Line #54 Main/SignificantReferenceDate


1	''As an EasterEgg, writers will sometimes use a RealLife calendar date as an InUniverse reference point.''
2
3	This could be a reference to a TV episode's original air date or a movie's original release date. Or perhaps a character's [[SignificantBirthDate birthday]], anniversary, etc. matches that of the actor who plays him.
4
5	Note: even when this is not {{canon}}, {{fanon}} is likely to assume this is true for works set in the period they were filmed in and characters in those works. FanFic for that work will be affected accordingly.
6	----
7	!!Examples:
8	[[foldercontrol]]
9
10	[[folder:Anime and Manga]]
11	* Inverted by the Japanese DVD release of ''The Disappearance of Literature/HaruhiSuzumiya'', which was released on December 18, 2010. (December 18 is the date in-story when weird stuff starts happening). Taken even further by {{Fanon}}, which believes that the exact date of the "three-years-ago" Tanabata was July 7, 2007, making the exact in-story date of ''Disappearance'' December 18, 2010.
12	* ''Manga/DragonBall'': May 9th (5/9) is officially recognized by the Japanese Anniversary Association as [[https://en.dragon-ball-official.com/news/01_33.html "Goku Day"]], because "five" and "nine" are respectively pronounced "go" and "ku". InUniverse, May 9th is "King Piccolo Day", the day in which Goku's one-time ArchEnemy successfully took over the world.
13	* Two different ''Franchise/{{Gundam}}'' characters (''[[Anime/MobileSuitGundamWing Wing]]''[='s=] Relena Peacecraft and ''[[Anime/MobileSuitGundam00 00]]''[='s=] Setsuna F. Seiei) were born on April 7th, the date the original ''Anime/MobileSuitGundam'' debuted in 1979; for Relena it's doubly significant, since her series premiered on that same date in 1995.
14	* The Episode 21 of ''Anime/MobileSuitGundamIronBloodedOrphans'' was aired on National Biscuit Day, [[spoiler: when Biscuit Griffon dies.]]
15	* Most of the characters in ''Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion'' share birthdays with their voice actors.
16	* The original air dates for the ''Literature/FateZero'' anime hit some ironic dates
17	** Episode 18 aired on Children's Day. [[spoiler:Kiritsugu [[{{Patricide}} kills his father]]]].
18	** Episode 19 aired on Mother's Day weekend. [[spoiler:Kiritsugu [[{{Matricide}} kills his adoptive mother]]]].
19	** Episode 24 aired on Father's Day weekend. [[spoiler:Kiritsugu [[PaterFamilicide kills his wife and child]]]].
20	* During the Kanto field trip in ''Anime/PokemonTheSeriesSunAndMoon'', it's mentioned that the Hau'Oli Pokemon school is celebrating its 20th anniversary... just like [[Anime/PokemonTheSeries the anime]] itself was.
21	* The birth dates of the members of the fictional Raise A Suilen in the ''Anime/BangDream'' franchise are references to milestone dates in 2018 for the real-life Raise A Suilen, with a single exception all going back to when they were tentatively named The Third:
22	** A double one with Layer's birthday of January 13, shared with both her performer Raychell's and with the first day of the ''GARUPARTY! in Tokyo'' concert where The Third debuted as a backup band.
23	** Pareo's birthday is March 25, on which was held ''The Third 1st Live''.
24	** Masking's birthday is May 12, the first day of ''Bang Dream! 5th Live'' where The Third was the opening act.
25	** Rokka's birthday July 17, the date of ''The Third 2nd Live'' which ended with the announcement of the band's new name.
26	** [=Chu2=]'s birthday is December 7, the first day of ''Bang Dream! 6th Live'' featuring Raise A Suilen as the main act and where their animated alter egos were first revealed.
27	* ''Anime/LoveLive'' often announces major projects on June 30th, the day the franchise officially started in 2010.
28	* Episode 46 of the ''Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventure'' anime adaptation was released on National Donut Day in the United States. [[spoiler:[[CrossesTheLineTwice Kakyoin is killed by having a hole punched through his abdomen]]]].
