But Dorai claimed that he had not really expected any and said that the evening went “pretty close to perfect.”
As they waited, guests enjoyed entertainment ranging from lectures by prominent MIT professors to comedy sketches and bands. There were also refreshments available and a 1980s DeLorean car, the model used in the “Back to the Future” movies, to set the appropriate atmosphere.
The event proved such an attraction that guests even had to be turned away at the door because of capacity restrictions.
Despite its popularity, Dorai said that he did not plan any similar occasions in the future.
“The whole point was that you only need one and if the front page of the New York Times wasn’t enough to let future time travelers know about it, it’s just more evidence that it’s impossible,” he said. “Either that, or our party was just too boring.”
—Staff writer Alexandra C. Bell can be reached at acbell@fas.harvard.edu.