History YMMV / RunningOutOfTime

** When Jessie calls a news conference to reveal that she really does think she was living in 1840 and that there are sick children who may die, she's dismissed as a kid by news media that thinks she's playing a prank. In the 2020s, she wouldn't have to call a press conference to spread the news; she'd be able to get on social media (with access through someone else who knew how to use it, even possibly the black girl she meets) and could quickly broadcast the information that way, as the 2020s are an era where many young people are online broadcasting about their secret home lives and stunted histories due to their parents. And with social media, [[spoiler:Frank Lyle's belief he'd have to kill her to silence her would be even less likely to work since]] her video would go viral, no pun intended. One Platform/TikTok video could kick up a media frenzy that would get around the world faster than the local five o' clock news.

** When Jessie calls a news conference to reveal that she really does think she was living in 1840 and that there are sick children who may die, she's dismissed as a kid by news media that thinks she's playing a prank. In the 2020s, she wouldn't have to call a press conference to spread the news; she'd be able to get on social media (with access through someone else who knew how to use it, even possibly the black girl she meets) and could quickly broadcast the information that way, as the 2020s are an era where many young people are online broadcasting about their secret home lives and stunted histories due to their parents, many people would spread the message faster than even a news conference. And with social media, [[spoiler:Frank Lyle's belief he'd have to kill her to silence her would be even less likely to work since]] her video would go viral, no pun intended. One Platform/TikTok video kick up a media frenzy that would get around the world faster than the local five o' clock news.

** When Jessie calls a news conference to reveal that she really does think she was living in 1840 and that there are sick children who may die, she's dismissed as a kid by news media that thinks she's playing a prank. In the 2020s, she wouldn't have to call a press conference to the news; she'd be able to get on social media (with access through someone else who knew how to use it, such as the black girl she meets) and could quickly broadcast the information that way, as the 2020s are an era where many young people are online broadcasting about their secret home lives and stunted histories due to their parents, many people would spread the message faster than even a news conference. And with social media, [[spoiler:Frank Lyle's belief he'd have to kill her to silence her would be even less likely to work since]] her video would go viral, no pun intended. One Platform/TikTok video kick up a media frenzy that would get around the world faster than the local five o' clock news.

* MoralEventHorizon: [[spoiler: Frank Lyle's talk about a stronger gene pool may be slightly unethical, but not evil in and of itself. ...Then you remember that he said they may have to kill Jessie because she knows too much.]]

** Public payphones and landlines also play a huge role in the plot, and the end-of-the-second-act twist would not at all work if the story was set any time past 2005 or so. Jessie is told to find a payphone and call a man who opposed the founding of Clifton Village to begin with, and her mother thinks he might be able to cause a media frenzy that would force Clifton's men to give medical treatment to the sick kids. The problem is, Mrs. Keyser has not had any contact with the outside world in about ten years and doesn't know the man in question is dead. The phone number Jessie calls has been reassigned to a new residence-- residence, because it's to a landline, not a cell phone. Frank Lyle, the scientist who wants to use Clifton to create a stronger gene pool, has a man tailing Jessie, who got a look at the paper with the man's name and phone number on it, and Lyle uses this information to break into the house that now uses that phone number so that he can make sure he's the one who answers Jessie when she calls. With the modern proliferation of cell phones, not only would Lyle not be able to isolate, locate, or access the phone that now owns that old number, but Jessie would be very, very unlikely to find a payphone anywhere.

** Jessie's father experiences a lot of angst over his major talent, blacksmithing, being basically useless in the modern world. This was more or less true in the 1990s when the book was written, but the 21st century saw a major resurgence of interest in handcrafts, including blacksmithing. If the book was set in more recent times, he could definitely earn a living as an artist blacksmith or an instructor.

** Jessie's father experiences a lot of angst over his major talent, blacksmithing, being more or less useless in the modern world. This was more or less true in the 1990s when the book was written, but the 21st century saw a major resurgence of interest in handcrafts, including blacksmithing. If the book was set in more recent times, he could definitely earn a living as an artist blacksmith or an instructor.

** Prices are also a lot cheaper. Jessie gets a fruit drink for eighty-six cents and an entire KFC chicken meal for three bucks. Inflation has caused both of those things to now be at least double the cost of that. However, it's especially notable because Jessie considers both those things to be ludicrously expensive, as she's going of 1840 prices.

** Public payphones and landlines also play a huge role in the plot, and the end-of-the-second-act twist would not at all work if the story was set any time past 2005 or so. Jessie is told to find a payphone and call a man who opposed the founding of Clifton Village to begin with, and her mother thinks he might be able to cause a media frenzy that would force Clifton's men to give medical treatment to the sick kids. The problem is, Mrs. Keyser has not had any contact with the outside world in about ten years and doesn't know the man in question is dead. The phone number Jessie calls has been reassigned to a new residence-- residence, because it's to a landline, not a cell phone. Frank Lyle, the scientist who wants to use Clifton to create a stronger gene pool, has a man tailing Jessie, who got a look at the paper with the man's name and phone number on it, and Lyle uses this information to break into the house that now uses that phone number so that he can make sure he's the one who answers Jessie when she calls. With the modern proliferation of cell phones, not only would Lyle not be able to isolate, locate, or access the phone that now owns that old number, but Jessie would be very, very unlikely to find a payphone anywhere.

* UnintentionalPeriodPiece: As a large part of the plot is Jessie learning about the "future", the book is riddled with 90's charm. Clothing, prices, cars--nearly everything Jessie encounters is so ''very'' 90's.

* UnintentionalPeriodPiece: As a large part of the plot is Jessie learning about the future[[spoiler: present]], the book is riddled with 90's charm. Clothing, prices, cars--nearly everything Jessie encounters is so ''very'' 90's.

* MoralEventHorizon: [[spoiler: Frank Lyle's talk about a stronger gene pool may be slightly unethical, but not evil in and of itself. ...Then you remember that he said they may have to kill Jessie because she knows too much.]]