The simpsons has become famous not just for its humor and satirical take on American life, but also for its uncanny ability to seemingly predict future events. Over the years, there have been several instances where the show aired episodes that prepared to ” predict” real-world events, trends, or technological advancements with surprising accuracy. Here’s a breakdown of some of the most notable predictions made by The Simpsons. Here we have top 10 simpsons predictions.
1. Donald Trump as President (2000):
One of the most famous and often cited predictions is from the episode “Brat to the Future” (season 11 episode 17), which aired in 2000. In the episode, Lisa Simpson becomes the first female president of the United States and her predecessor is revealed to have been President Donald Trump. At the time Trump was a businessman and reality TV star, and his political aspirations were not widely taken seriously. The prediction became reality when he ran for and won the presidency in 2016.
2. Smartwatches (1995)
In the 1995 episode “Lisa’s Wedding” (season 6, episode 19), set in the future, characters are seen using devices that look remarkably similar to today’s smartwatches. The characters use these device to communicate, check their schedules, and even make calls– very much like how we use modern-day smartwatches like the Apple watch.
3. The Discovery of the Higgs Boson (1998):
In the episode “The Wizard of Evergreen Terrace” (season 10, episode 2), Homer Simpson tries to become an inventor and is seen standing next to a blackboard filled with complex equations, there appears to be a reference to the Higgs boson particle, a key part of particles physics that was confirmed to exist in 2012, 14 years after the episode aired.
4. The Shard (1995):
In the 1995 episode “Lisa’s Wedding,” there is a scene where a future version of London is shown, with a tall building resembling The Shard, a skyscraper that was completed in London in 2012. At the time of the episode’s airing, no such building was under construction or even planned.
5. The 9/11 Attacks (1997):
In the episode “New York City Odyssey” (season 9, episode 1), there is a scene showing a brochure for New York City with the number “9” and an image of the twin towers. Some conspiracy theorists have pointed to this as “Prediction” of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attack, though it is likely just a coincidence due to the use of the number 9 being associated with the city’s area code.
6. Video Chat (1995):
In the episode “Lisa’s Wedding” (season 6, episode 19), characters are seen using video phones, a concept that didn’t fully become mainstream until the advent of Skype in the 2000s and the widespread use of video call in the 2010s.
7. The Fault in our Stars (2007):
In the episode “The Burns Cage” (season 27, episode 17), a subplot features Mr. Burns trying to find a romantic connection through a dating app. In one scene, there’s a book titled “The Fault in Our Stars” prominently displayed. Years later, in 2014, The Fault in Our Stars, a best-selling novel by John Green, was adapted into a highly successful film. This might be considered another example of the show’s eerily accurate cultural prediction.
8. The Discovery of the “Planet 9” (2000):
In the same episode “Bart to the Future”(2000), the show references a mysterious “Planet” in the context of future astronomical discoveries. In 2016, astronomers confirmed the possible existence of a “Planet Nine” at the edge of our solar system, an uncharted planet whose existence had been theorized based on unusual orbits of other objects.
9. Ebola Outbreak (1997):
In the episode “Lisa’s Sax” (season 9, episode 1), there is a scene where Marge reads a headline in the newspaper that says, “Ebola Virus Makes a Comeback.” The episode aired years before the Ebola outbreak that occurred in West Africa in 2014, raising eyebrows as the show had mentioned the virus’s return to public awareness well ahead of time.
10. Auto-Correct (1994) :
In the episode ” Lisa on Ice” (season 6, episode 8), Homer sends a text message to Marge with a clumsy and incorrect message. The episode is often cited as having predicted the phenomenon of autocorrect errors, which became a major features of smartphones in the following decade.