Other mistake: In the closed-captioning, when Arnold and Gerald "touch thumbs" (and you hear that "sproing" sound), the caption says "[glass shatters]"
The Little Pink Book/Field Trip - S1-E2
Other mistake: When Arnold is reading the diary at the school the other kids ask him to read more. He says "OK, but it is the last page." There are more pages. When he starts to read, then it is the last page.
6th Grade Girls/The Baseball - S1-E5
Other mistake: Sixth Grade Girls: When Arnold and Gerald are dancing with Connie and Maria, in one shot, Maria's left foot is incorrectly overlapping the right foot of the girl behind her. (00:07:32)
Other mistake: Snow: After Grandpa turns the street into an ice rink, it cuts to Arnold in the backyard (by the garage) of Sunset Arms where he's been stowing logs in a storage container. When Grandpa shows up in the backyard and tells Arnold, "You got no play ethic," we see the fronts of Green Meats and Art's Shoe Repair behind Grandpa, but that's impossible because Sunset Arms is on the same side of the street as those two stores; we should only see the buildings/stores that are across the street from the boarding house. (00:21:30)
Other mistake: Mugged: When Arnold gets mugged, some of the shots use a flipped background. Note the wall colours, and the sign that says "MARKET," which is reversed. (00:01:16)
Other mistake: Mugged: When the people are standing outside Sunset Arms waiting for Arnold to come out of the garage, Oskar is coloured incorrectly: he has grey hair, a grey beard, an orange shirt, a light blue jacket, and white shoes. (00:05:12)
Door #16 / Arnold as Cupid - S1-E10
Other mistake: Arnold as Cupid: When Oskar gives Arnold breakfast, besides the fact that the objects move from the left side of the tray to the right between shots, look at the glass of orange juice as Oskar lowers the tray to Arnold. Despite Oskar never rotating the tray around, the glass of orange juice glides itself over to the top left corner of the tray. Very weird. (00:14:34)
Benchwarmer / Cool Jerk - S1-E11
Other mistake: The names for the Green and Yellow teams' players are the same.
Abner Come Home / The Sewer King - S1-E16
Other mistake: Abner Come Home: In Abner's flashback, Grandpa shows him how to get in and out of the door. We see grass outside the door, but what we should actually see are the stairs that lead to the door, not grass. (00:03:08)
Abner Come Home / The Sewer King - S1-E16
Other mistake: Abner Come Home: When Arnold wakes up and starts looking for Abner, as he walks into the kitchen, his hair clips through the doorway. (00:04:14)
Other mistake: Ms. Perfect: When the girls sabotage Lila's lunch, as Helga pours out Lila's milk from her thermos, the milk crosses an invisible line and disappears. (00:16:56)
Other mistake: Ms. Perfect: When Mr. Simmons tells the class, "I have a note from Lila's father," his right sleeve briefly turns green. (00:19:22)
The High Life / Best Friends - S2-E10
Other mistake: Best Friends: When Arnold walks across the table during the fashion show, a small chunk of the spotlight vanishes mid-shot. (00:22:13)
The High Life / Best Friends - S2-E10
Other mistake: Best Friends: When Gerald is first revealed during the fashion show, the curtains are transparent. They are never transparent in any other shot. (00:22:26)
Helga's Boyfriend / Crush on Teacher - S2-E14
Other mistake: Crush on Teacher: When the kids are playing baseball and the baseball hits Arnold, as he says, "I'm fine, Miss Felter," his eyelids are not colored in. (00:13:02)
Helga's Boyfriend / Crush on Teacher - S2-E14
Other mistake: Crush on Teacher: When Arnold and Gerald are walking to school and Arnold gets distracted by the birds and flowers, as he says, "Look at the flowers," his eyelids are not colored in. (00:14:37)
Hall Monitor / Harold's Bar Mitzvah - S2-E15
Other mistake: Hall Monitor: At the start of the school assembly, when Principal Wartz thanks Helga for her month as hall monitor, Wartz's right arm is atop the lectern, with his fingers over the lectern's front edge. As Wartz gestures toward Helga with his right arm and hand, the fingers of his right hand oddly remain over the lectern's front edge. Then, after Helga announces she may volunteer again, the audience groans, and in the next shot facing Wartz, he has four hands at the lectern's edge. (00:01:35 - 00:02:00)
Hall Monitor / Harold's Bar Mitzvah - S2-E15
Other mistake: Hall Monitor: When Helga is deciding on the new hall monitor and it shows a shot facing the crowd, many kids sitting in the back are faceless. (00:02:20)
Hall Monitor / Harold's Bar Mitzvah - S2-E15
Other mistake: Hall Monitor: When Helga chooses Phoebe to be the new hall monitor, as Phoebe is walking to the stage, Iggy's hair is incorrectly coloured black instead of brown. (00:02:30)
Hall Monitor / Harold's Bar Mitzvah - S2-E15
Other mistake: Hall Monitor: When Helga chooses Phoebe to be the new hall monitor, as Phoebe starts walking to the stage, she is briefly layered behind the boy sitting behind her, and she is layered over Joey and the boy sitting next to him. (00:02:31)
Answer: The show is based in present day times. Plus most cars aren't old fashtioned, I recall seeing a limo and not to mention a cherry picker, etc.