On December 30 2019, the Twitter account @BrimleyLine tweeted that actor Paul Rudd was, as of that date, 18,530 days old — exactly as old as actor Wilford Brimley when he starred in the film Cocoon:
That account alluded to a more complex system of calculation it called the “Brimley/Cocoon Line.” which Rudd had apparently just crossed:
When ‘Cocoon’ reached theaters on June 21, 1985, Wilford Brimley was 18,530 days old. This account makes note of people who have reached that age.
Let’s check the math. Cocoon, a film about a “group of elderly people rejuvenated by aliens,” was released on June 21, 1985. According to a plot summary, Brimley was cast as retirement home resident Ben Luckett.
Brimley was born on September 27, 1934. On December 30 2019, @BrimleyLine retweeted a February 25 2019 tweet alluding to Rudd’s then-upcoming crossing of the Brimley Line:
That original tweet included a screenshot of a tool, “Add to or subtract from a date,” with a start date of April 6 1969 and a sum of the Brimley Line’s 18,530 days figure. Using the same tool at TimeAndDate.com, we added 18,530 days to Brimley’s September 27 1934 birthday, which added up to June 21 1985 — the release date of Cocoon:
We then verified the integrity of the calculation involved. Brimley was indeed 18,530 days old when Cocoon was released.
Calculating Paul Rudd’s age was slightly more straightforward. Rudd was born on April 6 1969, making him 50 years old (and change) on December 30 2019. We added 18,530 days to his birthdate, and the result was December 30 2019:
According to @BrimleyLine, Wilford Brimley was 18,530 days old (or 50 years, closer to 51 than 50) when the film Cocoon was released in June 1985. Paul Rudd was born on April 6 1969, making him the same age Brimley was when Cocoon was released on December 30 2019. Furthermore, that date was the day Rudd “crossed the Brimley line.”