Across 37 seasons and now almost 800 episodes, \u201cThe Simpsons\u201d has\u00a0continued to surprise viewers by seeming to predict the future.<\/p>\n
Gags that start as nothing more than jokes ultimately manifest into reality years later, including global pandemics, US presidencies and international sports scandals.<\/p>\n
Although some of the hit animation\u2019s writers have downplayed the show\u2019s uncanny ability<\/a> to predict the future as \u201ceducated guesses,\u201d loyal fans consider the iconic cartoon a modern-day Nostradamus.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Simpsons\u201d has\u00a0continued to surprise viewers by seeming to predict the future. \u00a920thCentFox\/Courtesy Everett Collection<\/p>\n Fans look at the beloved and long-running cartoon as a modern-day Nostradamus.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s unnerving,\u201d showrunner Matt Selman told Page Six ahead of the show\u2019s 800th episode. \u201cIt sort of makes you think maybe we live in a simulation or something like that.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cBut, I always say that the more unlikely thing would be that we never predicted anything,\u201d he clarified. \u201cBecause I consider these to be coincidences. And if there\u2019s no coincidences, that\u2019s very unlikely and statistically almost impossible.\u201d<\/p>\n Selman, however, did acknowledge that \u201cthe coincidences we did happen to predict are pretty freaky.\u201d<\/p>\n As the beloved series celebrates its 800th episode<\/a> on Sunday, here are the top 10 times \u201cThe Simpsons\u201d predicted the future.<\/p>\n \u201cMarge in Chains\u201d (Season 4, Episode 21)<\/p>\n \u201cThe Simpsons\u201d appeared to predict the COVID-19 pandemic in the 1993 episode \u201cMarge in Chains.\u201d<\/p>\n The episode aired 27 years before COVID-19 disrupted the world. EPA<\/p>\n Nearly 30 years before COVID-19 forced the world<\/a> into a lengthy lockdown, \u201cThe Simpsons\u201d teased a pandemic in the 1993 episode \u201cMarge in Chains\u201d when an illness dubbed the \u201cOsaka Flu\u201d made its way from Japan all the way to Springfield.<\/p>\n The episode received renewed attention when COVID-19 actually hit in 2020, forcing co-writer Bill Oakley to speak out against the \u201cgross\u201d comparisons.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was meant to be absurd that someone could cough into a box and the virus would survive for six to eight weeks in the box,\u201d he told the Hollywood Reporter<\/a> in March 2020.<\/p>\n \u201cIt is cartoonish,\u201d Oakley added. \u201cWe intentionally made it cartoonish because we wanted it to be silly and not scary.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201c$pringfield\u201d (Season 5, Episode 10)<\/p>\n Siegfried & Roy were parodied as Gunter and Ernst in the 1993 episode \u201c$pringfield.\u201d<\/p>\n Siegfried & Roy\u2019s white tiger, Mantacore, later attacked Roy Horn in October 2003. REUTERS<\/p>\n When local billionaire Mr. Burns decided to build a casino in Springfield in the 1993 episode \u201c$pringfield,\u201d he hired the entertainment duo Gunter and Ernst and their white tiger, Anastasia, to perform.<\/p>\n The performance, however, turned tragic when Anastasia attacked the pair and left them in tatters.<\/p>\n A similar incident would unfold in real life a decade later, when Roy Horn\u00a0of the famous magic duo Siegfried & Roy (whom Gunter and Ernst were clearly based on) was almost mauled to death<\/a> by their white tiger Mantacore at the Mirage Resort and Casino in Las Vegas\u00a0in October 2003.<\/p>\n Horn suffered severe injuries during the attack, including extensive blood loss that led to a stroke. The incident ended Horn\u2019s performing career, and he later died from complications of COVID-19<\/a> in 2020 at the age of 75.<\/p>\n \u201cLisa\u2019s Wedding\u201d (Season 6, Episode 19)<\/p>\n \u201cThe Simpsons\u201d predicted in 1995 that the Rolling Stones would still be touring in 2010. Fox<\/p>\n Mick Jagger, Keith Richards and Ronnie Wood were still touring together as late as 2024. Redferns<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\tWant more celebrity and pop culture news?\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tStart your day with Page Six Daily.\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\tThanks for signing up!\n\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n The first time \u201cThe Simpsons\u201d ever explored a future setting was in the 1995 episode \u201cLisa\u2019s Wedding\u201d when Lisa visited a psychic at a local carnival, and the fortune teller showed the eldest Simpson daughter her future husband.<\/p>\n One scene showed Lisa and her future love lying together in a college dorm with a Rolling Stones poster on the wall from the band\u2019s \u201cRolling Stones Steel Wheelchair Tour 2010.\u201d<\/p>\n Not only were Mick Jagger, Keith Richards and Ronnie Wood still touring in 2010, but they were still performing together as the Rolling Stones<\/a> as late as 2024.<\/p>\n Jagger, meanwhile, went on to guest star in the Season 14 episode \u201cHow I Spent My Strummer Vacation,\u201d which aired in 2002.