29	[[/folder]]
30
31	[[folder:Comic Strips]]
32	* ''ComicStrip/{{Garfield}}''[='=]s official birthday June 19th, ''1978'', the day the strip debuted in newspapers across America. An unusual example of ComicBookTime in that while he ''does'' admit he's aged four decades, neither he nor anything else around him make that readily apparent. He's definitely got [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Creme_Puff_(cat) Creme Puff]] beat.
33	[[/folder]]
34
35	[[folder:Fan Works]]
36	* ''Fanfic/DanganronpaParadiseLost'': [[StrawNihilist Junpei Ichikawa]]'s SignificantBirthDate is September 25th, the Japanese release date of ''VideoGame/DanganronpaAnotherEpisodeUltraDespairGirls''. [[spoiler:He turns out to be [[BigBadDuumvirate one of the co-masterminds]] seeking [[AccuserOfTheBrethren revenge against the remorseful antagonist]] of that game Monaca Towa -- [[HeWhoFightsMonsters making him just as bad as she used to be]].]]
37	[[/folder]]
38
39	[[folder:Films -- Animation]]
40	* ''Franchise/{{Cars}}'':
41	** ''WesternAnimation/Cars1'': Filmore's license plate number, 51237, is [[Creator/GeorgeCarlin George Carlin's]] birth date.
42	** ''WesternAnimation/Cars2'': The numbers on Finn [=McMissile's=] license plate, 314, are that of [[Creator/MichaelCaine Michael Caine's]] birthday.
43	* ''WesternAnimation/{{Turning Red}}'': While bearing no plot impact, May 18, the presumed day of the 4Town concert in Toronto (mistaken for Toledo) is also the day Mount St. Helens erupted in Washington State in 1980. Bear in mind, pun not intended, that the events of this film took place 22 years later and far from the volcano.
44	* In ''WesternAnimation/{{Uglydolls}}'', Moxy circles May 10th on her calendar during the song "Today's The Day". This was the original release date of the film before it was moved to avoid competition from ''Film/PokemonDetectivePikachu''.
45	[[/folder]]
46
47	[[folder:Film — Live-Action]]
48	* During the scene in ''Film/{{Aliens}}'' where Ripley confronts Burke, she mentions that his order to the colonists was dated "6/12/79", which was ''Film/{{Alien}}''[='=]s release date.
49	* ''Franchise/BackToTheFuture''
50	** ''Film/BackToTheFuture1'': The date which Doc Brown invented time travel and Marty accidentally travels back to is November 5, 1955. November 5 was screenwriter Bob Gale's father's birthday.
51	*** The date it uses as the "present" (October 26, 1985) is referenced in the later Creator/RobertZemeckis film ''Film/DeathBecomesHer'' as the date when Helen took the immortality potion.
52	*** Coincidentally, November 5th was the date traveled to in another time-travel movie, ''Film/TimeAfterTime'', which also starred Mary Steenburgen, who would play Clara Clayton in ''Film/BackToTheFuturePartIII''.
53	** In ''Film/BackToTheFuturePartII'', Marty learns in 1985-A that [[spoiler:George was killed]] on March 15, 1973-A; Julius Caesar was killed on March 15th aka "The Ides of March".
54	* Film/BladeRunner2049: The birthday and ArcNumber on the wooden horse is 06-10-21. Read it in European order, and the date becomes October 6th, the day the movie is released and the metaphorical birthday of K.
55	* ''Film/{{Caveman}}'', the 1981 comedy starring Music/RingoStarr and financed by Music/GeorgeHarrison, was produced in memory of the recently slain Music/JohnLennon. The opening titles note the film takes place "One Zillion BC, October 9th" - Lennon's birthday (the date, not the year).
56	* In ''Film/ConAir'', Cameron Poe's daughter's birthday [[note]] and the day Poe would meet her for the first time[[/note]] was July 14, the anniversary of the [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Storming_of_the_Bastille Storming of the Bastille]], a historical event that foreshadows what happens onboard the "Jailbird" (it's taken hostage by convicts). [[note]]About 1000 people participated in the 1789 event, with seven prisoners said to be imprisoned there at the time. The number of named prisoners onboard at the beginning of the film? Seven: Pinball, Odell, Billy Bedlam, Johnny 23, Diamond Dog, Cyrus, and Cameron Poe.[[/note]]
57	* Franchise/DCExtendedUniverse: In both ''Film/BatmanVSupermanDawnOfJustice'' and ''Film/ZackSnydersJusticeLeague'', the Mother Box kept by Silas and Victor Stone is referenced as "Object 6-19-82". Cyborg had his first solo comics cover in ''[[ComicBook/TeenTitans Tales of the New Teen Titans #1]]'' on June 19, 1982.
