I have seen passed around that the days in 2000 are the same as the days in 1972, so you can reset certain machines (e.g. video recorder) to 1972 to keep them going happily.

I have not checked against the calendars or my VCR (whose date is still blinking), has anyone checked?  A nice trick if it works.

Yes, 1972 == 2000.  See http://www.mnsinc.com/utopia/Calendar/Year_Correlations.html  (an online calendar)

But setting your computer's calendar back 28 years will, itself, cause significant problems.
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Odds are that in your relationship with your VCR you don't much care about the year. My VCR, which is legally dull, pretty much understands SMTWTFS. I suppose if you wanted to set up taping a month in advance you might need the days and dates to match up, but if you do, you're watching too much TV. ;->
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My VCR does year/month/day and time zone, so that it can adjust for daylight savings time.  I've found the VCR to be an excellent reason *NOT* to watch TV.  Like:  "This'll run late; I'll just record it and watch it later."  Later may never come, so you eventually end up recording over it.

Try it with your kids sometime; some of my friends have and they report astonishing results.  IE: Don't worry about the educational program you're missing -- we'll record it.  Do your homework NOW, and you can watch the TV program LATER.
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Perhaps you need a TiVo?
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CategoryYtwok