Season 22, Episode 1: Elementary School Musical
Predicted: 2010
Came true: 2016
Even though Bengt Holmström was not awarded the Nobel Prize in Economics until 2016, Martin Prince, Jr. predicted his victory in 2010. During the premiere of season 22, there is a moment in which Martin, back in Springfield, Oregon is shown holding up a scorecard.
The card has names representing his Nobel Prize betting pool with Lisa, Milhouse, and Database. In this scene, the MIT professor is plainly marked in one of Milhouse's squares. What a wager! To make that guess the writing team would have had to have quite a bit of hands-on knowledge or to have done a great deal of research!
Season 6, Episode 8: Lisa on Ice
Predicted: 1994
Came true: 2007
During a Springfield Elementary School assembly, Kearney, our local single father bully, asks Dolph, our emo bully, to take a memo to "Beat up Martin" on his "Newton," Apple's "first" personal digital assistant. However, the AI takes a note as "Eat up Martha," forecasting the iPhone's autocorrect failures.
Apple's former director of engineering for iOS applications, Nitin Ganatra, revealed in 2013 that the Simpsons' joke was utilised as a rallying cry while building the iPhone's keyboard software. "If you heard people saying 'Eat up Martha,' it was a reference to nailing the keyboard." The Eat up Marthas would arrive if this device's text entry didn't operate as expected.... And so it did arrive.
(Image via Twitter; iFakeText Message; Gracie Films; 20th Television; Fox)
Season 6, Episode 19: Lisa's Wedding
Predicted: 1995
Came true: 2012
In Lisa's Wedding, they showed a glimpse of a futuristic London skyline with this massive building beside Big Ben that looks suspiously like The Shard in London. In 2012, the magnificent Shard came to life, proudly standing as Europe's tallest skyscraper in the vibrant city of London.
In a delightful twist, The Shard decided to make a playful cameo in Treehouse of Horror XXV, just to give a little wink to all the fans who were keeping up with these outlandish predictions. The Simpsons never fail to showcase their timeless relevance and sharp insights into the constantly evolving world we inhabit.
Season 3, Episode 24: Brother, Can You Spare Two Dimes
Predicted: 1992
Came true: 2009
Do you remember Homer's little-known half-brother Herb? At one point, Homer assists him in the construction of a car, "The Car Built for Homer," with the intention of creating a car for the everyday man. It was, however, hideous, and Herb goes bankrupt as a result. Yes, others have built the car in real life.
In an attempt to reclaim his fame and fortune, Herb creates a baby translator, a device that converts infant gibberish into a language adults can understand. Yes, it worked, and Homer funded it so that Herb could mass produce it. Years later, the "Cry Translator" app was released, which analyses a baby's cry to communicate needs. There's nothing more exciting than science!
Season 2, Episode 18: Brush With Greatness
Predicted: 2001
Came true: 2011
In this episode, Marge confesses that during her senior year of high school, she had a celebrity crush on Ringo Starr and even sent him a painting she had made. Despite the fact that it has been decades since he initially made the pledge, Ringo fulfils his vow to return all fan mail in this episode.
It would appear that the prediction was communicated among the surviving members of the Beatles, because in the year 2013, two women from Essex, in the East of England received a letter from Sir Paul McCartney in response to a mixtape that they had sent to him 50 years earlier!
Season 12, Episode 6: The Computer Wore Menace Shoes
Predicted: 2000
Came true: 2016
It's almost like The Simpsons had a crystal ball when it came to fake news, tackling the issue way before it became a big deal. In this hilarious episode, Homer takes the internet by storm with his new website. Little does he know, his online shenanigans unleash a whirlwind of chaos and panic among the unsuspecting residents of Springfield.
Let's zoom ahead to 2016, when the whole world was freaking out about the explosion of fake news on the internet. The show once again proved its uncanny ability to predict societal trends, reminding us of the perils of misinformation in the digital age. This particular example serves as a shining example of the show's remarkable knack for mirroring and occasionally even foreseeing the intricacies of contemporary existence.