58	* ''Film/DoctorStrange2016'': Stephen Strange's car crash happens on February 2nd (on Film/GroundhogDay). It is significant since both movies involve time loops.
59	* The ''Film/VForVendetta'' film adaptation [[WhatCouldHaveBeen tried]] to invert this by setting a release date of November 5th, 2005, but ended up being delayed to March 2006.
60	* ''Film/Ghostbusters1984'': The GoodTimesMontage showing the Ghostbusters becoming NYC celebrities includes a USA Today headline dated October 8, 1984, which was Creator/SigourneyWeaver's (Dana Barrett) 35th birthday ([[WritersCannotDoMath although the movie mistakenly identifies it as a Tuesday, when it was actually a Monday]]).
61	* ''Film/StarTrekFirstContact'': Humanity confirmed made first contact with an alien species, the Vulcans, on April 5, 2063, [[PopCultureHoliday which has since become an unofficial holiday, "First Contact Day"]], for ''Franchise/StarTrek'' fans. According to co-writer Creator/RonaldDMoore, he chose April 5 because that was his oldest son's birthday.
62	[[/folder]]
63
64	[[folder:Literature]]
65	* ''Literature/AlicesAdventuresInWonderland'' takes place on May 4th, Alice Pleasance Liddell's birthday, and the sequel ''Literature/ThroughTheLookingGlass'' takes place on November 4th, Alice's half-birthday.
66	* Several characters in ''Literature/HarryPotter'' have {{Significant Birthdate}}s. Additionally, several of the events in the books fall on special dates. Voldemort's first meeting with baby Harry happens on Halloween. In the final book, the Battle of Hogwarts happens on May 1st, Walpurgis Night, the feastday of St. Walpurgis, known also as "the witches' sabbath". As [[CueTheSun the sun rises]] on the end of the battle [[spoiler: and Voldemort dies]], it is the end of the witching time.
67	* In ''Literature/TheCrewOfTheCopperColoredCupids'', ''[[https://thecrewofthecoppercoloredcupids.wordpress.com/2021/03/30/lord-thymon-and-the-impossible-guests/ Lord Thymon and the Impossible Guests]]'' established that Thymon's birthday was March 30th, also the date of release of his debut in the real world.
68	[[/folder]]
69
70	[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
71	!!!'''Series:'''
72	* ''Series/AmericanHousewife'': The episode "Surprise" takes place on Oliver's 13th birthday, and his date of birth is revealed to be January 17, 2004. The episode originally aired on January 17, 2017.
73	* ''Series/Babylon5'': "[[Recap/BabylonFiveS03E22ZHaDum Z'Ha'Dum]]", the third season finale, is preceded by two episodes in which a series of ominous captions count down the days until Event Z. The two episodes begin with captions reading, respectively, "Z Minus 14 Days" and "Z Minus 7 Days" -- which are also how long the audience had to wait for "Z'Ha'Dum", the episode in which Event Z occurred.
74	* ''Series/TheBigBangTheory'':
75	** In "The Excelsior Acquisition," Sheldon finds a traffic summons concerning an traffic incident that occurred on 11/16, the airdate of "The Adhesive Duck Deficiency," in which the violation happened.
76	** In "The Agreement Dissection" Sheldon lists the offences Leonard committed in the teaser as happening on April 28th, the original air date.
77	* ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'':
78	** Buffy identifies herself as a "Capricorn on the cusp of Aquarius." Since her first two birthday episodes, "[[Recap/BuffyTheVampireSlayerS2E13Surprise Surprise]]" and "[[Recap/BuffyTheVampireSlayerS3E12Helpless Helpless]]" both aired on January 19th, this is taken to be her actual birthday; this is canonised in the comics.
