Back to the Future II was originally released in 1989. In the sequel to the classic 1985 film, Back to the Future, Marty McFly, played by Michael J. Fox, heads to the highly futuristic year of 2015 in order to save his children and restore the past. Now that this time of great technological advancement and prosperity is upon us, it’s time to see what 1989 got right about our life here in 2015.

Besides hoverboards (which I believe were showed off so recently just to coincide with the film’s 30^th anniversary), there are several other clips, pieces, and moments in the film that can be reviewed to fully decree whether or not Back to the Future II has become fact or is still fiction. For instance, after the hoverboard gang is arrested for crashing into the town courthouse, a USA Today newspaper can be seen with the “Gang Jailed” headline prominently displayed on shot. This newspaper is dated October 21, 2015, which at the time of publishing this Crimson J article is the actual date. This newspaper provides a wealth of predictions from the writing staff.

At the very top, one can see the USA Today logo which shows a “futuristic” update of the logo from 1989. Today however, the USA Today logo is comprised of a single blue circle with USA Today sitting next to it. Furthermore, the set-up of the movie’s newspaper is substantially different from the actual layout of the paper today. The USA Today logo as we know it today is featured at the top left corner with major stories beginning below it. Speaking of stories, beside the logo are headlines from other stories featured further into the paper.

“Slamball Playoffs Begin”: Believe it or not, Slamball isn’t just an edgy sounding sport that looks cool on a newspaper from the future, but “SlamBall” is an actual sport. Founded in 2002 (which is sort of strange considering that the movie was created 13 years prior), SlamBall is an odd “franken-sport,” combining the exhilaration and gameplay of basketball, with the vertigo one experiences when launching off of a trampoline. The entire gimmick of SlamBall lies in the multitude of trampolines that surround a single basket, ensuring that each point scored would be from the result of a slam dunk. Basically, those too short to dunk in basketball, play SlamBall to get the same effect. Even though the sport seems cool and very entertaining to watch, SlamBall is definitely no nationwide phenomenon worthy of front page headlines.

“Cubs Sweeps Series in 5”: This has a slight chance of becoming reality. Recently, the Chicago Cubs beat the St. Louis Cardinals in a score of 4 to 6, putting them one series closer to the World Series. Time will ultimately tell if the Cubs will make it to the World Series or if they will be able to sweep the whole thing. If they do make it to the World Series and sweep the whole thing, this will be the first time since 1945 that they will be appearing in the Series and the first time in 107 years that they have won.

“Washington Prepares for Queen Diana’s Visit”: Unfortunately, this headline would have never existed for two major reasons. First of all, Queen Elizabeth II, who was first crowed queen in 1952, was supposed to die somewhere between 1989 and now, according to the paper. But, at the ripe age of 89, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth is still alive and kicking and is still the royal monarch of England with Prince Charles next to take the throne once the Queen croaks. Second of all, Princess Diana died in a horrific car accident, killing her, her companion and the driver of her car on August 31, 1997. It’s sort of ironic how the movie predicted that the current queen would die and the princess would visit the White House, when in reality the princess died and the same queen from 1989 is still alive and visiting the White House.

“Cholesterol may be Cancer Cure”: Oh, how I wish this was true. Cholesterol itself cannot “cure cancer,” as if cancer was a single curable disease, but it can slow the growth of it. A new study originally released in 2012 has shed new light on cancer treatments starting this year. The study states that the genetically changing the properties of “cholesterol-binding-proteins” can change the shape and direction that cancer cells grow. Since uncontrolled cell growth is a common feature of many cancers, mutating these proteins can slow down growth of cancer cells and force other cells into behaving normally. The chemist responsible for this discovery, Christopher Beh, says that this new treatment will be useful in helping to control previously hard to control cancers like Mesothelioma. Still, this discovery is fairly recent and has yet to be fully implemented. But, all things considered, this prediction is still very accurate. Fun Fact: The text located below the headline has absolutely nothing to do with cancer treatment but rather the shipment of solid waste in the trucking industry.

“Auto Rebels form organization”: This article isn’t really a prediction but rather a humorous article about a man who is beginning to boycott American automakers since Ford stopped production of the Edsel, a car that has been out of production since 1960.

The rest of the headlines off to the side feature some predictions but are mostly there for comedic effect. “Jaws without Bite” is a review of Jaws 17. “Man Killed by Falling Litter,” thrown from a hovering vehicle. “Swiss Terrorist Threat” predicts that Switzerland would have been America’s main enemy in 2015. “President Says She’s Tired” predicts a female president for 2015, definitely a cause of optimism for Hilary Clinton supporters. “Pitcher Suspended for use of Bionic Arm” could be a real article today, considering that bionic arms have been available for many years now.

The biggest discrepancy from 1989’s prediction of 2015 is the fact that they thought newspapers would still be relevant in 2015. The physical newspaper is a dying practice. Most people receive news from internet sources like social media or news outlet websites. Other than that, Back to the Future II was not completely inaccurate with its predictions, but the world would be a much different place with these changes. I’m still waiting on hoverboards though.