Season 10, Episode 1: Lard of the Dance
Predicted: 1998
Came true: 2013
One of Homer's many ideas to get rich quick entailed stealing grease from local businesses and reselling it. Unfortunately for them, he and Bart discovered that, similar to the case with many other things, there was already a local mafia involved in the industry, and they did not want The Simpsons to be a part of it.
Years later, 15 years to be more exact, we found out that entrepreneurs were actually carrying out this same scheme out there in the real world, as they were stealing grease from restaurants all over New York City from Harlem to the West End and sell it to producers of biodiesel.
Season 3, Episode 14: Lisa the Greek
Predicted: January 23rd 1992
Came true: January 26th 1992
The episode that centred around football was broadcast for the first time just a few days before the Super Bowl XXVI, which Lisa correctly predicted would be won by the Washington Redskins. The next year, the production team made the decision to dub in the names of the teams that would be participating that year.
They were once again accurate in their prediction that the Dallas Cowboys would emerge victorious the following run. The redubbings continue with every rerun, with moderate success, culminating in a redubbing that correctly predicted the San Francisco 49ers would defeat the San Diego Chargers in Super Bowl XXIX. Only the DVD version of this episode has the original lines.
Film: The Simpsons Movie (2007)
Predicted: 2007
Came true: 2013
In a stroke of conversational brilliance, The Simpsons Movie from 2007 foreshadowed the notorious NSA spying scandal that rocked the world in 2013. In the movie, our beloved Professor Frink unveils a massive surveillance system that is intended to monitor every single thing that happens in town.
Let's jump ahead to 2013, when the infamous whistleblower Edward Snowden exposed the National Security Agency's snooping shenanigans. They were just casually collecting data on the phone calls and internet activities of millions of Americans. Like, no big deal, right? Just your everyday conversation topic. So funny, we can't even. haha.. Boy, we wish this was a lie.
Season 6, Episode 24: Lemon of Troy
Predicted: 1995
Came true: 2003
This episode featured residents of rival town, Shelbyville, stealing a lemon tree from Springfield. The children of Springfield waged war against their rivals, after seeing it stolen. Almost a decade later, life imitated art when a lemon tree was uprooted, for no reason, in the same exact fashion, in 2013.
That year a bizarre theft took place in a suburban area of Houston, Texas, when thieves dug up and ran off with a lemon tree belonging to local resident Kae. Addressing the robbers directly, Kae told local news channel "If you needed my lemons so bad, I hope they serve you well."
Season 5, Episode 10: $pringfield (Or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Legalized Gambling)
Predicted: 1993
Came true: 2003
After it is decided that gambling should be legalised in Springfield, Mr. Burns constructs a casino where German magicians Gunter and Ernst perform an act that seems to be a parody of the long-running Siegfried and Roy show in Las Vegas.
The danger hug by the tiger takes place in the background while our main cast is having a chat. Tragically, a decade later, a segment in which the animated couple is hurt hugged by their tiger came to fruition when Roy Horn was hurt on stage by a white Bengal tiger, leaving him unable to perform and bringing an end to the long-running act.
Season 2, Episode 9: Itchy & Scratchy & Marge
Predicted: 1990
Came true: 2016
The Simpsons has been poking fun at the censorship of art way before it became a hot topic of discussion. They were ahead of the curve, as always! In this episode as Marge takes a stand against the outrageous violence in the cartoon within the cartoon, Itchy & Scratchy. Her actions spark a full-blown censorship movement in Springfield, causing chaos and uproar among the residents. Amidst the protest, behold!
Michelangelo's David got a new pair of slacks, as if someone thought it needed a little extra modesty. Let's take a trip to 2016, to take a look at what happened at the Accademia Gallery in Florence, Italy. During a visit by the president of Iran, they decided to cover the David statue (to protect his modesty, of course). Later in states across the US, parents insisted the statue be covered in books! Some states even going as far as requesting bans on images of the statue!
Season 23, Episode 22: Lisa Goes Gaga
Predicted: 2012
Came true: 2017
Nearly five years before Lady Gaga descended from the roof of Houston's NRG Stadium for the Super Bowl LI halftime show, her Simpsons doppelgänger performed a song for Springfield residents while suspended in the air. The two Mother Monsters even dressed in matching silver outfits for their performances!