79	** In "[[Recap/BuffyTheVampireSlayerS7E4Help Help]]," Tara's [[spoiler:tombstone shows her date of death as May 7, 2002 - the date "[[Recap/BuffyTheVampireSlayerS6E19SeeingRed Seeing Red]]", her death episode, aired. Considering this, it's something of an [[AvertedTrope aversion]] that her shown date of birth, October 16, 1980, ''doesn't'' match up with the airdate of her birthday as shown in "[[Recap/BuffyTheVampireSlayerS5E6Family Family]]" (November 7). On the other hand, "Help" itself aired on October 15th, and night passed before the GraveMarkingScene, making it consistent with a birthday pilgrimage.]]
80	** "[[Recap/BuffyTheVampireSlayerS7E7ConversationsWithDeadPeople Conversations With Dead People]]" begins with a title card identifying the episode (staggeringly rarely done), followed by the date and time; November 12, 2002 8:01 PM, which on the night it aired was accurate to the minute (the PreviouslyOn took up the 8:00 first minute). The intention was to imply the episode takes place in RealTime, ''[[Series/TwentyFour 24]]''-style.
81	* ''Series/{{Columbo}}'': In episode "[[Recap/ColumboS09E05 Uneasy Lies the Crown]]" Columbo offhandedly states that he's been on the force 22 years. That episode aired 22 years after the original ''Columbo'' pilot movie, "[[Recap/ColumboS00E01 Prescription: Murder]]".
82	* ''Series/{{Community}}'':
83	** In the ChristmasEpisode "Abed's Uncontrollable Christmas", Troy says "Today's December 9th"... the same date as the episode's original 2010 air date.
84	** Also done in the previous season's Christmas episode. Shirley chastises Jeff for disrespecting the holiest day of the year, to which Jeff responds that it's December 10.
85	* ''Series/DoctorWho'':
86	** More so in classic serials than the modern run, the year in which an adventure was set was likely to be an exact multiple of years (xty years / x centuries, for example) from the year of original transmission.
87	** The 23rd of November, the date of the show's first broadcast, crops up a lot, especially in the [[Franchise/DoctorWhoExpandedUniverse Expanded Universe]] and in MilestoneCelebration stories:
88	*** The 25th anniversary serial [[Recap/DoctorWhoS25E3SilverNemesis "Silver Nemesis"]] is set on the 23rd of November 1988, the very day its first part was broadcast.
89	*** And [[Recap/DoctorWhoS25E1RemembranceOfTheDaleks "Remembrance of the Daleks"]] on 23rd of November 1963 (the Doctor manages to walk out of the room just as the episode was being introduced on TV).
90	*** Both the modern-day Clara Oswald (in 1986 per [[Recap/DoctorWhoS34E11DarkWater "Dark Water"]]) and her [[IdenticalAncestor Victorian counterpart]] Clara Oswin Oswald (in 1866 per [[Recap/DoctorWho2012CSTheSnowmen "The Snowmen"]]) were born on 23 November, over a century apart.
91	*** The novel ''Shroud of Sorrow'' is set on 23rd November 1963.
92	*** The 50th anniversary audio ''The Light at the End'' summons all the Doctors to the 23rd of November, 1963, with a little flashing red light.
93	*** The 50th anniversary audio ''The Time Machine'' is set on 23rd November 2013.
94	*** The audio ''1963: The Space Race'' is set on 23rd November 1963.
95	*** In the short story "The Age of Ambition", Victoria Waterfield's mother died on 23rd November 1863.
96	*** ''Series/TheSarahJaneAdventures'' episode "Lost in Time" is set on 23rd November 2010.
97	*** The ''Series/{{K9}}'' episode "The Cambridge Spy" is set on 23rd November 1963.
98	** [[Recap/DoctorWhoS30E16TheWatersOfMars "The Waters of Mars"]] tried to do this: the story was set on November 21, 2059, but the episode aired on November 15, 2009 due to a scheduling conflict.
99	** In Series 5, Amy's wedding [[spoiler:and the date from which the cracks in time radiate]] is revealed in [[Recap/DoctorWhoS31E5FleshAndStone "Flesh and Stone"]] to happen on June 26, 2010 -- the broadcast date of [[Recap/DoctorWhoS31E13TheBigBang "The Big Bang"]], the episode in which Amy's wedding takes place.
