diff --git a/src/net/http/http.go b/src/net/http/http.go
index 826f7ff3da5bd0..b95ca89f4094c5 100644
--- a/src/net/http/http.go
+++ b/src/net/http/http.go
@@ -20,7 +20,7 @@ const maxInt64 = 1<<63 - 1
 
 // aLongTimeAgo is a non-zero time, far in the past, used for
 // immediate cancelation of network operations.
-var aLongTimeAgo = time.Unix(233431200, 0)
+var aLongTimeAgo = time.Unix(1, 0)
 
 // TODO(bradfitz): move common stuff here. The other files have accumulated
 // generic http stuff in random places.
diff --git a/src/net/net.go b/src/net/net.go
index 9c27f1baf91ccd..bfb9c291b8f628 100644
--- a/src/net/net.go
+++ b/src/net/net.go
@@ -467,7 +467,7 @@ func (e *OpError) Error() string {
 var (
 	// aLongTimeAgo is a non-zero time, far in the past, used for
 	// immediate cancelation of dials.
-	aLongTimeAgo = time.Unix(233431200, 0)
+	aLongTimeAgo = time.Unix(1, 0)
 
 	// nonDeadline and noCancel are just zero values for
 	// readability with functions taking too many parameters.