobo85)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2003, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-june-12-198/184165/4 "2003-06-25T00:08:48Z")
In some cases, it’s actually part of the name of the year, such as [twenty-exty-six.](http://www.homestarrunner.com/sbemail57.html) ---
**Author:** ![photopat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e95f7d/32.png) [@photopat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/photopat)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2003, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-june-12-198/184165/5 "2003-06-25T01:35:41Z")
It’s a safe way of not actually pinning down the year. In fact it’s sometimes not even the last digit but the last two. That way, in creeping continuity, nobody can come back later and say “hey wait a minute, how can he have only been Green Lantern for 3 years if he had his ring at his high school reunion 4 years ago?” Or suchlike. ---
**Author:** ![Super\_Gnat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e274bd/32.png) [@Super\_Gnat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Super_Gnat)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2003, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-june-12-198/184165/6 "2003-06-25T03:16:23Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by mobo85 \* > \*\*In some cases, it’s actually part of the name of the year, such as [twenty-exty-six.](http://www.homestarrunner.com/sbemail57.html) \*\* I can’t believe it took me this long to find that Easter egg. Sheesh. ---
**Author:** ![Jello](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f05b48/32.png) [@Jello](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jello)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2003, 5:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-june-12-198/184165/7 "2003-06-25T05:45:16Z")
I blame Major -------- de Coverley. ---
**Author:** ![Violet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/ebca7d/32.png) [@Violet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Violet)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2003, 6:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-june-12-198/184165/8 "2003-06-25T06:38:06Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Aslan2 \* > \*\*What’s with leaving out a blank in dates in fiction? Why do that? \*\* Because it’s fiction? ---
**Author:** ![Achernar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e274bd/32.png) [@Achernar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Achernar)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2003, 7:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-june-12-198/184165/9 "2003-06-25T07:59:42Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Marley23 \* > Same as the (older) convention of leaving out place names, I’m sure. That’s being discussed [in THIS thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=193147). As best as I can tell from that thread, names are left out of nonfiction for legal reasons, and they’re left out of fiction in order to emulate nonfiction and seem more authentic. I have no idea how this could possibly apply to dates. Care to explain? I’ve always imagined it’s supposed to keep us guessing as to when the story actually happens? If so, 198- isn’t all that mysterious; what’s the big difference between 1980 and 1989? 20X6 is a little better, I guess. But I agree there’s no reason to make up a date; we know it’s not going to happen anyway. ---
**Author:** ![BellaVoce](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/c0e974/32.png) [@BellaVoce](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BellaVoce)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2003, 1:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-june-12-198/184165/10 "2003-06-25T13:12:00Z")
My birthday is June 12, 1984. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2003, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-june-12-198/184165/11 "2003-06-25T14:01:22Z")
It’s a literary convention that indicates it’s some time in the 80s. Evidently, such nonliteralness is too much for anal retentives to handle. ---
**Author:** ![Achernar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e274bd/32.png) [@Achernar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Achernar)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2003, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-june-12-198/184165/12 "2003-06-25T14:07:29Z")
I guess I don’t see what advantage 198- has over any random date, like 1987. ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2003, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-june-12-198/184165/13 "2003-06-25T14:11:42Z")
Do we really have that accurate records from 198 AD? I mean, they weren’t even using the same calendar, so June 12 is probably too fine of a detail… ---
**Author:** ![KGS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/90ced4/32.png) [@KGS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KGS)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2003, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-june-12-198/184165/14 "2003-06-25T14:36:36Z")
From the SNES game “Earthbound”: **The year is 199X"** Sounds so dated now…