100	** [[spoiler:The Doctor's apparent death]] in [[Recap/DoctorWhoS32E1TheImpossibleAstronaut "The Impossible Astronaut"]] happens on April 22, 2011 in UsefulNotes/{{Utah}}, which due to the time zone difference was April 23 (the episode's air date) in the show's domestic United Kingdom.
101	** [[Recap/DoctorWho2019NYSResolution "Resolution"]] is set on its original airdate of January 1, 2019.
102	* In a third season episode of the 60's ''Franchise/{{Dragnet}}'', Sgt Joe Friday reveals his birthday is April 2nd, which is also Jack Webb's birthday.
103	* ''Series/{{Frasier}}'': The date of the pilot is subtly referenced throughout the series. For example, in the fifth season, Martin says he hasn't seen his brother in five years.
104	* In the ''Series/{{Grimm}}'' episode “Breakfast in Bed”, a translation of writings related to a mysterious stick the group have recently discovered reveals that some significant event is destined to happen on 24 March 2012, which was not only a date in the future, but the date when the series’ penultimate episode (the first of the two-part finale) would air in the real world.
105	* ''Series/ILoveLucy'':
106	** In "Lucy Gets a Paris Gown", Lucy wants to get a new designer dress while in France. Ricky reads a letter Lucy wrote in Hollywood, promising Ricky if he'd buy her a Hollywood designer dress, she would NEVER ask for another designer dress. The note is dated 2/28/55 -- The broadcast date of the episode "The Fashion Show" in which Lucy gets said dress. Extra coolness points awarded when you realize the writers had no idea that anyone in the future would create episode guides, listing airdates.
107	** In "Lucy's Mother-in-Law", Lucy tells the assistant of a mind reader that her birthday is August 6th, Lucy's actual birthday.
108	* At the end of ''Series/{{MASH}}'' episode "Welcome to Korea" (B.J.'s first episode), the PA announces the date that Col. Sherman Potter would arrive to take command of the ''4077th''. That date was the date of the broadcast of the next episode, in which Potter is introduced.
109	* ''Series/{{Maverick}}'':
110	** In "The Day They Hanged Bret Maverick", Bret's tombstone shows his birthdate to be April 7th (the same as that of James Garner). The death date on the tombstone is September 21st, which was the airdate of this episode.
111	** In "The Misfortune Teller", Maverick gives his birthday as May 11th, which was the birthday of Leo Townsend (the writer of that episode).
112	* ''Series/TheMiddle'': In "The Guidance Counselor", guest star Creator/WhoopiGoldberg gives her character's birthday as November 13th, same as her own.
113	* ''Series/MisterRogersNeighborhood'': Prince Tuesday is an invoked day-of-the-week variant; his birth aired on a Tuesday.
114	* In ''Series/PowerRangersRPM'', Summer asks if Project Go-Onger was built in 1975, which happens to be [[Series/HimitsuSentaiGoranger the debut year]] of the ''Franchise/SuperSentai'' franchise from which ''Franchise/PowerRangers'' pulls its fight footage and costumes from.
115	* ''Series/TheOuterLimits1995'':
116	** In "Joyride", Colonel Theodore Harris' first trip into space took place on September 16, 1963. This was the date that ''Series/TheOuterLimits1963'' pilot "The Galaxy Being" was originally broadcast. Cliff Robertson played the protagonist in both episodes.
117	** In "Bodies of Evidence", three crewmembers of the space station Meridian were murdered by the alien entity on June 20, 2037. This episode was broadcast on June 20, 1997.
118	* In the ''Series/QuantumLeap'' episode "The Leap Back", Al mentions that the day outside the imaging chamber was September 18th, 1999. The episode originally aired September 18th, 1991.
119	* In the ''Series/RemingtonSteele'' episode "Elegy in Steele", Steele's arch-enemy, Major Descoine, returns and promises that Steele and Laura Holt would be dead by noon that day. As part of his terror campaign, he sees to it that they stumble across headstones with their names and that day's date on them. That date was the original broadcast date.
120	* In the final episode of ''Series/{{Seinfeld}}'', the events brought up as evidence against the gang are referenced as happening on the original air dates.
121	* ''Series/{{Skins}}'' has constantly proven a nightmare to track the dating for; each series typically airs from January to March, but covers the academic year from September to July/August. Katie's episode in Series 4 provides a clue, though; the bailiffs read out a court order dated February 17th 2010, the day before the episode's airdate (night passed during the episode, so it adds up), indicating that ''Skins'' airs in a stretched-out present with time skips.
