The Simpsons has garnered massive popularity over the years due to its unintentional future predictions that eerily came true. Created by cartoonist Matt Groening, the show first aired as a Christmas special in 1989 and has since become the longest-running animated television series and scripted prime-time TV show in American history. This article explores the reasons behind The Simpsons’ fame and its uncanny ability to seemingly predict future events.
The Simpsons: A Peek into the Future
The show centered around the dysfunctional Simpson family in Springfield, has aired a staggering 750 episodes spread across 34 seasons. Throughout its run, it presented various situations and events that appeared implausible at the time but later manifested in reality. Diligent fans have found uncanny connections between The Simpsons’ fictional events and real-life occurrences, earning it a reputation as a show that can seemingly glimpse into the future.
Major Predictions That Became Reality In The Simpsons
1. Emergency in an Underwater Submersible
In the episode “Homer’s Paternity Coot,” The Simpsons depicted an underwater submersible tragedy that bore resemblance to the real-life OceanGate submersible incident in June 2023. This tragic event involved the sinking of the submersible “Titan,” mirroring the show’s storyline.
2. Donald Trump as the US President
In the episode “Bart to the Future,” The Simpsons surprisingly foresaw Donald Trump becoming the US President, a prediction that came true in 2016 when he assumed office.
3. Disney Acquires 20th Century Fox
The show’s episode “When You Dish Upon a Star” humorously featured 20th Century Fox being owned by Walt Disney, which became a reality when Disney acquired the studio in 2019.
4. Smartwatches with Voice Identification
The Simpsons showcased a futuristic smartwatch in the episode “Lisa’s Wedding,” which became a reality when the world saw the first voice-activated smartwatch introduced in 2013.
5. The Censorship of Michelangelo’s David Statue
An episode titled “Itchy & Scratchy & Marge” depicted a controversy surrounding the censorship of Michelangelo’s David statue, which surprisingly echoed real-life incidents in Russia and the US in later years.
6. Putting Horse Meat in the Food
The show’s episode “Sweet Seymour Skinner’s Baadasssss Song” humorously showed lunch lady Doris serving horse meat, an event that resembled the UK’s horse meat scandal in 2013.
7. Space Travel for the Common People
In “Deep Space Homer,” The Simpsons depicted a regular person going to space, foreshadowing the rise of civilian space travel and ‘space tourism’ in the real world.
8. Premiere of Matrix 4
In an episode titled “The Ziff Who Came To Dinner,” a poster with “A Matrix Christmas, Coming Soon” was spotted, eerily anticipating the release of The Matrix Resurrection in 2021.
9. The COVID-19 Pandemic
The Simpsons unintentionally depicted a flu outbreak in the episode “Marge in Chains,” which some viewers connected to the COVID-19 pandemic, though the episode was actually inspired by the Hong Kong flu.
10. FIFA Corruption Scandal and Germany Winning the World Cup
The FIFA corruption scandal in 2015 was followed by a Simpsons episode “You Don’t Have to Live Like a Referee,” that predicted Germany’s World Cup victory and highlighted corruption in the organization.
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