What year did The Jetsons take place? Fan theory about George Jetson’s birth date goes viral online

Internet users are celebrating the birth of George Jetson, the patriarch of everyone's beloved 90s show, The Jetsons. Going by fandom pages dedicated to the show, the father-of-two was born on Sunday, July 31, 2022.

George's birthday has reminded everyone of the sci-fi animated cartoon that was set 100 years in the future from the date it was released. However, the show's creator never explicitly mentioned the date of the character's birth or the year the show was set. That hasn't stopped followers from figuring out a rough estimate of the dates and other details from the show.

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George Jetson was probably 40 years old in The Jetsons

The show was first released in 1962 and was later rebooted in 1985. It ran for a short period of time and consists of only 75 episodes.

While show creators have been ambiguous about the exact year the show is based, a 2020 article by MeeTV claimed that promotional material and articles around the time of its release stated that the show was based exactly 100 years into the future. After a small calculation, the year comes to be 2062, only 40 years from the present date.

Now that the year of the show has been established, let's delve deeper into George Jetson's birthdate. The character's history was first explored in a 2021 Gizmodo article that questioned the age difference between George and his wife, Jane Jetson.

The article explained that in an episode called "Test Pilot," which aired on December 30, 1962, George Jetson is going through an existential crisis after thinking he is dying. During the episode, he visits a doctor who tells him he should "live up to be 150" years old.

Later in the episode, George claims to his boss, Mr. Spacely, that he still has "110 good years" ahead of him, which can be back-calculated to ascertain 2022 as his year of birth.

Even the show's creator, David Mikkelson, agreed to the speculation in a 2021 Snopes article by saying:

“2022 is a reasonable estimation of his birth year, although it is somewhat based on speculation.”

While there is no clear theory behind the date of July 31 being George Jetson's birth date, the internet seems to have collectively agreed to celebrate the character's birthday on that date.

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Internet users reacted to the character's speculated date of birth

Internet users who remembered the show from their childhood were pleasantly surprised to get the news. They wished the character well on his birthday.

Others jokingly speculated that somewhere in the world, a woman is going into labor who will give birth to a boy and name him George.

A few others questioned the legitimacy of the date, while others wondered when the world would get "flying cars" and "robot maids."

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George's character was voiced by George O’Hanlon, while his wife Jane Jetson was played by Penny Singleton. The couple had a teenage daughter Judy, played by Janet Waldo, while Daws Butler lent his voice to their son Elroy.

The family lived in a house built in the skies and traveled around in their flying car. They had a dog, Astro, and a robot maid, Rosie/Rosey.

While flying cars and robot maids don't seem to be a reality any time soon, other components from the show have already become a part of today's lifestyle. Flatscreen televisions, video calls, phones with touchscreens, and automatic vacuum cleaners all seem to have found their way into our lives in the recent past.