122	* A screen in the ''Series/StarTrekEnterprise'' episode "In a Mirror, Darkly Part 2" gives [[Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries James T. Kirk]]'s birthday as March 22, which is Creator/WilliamShatner's birthday.
123	* In ''Series/{{Supernatural}}'' the license plate on the Impala for the first two seasons is KAZ 2Y5, referring to the Winchester's birthplace of Kansas and the year the series started, 2005.
124	* Hokuto and Minami from ''Series/UltramanAce'' were both born on July 7th, Creator/EijiTsuburaya's birthday.
125	* In ''Series/WandaVision'', Agnes states that her wedding date is June 2nd. June 2, 1692, was when the Salem witch trials started, [[spoiler:hinting at who she really is.]]
126	!!!'''Specials:'''
127	* The TVLand special ''[[Series/BradyBunchSpinOffs Brady - An American Chronicle]]'' note Brady events as taking place on the original broadcast dates.
128	[[/folder]]
129
130	[[folder:Music]]
131	* In Creator/NeilCicierega's ''Mouth Sounds'' mashup album, the metadata properties for the songs are dated May 4, 1999, which was the release date of Music/SmashMouth's "All-Star" as a single. This continues with ''Mouth Silence'' (in which the tracks are dated May 3, 1999) and ''Mouth Moods'' (which dates the tracks on May 5, 1999).
132	[[/folder]]
133
134	[[folder:Video Games]]
135	* The HD version of ''VideoGame/SonicUnleashed'' has domesticated [[{{Mooks}} Egg Fighters]] in the Eggmanland entrance called "EF-[[Platform/SegaGenesis MD]][[VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog1 1991]]",[[note]]The "MD" designation was left unchanged in North American releases, despite the Mega Drive being called the Sega Genesis over there.[[/note]] "EF-[[Platform/SegaDreamcast DC]][[VideoGame/SonicAdventure 1998]]" and "EF-[[Platform/Xbox360 XB]][[VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog2006 2006]]".
136	** The [=MegaDrive=] version of ''VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog2'' had a debug cheat accessed by playing tunes 1, 9, 9, 2, 1, 1, 2 and 4 in the Sound Test; this corresponds to the game's worldwide release date. [[note]]Japan got it three days earlier.[[/note]]
137	* The Knights' Academy in ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaSkywardSword'' was celebrating its 25th anniversary when the events of the game happen. Skyward Sword was released celebrating ''Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda'''s 25th anniversary.
138	* Some of the characters' birthdays in ''VideoGame/FireEmblemAwakening'' reference the release dates of the earlier games in the series or holidays. Nearly all of the second generation characters' birthdays are the same as the Japanese release dates for most of the games in the series.
139	* Creator/HideoKojima often includes his birthday in his works. Examples include:
140	** The date of the "Virtuous Mission" in ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid3SnakeEater''.[[labelnote:*]]''originally the game was to take place in 1963, the year Kojima was born, as well, but he moved it back a year to mention the assassination of UsefulNotes/JohnFKennedy.''[[/labelnote]]
141	** The license plate of the truck where you recruit Kojima himself in ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolidPeaceWalker''.
142	** The seemingly random string of numbers in ''[[VideoGame/SilentHills P.T.]]''.
143	** Non-birthday example: ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolidVThePhantomPain'' is set in the year [[Literature/NineteenEightyFour 1984]].
144	* ''VideoGame/KirbyStarAllies'' has a weird example. One particular track, [[spoiler:Void's theme]], shifts to a 8-bit rendition of said theme in the style of ''VideoGame/KirbysDreamLand'' at around four minutes and twenty-seven seconds, or 4:27, mirroring the release date of said game. [[spoiler:[[EpilepticTrees Considering that Void is heavily implied to be linked to Kirby (with Dream Land being considered his "origin")]], this only hammers in the point]], assuming it isn't a coincidence.
145	* In ''VideoGame/Splatoon2''[='=]s RhythmGame Squid Beatz 2, one bonus song that can be unlocked is "Splattack!", the main theme of the original ''VideoGame/Splatoon1''. When played on Hard mode, the chart has exactly 528 notes, referencing ''Splatoon''[='=]s initial release date of May 28, 2015, or 5/28.
