If you’ve logged onto Facebook today, you’re probably chuckling over the same thing that pretty much every other user of the social network is right now: The fact that on this day, we apparently became friends with a huge number of people… in 1969. It’s hilarious, but what’s causing the Facebook 46 years glitch, exactly? Not only did Facebook not exist 46 years ago, but moreover, a lot of its users didn’t exist 46 years ago, including yours truly. So: What gives?
Unfortunately, the answer right now is: We don’t totally know, although we’ve got some ideas. Facebook hasn’t released any statements about the glitch, so alas, we’re in the dark right now. Furthermore, Bustle’s own Erin Mayer also noted that, curiously, a photo of her taken and posted during the winter holiday season last year suddenly had a timestamp of 12 years ago. Because I like to personify everything, I can only assume that if Facebook were a human, the 46 year glitch would definitely be indicative of them, ahem, getting the New Year’s Eve party started a bit early.
Bustle has reached out to Facebook and will report back if and when we receive a response. In the meantime, though, here are a few of the theories that are floating around out there, according to Twitter:
Epoch Time Is Messing Things Up
As Vox notes, this is probably the most likely explanation. Epoch time, which is how the Unix operating system keeps track of time, is measured by the number of seconds that have passed since 12 a.m. on Jan. 1, 1970 — that is, 46 years ago. A lot of servers use Unix, so there's probably a coding error somewhere related to epoch time that's causing the glitch.
Y2K Slept Through Its Alarm
EVERYBODY PANIC. (Except don’t, because everything is probably fine.)
It’s a Prank
Hahahaha. Haha. Ha.
Facebook Is Drunk
See also: Happy New Year’s Eve.
Uh… This:
Well, that’s ominous.
Two Words: Time Travel
Heck. And yes.
Image: Giphy