This chapter depicted the titular pop diva visiting Springfield and assisting Lisa with her self-esteem issues. When Gaga performed at the Super Bowl halftime performance in 2017, many people remarked that her wire-based, spark-laden act resembled one of her many ensembles from the episode. They even went so far as to start a trending hashtag #lisagoesgaga at the time!
Season 6, Episode 19: Lisa’s Wedding
Predicted:1995
Came true: 2014
This was the first time the show went into the future and the episode contained great number a of jokes about technology that were later realised in real life. In this installment Hugh, who is romantically involved with Lisa, proposes, but is unsuccessful, saying she's "like a flower that grew out of a pot of dirt." Ouch!
As a result of his failure, he starts talking to his watch in an attempt to get some help. Nearly a decade later in 2013, smartwatches with built-in speech recognition were introduced to the consumer market for the first time. Since then, their broad availability has been credited with the successful maintenance of a great number of relationships the world over.
Season 6, Episode 19: Lisa's Wedding
Predicted: 1995
Came true: 2016
In Lisa's Wedding, an episode set in the future, Lisa steps into a library straight out of a sci-fi movie, complete with a robotic librarian ready to assist her every bookish need. So, let's zoom in our reality and witness automation sneaking its way into all sorts of sectors, even libraries!
Although they may not be exact replicas of what was shown in the episode, the rise of automated systems in libraries is a clear sign of the ongoing shift towards digitization and the quest for more efficient information management. With bots like Hugh and Pepper that can guide you through the library and provide information on what you can find. Additionally, systems like Google Bard and Chat GPT have further advanced conversational capabilities. Finding the right book no longer requires someone with just the right degree.
Season 10, Episode 5: When You Dish Upon A Star
Predicted: 1998
Came true: 2017
Following a trip to Springfield, filmmaker Ron Howard proposes a movie written by Homer to 20th Century Fox producer Brian Glazer. At the start of the scene, a sign on the Fox studio lot reads that the company is now A Division of Walt Disney Co.
Fast forward nearly 20 years, and the news that Disney struck an agreement to acquire Fox for $66.1 billion was announced in December of 2017. Though it has always been quick to poke fun at its parent corporation, the programme did not anticipate Fox selling to The Walt Disney corporation in July 2018, placing Homer Simpson and Mickey Mouse into the same house.
Season 29, Episode 1: The Serfsons
Predicted: 2017
Came true: 2019
In this chapter, Homer, Marge, and the rest of the Simpsons crew find themselves in the kingdom of Springfieldia, an alternate fantasy reality that mimicked many aspects of life in Westeros in the book series, and on the show, Game of Thrones.
There was also a fire breathing dragon that burns down the Serfson's town towards the end of the show, similar to what Drogon (acting at Daenerys' command) ended up doing to King's Landing in the penultimate episode of Game of Thrones. Jon Snow was also used in a promo for Game of Thrones stylized as a Springfield resident.
Season 6, Episode 19: Lisa’s Wedding
Predicted: 1995
Came true: 2010
Lisa's Wedding's, a future-set episode, features a casual reference to FaceTime calls, which is one of the most important aspects of modern living. This episode does not involve any handset calls; all of the dialogue takes place on a phone screen during calls. The future is now, old man!
Given the prominence of videoconferencing applications such as Zoom, Skype, Google Hangouts, FaceTime, etc in daily life, this was one prediction that the writers needed to see in order to believe. 15 Years after the air of this episode we have come full circle with handsets that have video call capabilities.
Season 25, Episode 16: You Don't Have to Live Like a Referee
Predicted: 2014
Came true: 2015
The Simpsons tackled the scandalous realm of FIFA corruption long before it became a worldwide sensation. So, get this: Homer gets roped into being a referee for the World Cup in Brazil; but guess what? He ends up smack dab in the middle of bribery and match-fixing scandals.
Zooming ahead to 2015, when FIFA found itself in the middle of a scandal of epic proportions. Some of their highest-ranking officials were hit with charges of bribery, fraud, and money laundering. The Simpsons' hilarious spin on the issue, from fixed matches to secret agreements, uncannily mirrored the real-life events that unfolded, showcasing the show's knack for capturing the spirit of the times, and predicting societal controversies with remarkable accuracy.
