Factual error: During the 1972 New Year's Eve celebration, Forrest drinks a Dr. Pepper with a logo that wasn't devised until around the mid 80s.
Factual error: When Forrest and Lt. Dan first try catching shrimp on the new boat in the mid 70s, they catch a bunch of junk, including a Mello Yello can, which wasn't launched until 1979. (01:30:05)
Suggested correction: The time frame is right on track. It took Dan a lot of years to get to the point where he joined Forrest on the boat. 1979 tracks with what comes before and after.
You should watch the film again. Hurricane Carmen, which happened after Lt. Dan joined, and they were struggling to catch anything, was in 1974. And Forrest leaves the shrimp business in 1975 when he finds out his mother is dying of cancer. 1979 comes well after all those events. Not to mention that it's only 1981 when Forrest is sitting on the bench telling his story.
Factual error: Jenny shows Forrest a clipping of him in U.S.A Today (first published in September 1982), but on Jenny's grave it says she died on March 22 1982, before the paper even existed.
Factual error: When Forrest is talking to Jenny at her grave, he says "You died on a Saturday morning." But 22 March 1982 (the date on the grave) was a Monday. (02:04:05)
Factual error: In the scene where Forrest gets his discharge papers, he is practicing table tennis in a gym. The gym floor has a three-point line on the basketball court. It is a college or high school three point line- 19 feet, 9 inches. There was no three pointer in basketball at that time, especially at that distance. (01:21:40)
Factual error: In the scene where Forrest's platoon is crouched down along the side of the road, and the narration is introducing some of the soldiers, you can see a pack of Marlboro cigarettes in one of the men's helmets. On the side of the pack is, "Marlboro Miles." These weren't available until the 1990's. (00:44:00)
Factual error: Near the end of the movie when Jenny visits Forrest, it is supposed to be July 4th, 1976. On her TV is the New York Harbour Bi-centennial Celebration, and a shot of the Statue of Liberty shows her with a "gold" torch, which was added as part of her restoration in 1986. (01:43:50)
Factual error: In the scene where Forrest Gump is wheeling Lt. Dan across a street between a bunch of taxis, the car they go behind is a 1973 Chevrolet Caprice (see the tail lights). However, several scenes later we know the year is 1971 because it is New Year's Eve 1971 because we see the TV flash 1972 as the year changes. (01:13:30)
Suggested correction: 1971 to 1976 was the second generation of these automobiles, with production of these models beginning in mid-1970. This car would absolutely have existed at the time depicted in the movie.
Factual error: We've already seen George Wallace on the school steps in one of the scenes where Forest is inserted into the footage, and this happened in June of 1963. Then it shows an All-American team meeting with JFK but that was created in December. But there was no way JFK would have been there as he was assassinated the previous month.
Factual error: In the scene where Jenny is snorting coke, "Get Down Tonight" was playing, which came out in 1975. Then we cut to Hurricane Carmen, which hit in 1974. (02:25:00)
Factual error: When Forrest is reading the letter from Apple Computer, Inc., the date at the top of the letter says September 23, 1975. However, Apple wasn't founded until April 1, 1976 and wasn't incorporated until January 1977. No way to get a letter from a company that doesn't even exist yet.
Factual error: When Forrest is running in the desert they show a couple of saguaro cactus that are about 3 ft tall with arms growing out the side. Saguaro cactus do not grow arms for up to 75 years and at least 10 ft tall.
Factual error: There is a modern 1960's car in the background when Forrest says Bubba's grandmother cooked shrimp. As young as his grandmother appears to be, no such car would have existed at that time.
Suggested correction: Bubba's grandmother is never seen. The person we see serving shrimp is Bubba's mother and then it skips to his great-grandmother.
