Something odd is happening on Facebook. The social network is congratulating users on 46 years of friendship with other users, which wouldn't be that strange if some of those people weren't a lot younger than 46.
The message, as seen and reported by users on Facebook and Twitter, looks exactly like a standard "Facebook friendship" message -- except it claims the two users had been friends for 46 years. It appears the glitch always reports exactly the same number -- 46 -- prompting users to speculate why this happens, with answers ranging from someone at Facebook being drunk to a Unix bug.
If the number in question were 42, we'd know what's up: Facebook has achieved sentience and figured the answer to life, universe and everything. But 46 just doesn't make much sense.
One possible real explanation: The bug may have something to do with how a lot of computers keep time, by measuring how many seconds have elapsed since Jan. 1, 1970 -- which is 46 years ago as of Friday.
Seeing 46 years on Facebook? Probably a code error related to the epoch, which will be 46 at midnight. https://t.co/amdn31NGHm— ♥︎ (@yurivictor) December 31, 2015
UPDATE, 11:41 a.m. ET: A Facebook spokesperson tells us: "We've identified this bug and the team's fixing it now so everyone can ring in 2016 feeling young again."
While we wait, check out a selection of the most amusing tweets about the Great 46 Bug of 2015, below.
On this day 46 years ago, December 31, 1969, I became friends with 67 people on Facebook. WTF? Go home Facebook, you're drunk.— Erin (@thespiffycookie) December 31, 2015
.@Facebook thinks that my sister and I have been friends on Facebook for 46 years. She is 30, I'm 28, and FB is 11. pic.twitter.com/DckuF96Lve— Nick Matarese (@nmatares) December 31, 2015
Strange... It hasn't felt like 46 years. (I'm 28). pic.twitter.com/gyKDC6fdrW— elizabeth (@elizabethwrens) December 31, 2015
What's up with the whole 46 years thing, Facebook?— 95.9 KISS FM (@KISSFMGreenBay) December 31, 2015
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