Season 2, Episode 4: All images Two Cars in Every Garage and Three Eyes on Every Fish
Predicted: 1990
Came true: 2011
The show's iconic three-eyed fish is named Blinky. It's been seen in countless episodes, sometimes even evolving. It can be found in ponds and lakes surrounding the nuclear power facility. The mutations have been proven to be caused by the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant.
It has been known to derail Mr. Burns' election campaign and go blind from moonshine. This tiny fish has appeared in major news outlets and has been linked to commentary on nuclear waste and mutation. Those messages turned reality in 2011, when a fishermen caught a three-eyed wolf fish in a reservoir that feeds near a nuclear plant in Argentina.
(Image via Reddit; Gracie Films; 20th Television; Fox)
Season 7, Episode 18: The Day the Violence Died
Predicted: 1996
Came true: 2021
Back in Season 7 of The Simpsons, there's this episode that aired in 1996 that shows a joke about School House Rock, with the "Bill" (sitting on capitol hill) letting a bunch of his friends with weapons storm the stairs of the capitol.
Fast forward to January 6, 2021, and the events depicted in the episode were eerily accurate about some things that actually went down. It's absolutely mind-boggling how similar the characters storming a government building are to the chaotic scenes we've seen in real life. It's enough to send shivers down your spine!
Season 21, Episode 12: Boy Meets Curl
Predicted: 2010
Came true: 2018
In this chapter, Homer and his family are shown winning a curling gold medal at the Winter Olympics. The United States men's Olympic curling team repeated the feat eight years later in Pyeongchang. The fact that they also properly predicted the 2018 silver medalists, Sweden, is even more impressive.
Homer and Marge find themselves drafted onto the United States curling team for the 2010 Winter Olympics. In this episode, Marge plays The Skip (the broom handler) so vigorously that she breaks her right arm. To everyone's surprise, and delight, Marge, is left-handed. They beat Sweden in straight sets and end up winning the gold for Team USA.
Season 10, Episode 10: Viva Ned Flanders
Predicted: 1999
Came true: 2009
The Simpsons, one of the greatest TV shows ever filmed, and the movie The Hangover, would bring a tear to any eye as well as a shout of laughter, but that isn't the only thing they have in common..
Several shots in the film, from Ned getting a spare wife to meeting Mike Tyson, are similar to this episode. Maybe that's all that happens in Vegas.. Though, it's more likely that Hangover creators Jon Lucas and Scott Moore have succumbed to what many refer to as "Simpson's Already Did It" syndrome.
Season 4, Episode 12: Marge vs. the Monorail
Predicted: 1993
Season 6, Episode 25: Who Shot Mr. Burns? (Part One)
Predicted: 1995
Season 7, Episode 25: Summer of 4 Ft. 2
Predicted: 1996
Came true: 2024
Although they didn't quite predict the exact Baltimore Key Bridge incident of March 26, 2024, The Simpsons have imagined and reimagined the collapse of bridges in countless episodes, really too long to list. Congratz! You're not crazy! We knew you weren't, so we looked into it.
In Season 4's Marge vs. the Monorail, Springfield's monorail system is referenced to possibly take a tumble. Oh, and let's not forget about the Season 6 cliffhanger Who Shot Mr. Burns? (Part One)! In that nail-biting episode, we get a glimpse of Springfield's impending doom, complete with a refrence to the bridge collapsing. Talk about a suspenseful way to end a season! In Season 7's Summer of 4 Ft. 2, the show once again showcases its ability to predict unfortunate events, but with its signature satirical flair. While there are no images of the infamous bridge collapsing, characters in the show often, and boy, do we mean often, talk about the bridge collapsing, usually when saying Homer caused it.
Season 10, Episode 2: The Wizard of Evergreen Terrace
Predicted: 1998
Came true: 2012
“If you work it out, you get the mass of a Higgs boson that’s only a bit larger than the nano-mass of a Higgs boson actually is. It’s kind of amazing as Homer makes this prediction 14 years before it was discovered.”