146	* To get the Drunk World EasterEgg in ''VideoGame/{{Terraria}}'', the world seed used to generate the world must be 05162020: referencing the date May 16th, 2020- the release date of Terraria's 1.4 update.
147	* ''Franchise/TheIdolMaster'':
148	** Teru Tendo of ''[[VideoGame/TheIdolmasterSideM SideM]]'' was born on February 23, the pre-registration starting date for his game.
149	** Kohaku Okuzora of ''Starlit Season'' was born on July 26, the release day of the original arcade version of ''VideoGame/TheIdolMaster''.
150	[[/folder]]
151
152	[[folder:Western Animation]]
153	!!!'''Series:'''
154	* The ''WesternAnimation/DanielTigersNeighborhood'' episode "Daniel's Fish Dies; Daniel's Strawberry Seeds", a VerySpecialEpisode about death, aired on February 26, 2020, one day before the 17th anniversary of the death of Creator/FredRogers, the star of [[Series/MisterRogersNeighborhood the show it was spun off from]].
155	* ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeague'': In "A Better World", Flash has to unlock Lord Batman's restraints on the other Leaguers, which is password-protected. Batman knows that the password is 91939. 1939 is the year the first ''Batman'' comic came out.
156	* In the pilot episode of ''WesternAnimation/TheLooneyTunesShow'', WesternAnimation/BugsBunny and WesternAnimation/DaffyDuck's birthdays are stated as being July 27th and April 17th, the dates that their first theatrical shorts were first released.
157	* In the first episode of ''WesternAnimation/TransformersPrime'', it's established that the Autobots and Decepticons had a brief, but eventful battle three years prior which ended with the Decepticons defeated, Megatron MIA, and Starscream in charge. The episode was aired three years after ''Film/{{Transformers\|2007}}'' came out in theaters, with [[BroadStrokes a broadly similar premise and ending.]]
158	* On ''WesternAnimation/HeyArnold'', when Rhonda asks Arnold what day his birthday is, he replies "the 7th" - a reference to the series premiere date of October 7, 1996. In the episode "April Fool's Day", Arnold tricks Helga into thinking the prank gift he is giving her on said day is actually a late birthday gift, as her birthday was "last week". Francesca Marie Smith, who voices Helga, was born on March 26.
159	* Coincidentally, both ''WesternAnimation/ThePowerpuffGirls1998'' and the model era of ''WesternAnimation/ThomasAndFriends'' stopped being reran in the Netherlands after May 10, 2015.
160	* In "Project B.R.A.I.N.", an episode of ''WesternAnimation/PinkyAndTheBrain'' which recalls the experiment that led to Pinky and Brain gaining human-like intelligence (and Brain's first attempt at world domination), the dates listed on the time codes for the experiment are September 9 and 10, 1995. Those dates are nods to the show's premiere dates in both Saturday morning and prime time.
161	* ''WesternAnimation/SpongeBobSquarePants'' has an episode that was aired on Spongebob's 30th birthday (July 14) called "Pineapple Invasion".
162	** [=SpongeBob=]'s birthday itself is this, as it's the day after the one of his voice actor Creator/TomKenny.
163	* ''WesternAnimation/StarWarsTheCloneWars'':
164	** In "Shattered", Anakin's password is 8108; 8/10/08 (Aug. 10, 2008) is the release date of the pilot movie.
165	** "Shattered", [[SynchronousEpisodes which takes place at the same time]] as ''Film/RevengeOfTheSith'', aired on May 1st, 2020. [[MeaningfulReleaseDate This is a reference]] to the 501st Legion via M/D/Y formatting ('''5/01'''/2020), but taking this to mean [[spoiler:Order 66]] happens on this day also means that about three days later, on May 4th -- otherwise known as ''Star Wars'' Day, Luke and Leia are born.
166	** The clone cadet unit that Boba infiltrates is the 322nd Unit. There's also the similarly numbered 332nd Company that joins Ahsoka in the Siege of Mandalore. 3/22 is the date ''Film/ANewHope'' started filming in 1976.
167	[[/folder]]

Context Main / SignificantReferenceDate