According to Dr. Raymond Stantz the Tunguska blast occurred in 1909. Clearly there is a cover up of the event's true date. Rather surprising given that it is the largest time-space rift in the 20th century. Clearly that event is why the 20th century attracts so many aliens, time travelers, and other trouble-makers.
(Obviously the well documented New York Zuul explosion of 1984 is the second biggest interdimensional cross-rip of the 20th century.)
Hmm. I wonder if the date really is different in the 'Busterverse, or if that's a deliberate error on Ackroyd's part, or if he flubbed the line but nobody noticed? (I vote (b).)
Dr. Stantz strikes me as the sort of person who rattles off lists of things from memory and gets them slightly wrong - a fabulously good memory for personal anecdotes and big-picture stuff, not so much a head for details, but he feels like he ought to be so he fakes it a bit. Knowing about Tunguska but being off a year on the date would fit that characterization. It also emphasizes the difference between the way Spengler and Stantz work - Spengler is a detail man all the way down, and 'builds up' a big picture from the details.
In other words, I'd prefer it be a deliberate part of the writing than Ackroyd simply not looking it up. :-)
I assumed it was an error caused by Akroyd simply ad-libbing so many lines. He may not have written the line at all, and simply attempted to recall the event's date during an extemporaneous take.
This would be consistent with his conspiracy rants in "Sneakers" and his overall love of parascience.
This is certainly a possibility, too. As far as I know, it's not addressed in any of the commentaries, so barring someone getting to ask Ackroyd, we'll probably never know. But speculation is half the fun of any compelling fictional 'verse, at least for me.
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Date: 2008-07-01 05:35 am (UTC)(Obviously the well documented New York Zuul explosion of 1984 is the second biggest interdimensional cross-rip of the 20th century.)
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Date: 2008-07-01 05:42 am (UTC)And I need an Egon icon . . .
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Date: 2008-07-01 09:32 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-07-01 03:40 pm (UTC)In other words, I'd prefer it be a deliberate part of the writing than Ackroyd simply not looking it up. :-)
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Date: 2008-07-01 06:01 pm (UTC)This would be consistent with his conspiracy rants in "Sneakers" and his overall love of parascience.
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Date: 2008-07-02 01:14 am (UTC)