Science fiction writers often like to attach dates to stories (and especially titles), to make the stories seem more futuristic, or more imminent. Sometimes, it’s just a date in the future; other times, it’s a date that may have some specific meaning. And sometimes, we laugh when the “far future date” passes without the rest of the story coming true. (George Lucas avoided this potential difficulty by setting Star Wars “a long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away.”) How many of these dates can you name?

Arthur C. Clarke’s A Space Odyssey (book) and Stanley Kubrick’s movie. Also, the sequel to that book/movie.

The year during which George Orwell’s Big Brother was watching.

The date when the Vulcans first made contact with humans in Montana (the actual date was named in Star Trek: First Contact).

Nuclear waste stored on the Moon explodes, knocking the Moon out of Earth’s orbit in the tv series Space: ___.

Buck Rogers in the ___ Century (the 1928 novella, the 1930s radio series, the 1950s television series, or the 1980s television series).

“Duck Dodgers in the ___ Century” (the classic Daffy Duck cartoon).

Planet of the Apes (the 1968 movie).

Escape from New York (the 1981 movie).

Jules Verne’s novel Paris in the ___ Century.

H.G. Wells’ The Time Machine traveled to what year in the far future?

The lunar revolution in Robert A. Heinlein’s The Moon is a Harsh Mistress takes place in what year?

And the big one: can you name the years to which Marty McFly traveled in the time machine Doc Brown invented in the Back to the Future film trilogy?

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Yesterday’s question was: As of this February’s induction ceremony, there are 338 inductees in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The first group, inducted in 1986, included Chuck Berry, James Brown, Ray Charles, Sam Cooke, Fats Domino, the Everly Brothers, Buddy Holly, Jerry Lee Lewis, Elvis Presley, and Little Richard. Being inducted into the Hall of Fame is not a once-in-a-lifetime event. Several members have been inducted more than once. How many of them can you name (and can you name the acts or as a soloist in which they were so honored)?

The answers: Twenty-six artists have been inducted twice (or more): 15 as a soloist and with a band, and eight with two separate bands. Eric Clapton is the only one to be inducted three times. Stephen Stills is the only one to be inducted twice in the same year.

Jeff Beck (The Yardbirds, 1992; solo career, 2009)

Johnny Carter (The Flamingos, 2001; The Dells, 2004)

Eric Clapton (The Yardbirds, 1992; Cream, 1993; solo career, 2000)

David Crosby (The Byrds, 1991; Crosby, Stills & Nash, 1997)

Peter Gabriel (Genesis, 2010; solo career, 2014)

Dave Grohl (Nirvana, 2014; Foo Fighters, 2021)

George Harrison (The Beatles, 1988; solo career, 2004)

Michael Jackson (The Jackson Five, 1997; solo career, 2001)

Carole King (non-performer, 1990; solo career, 2021)

John Lennon (The Beatles, 1988; solo career, 1994)

Curtis Mayfield (The Impressions, 1991; solo career, 1999)

Paul McCartney (The Beatles, 1988; solo career, 1999)

Clyde McPhatter (solo career, 1987; The Drifters, 1988)

Graham Nash (Crosby, Stills & Nash, 1997; The Hollies, 2010)

Stevie Nicks (Fleetwood Mac, 1998; solo career, 2019)

Jimmy Page (The Yardbirds, 1992; Led Zeppelin, 1995)

Lou Reed (The Velvet Underground, 1996; solo career, 2015)

Gregg Rolie (Santana, 1998; Journey, 2017)

Paul Simon (Simon & Garfunkel, 1990; solo career, 2001)

Ringo Starr (The Beatles, 1988; solo career, 2015)

Rod Stewart (solo career, 1994; Faces, 2012)

Stephen Stills (Buffalo Springfield, 1997; Crosby, Stills & Nash, 1997)

Sammy Strain (The O’Jays, 2005; Little Anthony & The Imperials, 2009)

Tina Turner (Ike & Tina Turner, 1991; solo career, 2021)

Ronnie Wood (The Rolling Stones, 1989; Faces, 2012)

Neil Young (solo career, 1995; Buffalo Springfield, 1997)

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Ian’s Tough Trivia is a daily feature of this blog (Monday’s category is History; Tuesday is Arts; Wednesday is Science; Thursday is Entertainment; and Friday is Grab Bag). Each day, I post a tough question, as well as the answer to the previous day’s question. Simply comment on this post with your answer. I’ll approve the comments after the next question is posted. Sure, you can probably find the answers by searching the web, but what’s the fun in that?

And if you’ve got a favorite trivia question—or even just a topic for which you’d like to see a question—let me know! Reader participation is warmly encouraged.