The "God particle," also known as the Higgs boson, was discovered in 2012, and explains why the universe has mass. Dr. Simon Singh, author of The Simpsons and Their Mathematical Secrets, writes that Homer was pictured standing in front of a blackboard with an equation that predicted the mass of the yet-to-be-discovered particle. Welcome to the limit!
Season 14, Episode 2: How I Spent My Strummer Vacation
Predicted: 2002
Came true: 2005
In this wholesome episode, the Simpson clan uncovers the shocking truth that Homer has been neglecting his personal pleasures. Determined to remedy this "dire" situation, they take matters into their own hands and ship him off to a summer camp for aspiring rock stars.
In the finale, the legendary duo of Mick Jagger and Keith Richards from "The Rolling Stones" bestow upon Homer Simpson a jacket adorned with the words "Guitar Hero" on its back. Zooming ahead three years, "Guitar Hero" the video game burst onto the scene with "The Rolling Stones" as the main draw!
(Jennie from Edinburgh, UK, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons; Gracie Films; 20th Television; Fox)
Season 17, Episode 10: Homer's Paternity Coot
Predicted: 2006
Came true: 2023
Homer's on the hunt for his "real" dad in this episode and believe Mason Fairbanks is the guy. They rekindle their relationship and together they take a deep dive in Mason's underwater submersibles in an attempt to reclaim the lost loot from the sunken "Piso Mojado."
Alas, Homer loses contact with his father while submerged, and begins to lose oxygen. Three days later he wakes up in a hospital and realizes Abe is his real father. Many fans saw a link between this story and a submersible vanishing in 2023 while exploring the Titanic. The Titan of OceanGate vanished after having only 96 hours of oxygen.
Season 10, Episode 2: The Wizard of Evergreen Terrace
Predicted: 1998
Came true: 2010
This is one of those random things that Homer fantasizes about by combining clothing or an item he frequently uses with food to somehow make it better. In this episode, Homer realizes he hasn’t done anything with his life..
And so, he embarks on a quest to fashion the ultimate contraption that will catapult him into the illustrious realm of renowned inventors. One of his brilliant brainwaves involves the "revolutionary" concept of Hamburger Earmuffs. Well, would you look at that, these things actually exist in the real world now!
(Image via Twitter; Gracie Films; 20th Television; Fox)
Season 9, Episode 3: Lisa's Sax - The First Ebola Set
Predicted: 1997
Came true: 2014
&
Season 4, Episode 21: Marge in Chains - Less Ebola, More Flu
Predicted: 1993
Came true: 2020
The show eerily predicted both the Ebola outbreak and the COVID-19 pandemic. Talk about being ahead of the curve! In Lisa's Sax, aired in 1997, Marge attempts to calm Bart and Lisa amidst an Ebola scare, showcasing the widespread concern about the virus back then. Jump ahead to 2014, and bam! The whole world was hit with the Ebola epidemic of West Africa.Talk about life imitating art.
In the episode Marge in Chains from 1993, the town of Springfield gets hit with a nasty flu-like virus called the Osaka Flu, thanks to the village idiot. You're smart enough to know who caused it. Chaos ensues as the town is thrown into quarantine. It's like a real-life version of "Outbreak," but with more yellow-skinned characters and less Dustin Hoffman. Zoom ahead to 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic hit the world like a wrecking ball, causing lockdowns and chaos that felt like a real-life version of that episode.
Season 5, Episode 15: Deep Space Homer
Predicted: 1994
Came true: 2013
The Simpsons totally nailed it in Season 5, Episode 15, titled Deep Space Homer, which first aired in 1994. In this episode Homer is chosen as an "Average Joe" to go to space in the efforts of boosting intrest in space exploration.
In 2013, the United Kingdom held a contest to turn an ordinary person into an astronaut, which consisted of multiple interviews and later, rigorous testing in Cape Canaveral, Florida. The winner in the US was Patrick Carney, (yes he has a YouTube Channel) who beat more than 87,000 candidates to take a trip into space with 22 other winners from around the world. It’s safe to say NASA learned from their source material and chose to not stock potato chips or ants on the shuttle.
