July 31, 2022 marks the birthdate of George Jetson, the hapless patriarch of futuristic cartoon sitcom family The Jetsons. The Hanna-Barbera series, which aired from 1962-1963, offered a space age take on The Flintstones, led by George, his wife Jane, daughter Judy, son Elroy, and dog Astro. The family was also joined by Rosie, the robot maid. While the original series only ran for one season, the show became widely syndicated, and was rebooted in 1985. Various films, crossovers, videogames, and comics ensued.
The series, which is set in 2062, imagines a future of flying cars that fit into briefcases, futuristic food printers, and apartments in the sky. It also predicted many future inventions we enjoy today, from flat-screen TVs to smart watches to video phones. In an early episode of The Jetsons, “Test Pilot”, it is revealed that George was born on July 31, 2022. Twitter user @BKergin shared the bit of trivia on Twitter, which quickly went viral:
Predictably, Twitter users had many questions about Jetson’s birthday. Is George Jetson a COVID baby? Are we 40 years away from flying cars? Or are we all just really, really old? It’s always oddly nostalgic when our present catches up with a pop culture future. October 21, 2015 saw Back to the Future Day, aka the day that Doc and Marty travel to the future in Back to the Future Part II. And we’ve bypassed all sorts of fictional futures, from The Running Man‘s dystopian 2017 to George Orwell’s own 1984.
Many took to Twitter to share their thoughts on George Jetson’s birthday:
Happy birthday, George Jetson! The future is now!
(featured image: Hanna-Barbera)
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