The Simpsons is more than a TV show – it’s a cultural force. As the longest-running American animated series, sitcom, and scripted primetime television series, it has entertained countless viewers for generations with its hilarious take on modern family life. Highlighting the zany adventures of the Simpson family – Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa, and Maggie – and the kooky characters that populate their hometown of Springfield, the series is widely praised for its combination of sardonic humor and genuine heart. Throw in some amazing celebrity voice cameos and endlessly quotable dialogue, and it’s no wonder why The Simpsons has become a pillar of contemporary pop culture.
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But another thing the show has been noted for is its uncanny ability to predict the future. While this may simply boil down to the series having a team of stellar writers who have their thumbs planted firmly on the pulse of society, thereby enabling them to foresee future events, the large number of times these events came true makes some fans question if there’s something more mysterious going in the show’s writers’ room. Whatever the reason behind the series’ predictive power, there’s no denying the delight that fans experience when reality takes its cues from The Simpsons, the best instances of which are listed here.
“Lisa’s Wedding” (S6, E19)
Airing in 1995, this episode gave viewers a look at a potential future for the Simpson family in the year 2010. This future, of course, sees everyone using technology far too advanced for what we actually had in 2010, but one of things it did get correct was video calling. Even though plenty of other sci-fi movies and TV shows featured variations of this technology, The Simpsons’ prediction is especially accurate, as in 2010, Apple released FaceTime for their iPhones. Hmmm, did Steve Jobs come up with this idea on his own, or was he just inspired by this episode?
“When You Wish Upon a Star” (S10, E5)
Homer stumbles upon the secret home of then-married Alec Baldwin and Kim Basinger, located near Springfield as a getaway from Hollywood’s paparazzi. The couple, along with their friend director Ron Howard, bring on Homer as their personal assistant, only for him to leak to everyone that there are celebrities living in their town. Towards the end of the episode, we see the outside of 20th Century Fox Studios, with a sign stating that it’s a division of Walt Disney Co. Of course, Disney would end up buying Fox in 2017 for the low, low price of $52.4 billion.
“Bart to the Future” (S11, E17)
In this episode, we’re given another vision of a potential future of the Simpson family, this time with Bart struggling to make it as a rock musician while Lisa is the President of the United States. During a meeting with her cabinet, President Lisa states, “We inherited quite a budget crunch from President Trump.” This would come true in 2016, when Donald Trump became the President of the United States. “Bart to the Future” was produced during Trump’s initial failed run for office, hoping to get the Reform Party nomination.
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“You Don’t Have to Live Like a Referee” (S25, E16)
After Lisa gives a stirring speech about how she considers Homer her hero because of his honesty and integrity, FIFA recruits him to referee the World Cup in Brazil. However, Homer’s morality is tested when Brazilian gangsters try to bribe him to help Brazil win the championship. This episode contains not one but two accurate predictions. First, it correctly predicted Germany winning against Brazil in the 2014 World Cup. Second, it foreshadowed the massive scandal that took place during the competition that involved wire fraud, racketeering, and – you guessed it – bribery.
“Boy Meets Curl” (S21, E12)
Should viewers start treating The Simpsons like Grays Sports Almanac from Back to the Future 2? This episode sees Homer and Marge take up curling, forming a team with Seymour Skinner and his mother Agnes, which goes on to compete in the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver. Their team defeats Sweden, giving the U.S. the gold medal. As you have probably guessed, a very similar thing happened in 2018 at the Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, when the U.S. beat Sweden in curling, going home with the gold.
“The Wizard of Evergreen Terrace” (S10, E2)
Homer becomes depressed when he hits middle age, realizing he hasn’t accomplished anything meaningful. However, after learning about Thomas Edison, he decides to become an inventor as a means to finally achieve something. Turning the basement into his laboratory, Homer embarks on all kinds of experiments, many of them hilariously explosive. However, there’s a bit of accidental genius hidden in the equations on his chalkboard – the mass of the elusive Higgs-Boson particle, also known as the “God particle.” Many of The Simpsons’ writers have advanced degrees in various subjects, so it was probably only a matter of time before they predicted something that would win the Nobel Prize.
“Brother, Can You Spare Two Dimes?” (S6, E19)
Because his time working at the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant has made him sterile, Homer is awarded $2,000 in compensation. This catches the attention of Homer’s half-brother, Herb, whose fortune was decimated because of Homer. To make up for his blunder, Herb convinces Homer to invest the money in his idea, that of a device that translates baby speak for parents. What seemed like a zany concept for a product in 1992 is now much more common, as there are several baby translator apps on the market, such as Cry Translator, Baby Cry Analyzer, and Cappella.
“Elementary School Musical” (S22, E1)
“Elementary School Musical” kicks off with Lisa and several of her nerdy friends from school staying up late to watch the announcement of the Nobel Prize winners. Surprisingly, Krusty the Klown is among the recipients, only for him to discover that it was a trap to have him tried for his improper behavior across Europe. However, the more interesting part of this episode is when you look at the kids’ predictions for who’s going to win that year; look at Milhouse’s picks, and you’ll see MIT Professor Bengt Holmstrom as one of them. While Holmstrom didn’t win the year the episode came out (2010), he did win the Nobel Prize in 2016.
“Two Cars in Every Garage and Three Eyes on Every Fish” (S2, E4)
While fishing in a stream near the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant, Bart catches a three-eyed fish that instantly captures the attention of the local media. This prompts an investigation into the power plant, revealing a plethora of expensive violations that its owner Mr. Burns refuses to pay. Burns runs for governor to hopefully loosen the restrictions his plant faces. Again, the real world mimicked the animated show when a three-eyed wolf fish was discovered in Córdoba, Argentina. And yes, this happened near a nuclear power plant.
“New Kid on the Block” (S4, E8)
“New Kid on the Block” sees Homer and Marge go to an all-you-can-eat buffet, only for Homer’s massive appetite to cause the restaurant to run out of food and kick them out before he’s satisfied. Outraged at what he considers to be false advertising, Homer sues the restaurant for failing to live up to its promise. This is a ridiculous premise, to be sure, but this actually happened in real life in 2017. In this case, Albert Flemming sued Golden Corral Corporation for $2 million when one of its employees kicked him out of their restaurant when he ate more than 50lbs of food, even though he wasn’t done dining at their all-you-can-eat buffet. The icing on the cake, though? This all took place in Springfield, Massachusetts.
