I’ve been watching the Simpsons for 3 decades now. The show that first aired in 1989 has made a reputation for itself of being able to predict the future. Whether it’s in the arena of politics, sports, entertainment, science or technology, The Simpsons seems to keep getting it right.
Here are the top 15 times The Simpsons showed a leaning toward precognition:
1. Trump becomes the US president
In Season 11, Episode 17 (Bart to the Future), Lisa takes over as president of the United States. During a meeting with her cabinet she mentions how her administration has inherited a budget crunch from President Trump. In 2016, Donald Trump won the electoral college with 304 votes versus Hillary Clinton’s 227 votes.
Screenshot from the episode (from Disney Plus)
2. Faulty voting machines
In Season 20, Episode 4 (Treehouse of Horror XIX), the first story starts with Homer going into a voting booth for the 2008 elections. He presses Barack Obama for his choice but the vote goes to the other candidate. Four years later in 2012, a voting machine in Pennsylvania had to be removed because it changed the vote for Barack Obama to his Republican rival Mitt Romney.
Screenshot from the episode (from Disney Plus)
3. The future use of the smartwatch
Back in 1995 -- when your mobile phone was probably still huge, had to be charged for hours (if not overnight), had limited lines of text and even had an antenna, The Simpsons already predicted the existence of a smartwatch that can be used to make calls in Season 6, Episode 19 (Lisa’s Wedding)
Screenshot from the episode (from Disney Plus)
4. Communication moving towards video calling
In the same episode, they also predicted video calling in the future using a ”picture phone”
Screenshot from the episode (from Disney Plus)
5. The existence of the Shard
It doesn’t stop there! In the same future-focused episode, Lisa goes to London to meet her fiance’s family. A quick pan of the digital version of Big Ben shows an image of a skyscraper near the Tower Bridge. 14 years later in 2009, the construction of The Shard started. The pointed spire is similar in shape to the Shard and also sits in a similar place.
Screenshot from the episode (from Disney Plus)
6. The Mass of the Higgs Boson Particle
In season 10, Episode 2 (The Wizard of Evergreen Terrace) Homer goes through a midlife crisis when he realizes he hasn’t achieved anything yet at 39. Inspired by Thomas Edison, he aspires to become an inventor. In one of his attempts, he writes a complicated formula on a blackboard.
The formula is said to predict the mass of Higgs Boson (also known as the God Particle). First theorized by Professor Peter Higgs and a group of other physicists in 1964, it was later proven in 2013 with the help of a $13 billion experiment. Science author Simon Singh said that the formula on the board, if solved, gives you the mass of Higgs boson that’s only a bit larger than the nano-mass of a Higgs boson actually is. Considering that episode aired in 1998, The Simpsons was well ahead of its time.
Screenshot from the episode (from Disney Plus)
7. Three-eyed fish mutation
One of the earlier episodes of the Simpson is about Bart catching a three-eyed fish he names Blinky in the river near the power plant. This was shown in Season 2, Episode 4 (Two Cars in Every Garage and Three Eyes on Every Fish).
21 years later, life imitates art when fishermen in Cordoba, Argentina caught a three-eyed wolf fish in a reservoir near a local power plant.
Screenshot from the episode (from Disney Plus)
8. The Horse Meat Scandal
In Season 5, Episode 19 (Sweet Seymore Skinner’s Baadasssss Song), Lunchlady Doris is seen reaching into a barrel of “assorted horse parts” while in the kitchen preparing food. In 2013, health officials in the UK discovered that several beef products contained horse meat.
Screenshot from the episode (from Disney Plus)
9. Lady Gaga’s Halftime performance
In the Season 23, Episode 22 (Lisa Goes Gaga), the performer is seen hanging in midair as she sings for Springfield. Five years later, her Super Bowl halftime show in Houston NGR Stadium shows has her flying in the air.
Screenshot from the episode (from Disney Plus)
10. The Siegfried and Roy tiger attack
In Season 5, Episode 10 ($pringfield) the town legalizes gambling. Mr Burns’ casino features a performance of two magicians -- who looked a lot like Seigfried and Roy -- and was mauled by a white tiger in the middle of their act.
In 2003, Roy Horn of the Seigfriend and Roy duo was attacked by a 7-year-old white tiger during a performance in Las Vegas for his birthday. The tiger lunged at his neck and dragged him off the stage of MGM Mirage Hotel - Casino. He had massive blood loss and sustained critical injuries but later recovered.
Screenshot from the episode (from Disney Plus)
11. Disney owning Fox
A scene in Season 10, Episode 5 (When You Dish Upon a Star) shows the 20th Century Fox logo with “a Division of Walt Disney Co” underneath. In March 2019, Disney completed the $71.3 billion acquisition of 21st Century Fox’s film and TV assets.
Screenshot from the episode (from Disney Plus)
12. The US Wins an Olympic gold medal in curling.
Marge and Homer represent the American team in the 2010 Winter Olympics and beat the Swedes, taking home the gold medal for Mixed Match Curling in Season 21, Episode 12 (Boy Meets Curl). The prediction comes true eight years later when the US Team matches up with the same opponent and wins the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang.
Screenshot from the episode (from Disney Plus)
13. The FIFA corruption scandal
In Season 25, Episode 16 (You Don’t Have to Live Like a Referee), Homer is brought into the world of refereeing due to FIFA having shortages from massive corruption. He decides to call the game fairly with Germany winning the World Cup. In real life, both things actually happened. In 2015, several FIFA employees were arrested on charges of bribery, fraud and money laundering. That same year, Germany also won the title.
Screenshot from the episode (from Disney Plus)
14. The spread of a respiratory virus
In Season 4, Episode 21 (Marge in Chains), a Japanese factory worker coughs into a package headed for Springfield and spreads the “Osaka Flu.” Doesn’t this feel familiar to our now global pandemic Coronavirus?
Screenshot from the episode (from Disney Plus)
15. Murder Hornets
In the same episode, people panic to find a cure knock over a van with killer bees inside. Coincidentally, in 2020 while the pandemic was spreading in the US, murder hornets also started appearing.
Screenshot from the episode (from Disney Plus)
BONUS: Capitol Hill Riot
How will The Simpsons call it for 2021? The annual Treehouse of Horror hit it on the head with an apocalyptic scene with fires burning across the town of Springfield on Inauguration Day. While the episodes dated it as Jan 20, the Capitol Hill riots happened a few days earlier and had some similarities.
Screenshot from the episode (from Fox)
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