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen You Dish Upon a Star\u201d (Season 10, Episode 5)<\/p>\n When a shot of the 20th Century Fox logo is cast across the screen in a 1998, it\u2019s revealed that the studio was owned by the Walt Disney Co.<\/p>\n Disney purchased the entertainment assets\u00a0of 21st Century Fox for $71 billion in 2019. AP<\/p>\n One of the most surprising predictions made by \u201cThe Simpsons\u201d came during the show\u2019s 1998 episode \u201cWhen You Dish Upon a Star.\u201d<\/p>\n After Homer forms (and later ruins) a close friendship with Kim Basinger, Alec Baldwin and Ron Howard, the \u201cApollo 13\u201d director is seen pitching a movie idea that Homer came up with earlier in the episode to 20th Century Fox.<\/p>\n But when a shot of the 20th Century Fox logo is cast across the screen, it\u2019s revealed that the studio was owned by the Walt Disney Co.<\/p>\n In 2019, 21 years after the episode aired, Disney purchased the entertainment assets\u00a0of 21st Century Fox<\/a> for $71 billion.<\/p>\n \u201cBart to the Future\u201d (Season 11, Episode 17)<\/p>\n During a glimpse into the future, it\u2019s revealed that Lisa is elected commander-in-chief after Donald Trump.<\/p>\n Trump was elected president 16 years after \u201cBart to the Future\u201d aired in March 2000. AFP via Getty Images<\/p>\n While Disney\u2019s purchase of 21st Century Fox was one of the most surprising predictions made by \u201cThe Simpsons,\u201d Donald Trump becoming the US president remains one of the most talked about.<\/p>\n During another glimpse into the future in the 2000 episode \u201cBart to the Future,\u201d it\u2019s revealed that Lisa is elected commander-in-chief after the businessman and reality star.<\/p>\n \u201cAs you know, we\u2019ve inherited quite a budget crunch from President Trump,\u201d Lisa says from the Oval Office.<\/p>\n Trump was elected the 45th president of the United States<\/a> in November 2016, 16 years after \u201cBart to the Future\u201d aired in March 2000.<\/p>\n \u201cHomer\u2019s Paternity Coot\u201d (Season 17, Episode 10)<\/p>\n \u201cThe Simpsons\u201d appeared to predict the OceanGate disaster in an episode that aired years earlier.<\/p>\n Nearly 20 years after \u201cHomer\u2019s Paternity Coot\u201d aired, the OceanGate submersible imploded during a deep-sea expedition. Becky Kagan Schott \/ OceanGate Expeditions<\/p>\n In 2006, nearly two decades before a similar disaster unfolded in real life<\/a>, Homer and a man thought to be his long-lost father set out on an underwater adventure in their own submersibles to find treasure in a sunken ship.<\/p>\n However, the pair\u2019s deep-sea journey took a scary turn when Homer\u2019s personal submarine got caught up in a coral reef, and he seemingly ran out of oxygen \u2013 until America\u2019s favorite everyman wakes up three days later in the hospital.<\/p>\n In June 2023, 17 years after \u201cHomer\u2019s Paternity Coot\u201d aired, an OceanGate submersible carrying five passengers (including a father and his son) imploded during a deep-sea expedition<\/a> to see the ruins of the Titanic. All five passengers perished in the tragedy.<\/p>\n \u201cBoy Meets Curl\u201d (Season 21, Episode 12)<\/p>\n Homer and Marge were recruited to the US curling team for the 2010 Winter Olympics in the episode \u201cBoy Meets Curl.\u201d Fox<\/p>\n Team USA swept Sweden and won its first-ever curling gold medal during the 2018 Winter Olympics. AFP via Getty Images<\/p>\n Besides being parents to Lisa, Bart and Maggie, Homer and Marge Simpson are also Olympic champions.<\/p>\n The central \u201cSimpsons\u201d couple beat Sweden and brought home the gold when they were recruited to the US curling team for the 2010 Winter Olympics in that year\u2019s episode \u201cBoy Meets Curl.\u201d<\/p>\n It only took eight years for that prediction to come true, because Team USA went on to sweep Sweden<\/a> and win its first-ever gold medal in the sport during the 2018 Winter Olympics in PyeongChang, South Korea.<\/p>\n \u201cYou Don\u2019t Have to Live Like a Referee\u201d (Season 25, Episode 16)<\/p>\n \u201cThe Simpsons\u201d predicted both that Germany would win the 2014 FIFA World Cup and that FIFA officials would be investigated for corruption. Fox<\/p>\n The US Department of Justice launched a corruption investigation into numerous FIFA officials in 2015, one year after Germany won the 2014 FIFA World Cup. EPA<\/p>\n To celebrate the 2014 FIFA World Cup, the creators of \u201cThe Simpsons\u201d wrote an episode in which Homer was asked to referee a match because all the other officials were fired for accepting bribes to call matches unfairly.<\/p>\n One scene even depicts the executive vice president of the World Football Federation getting arrested for corruption while speaking with Homer.<\/p>\n Although Homer himself is offered a bribe to call the FIFA World Cup Final unfairly, he ignores the bribe and names Germany the winner over Brazil.<\/p>\n Not only did Germany go on to win the 2014 FIFA World Cup<\/a> four months after \u201cYou Don\u2019t Have to Live Like a Referee\u201d aired that March, but the US Department of Justice launched a corruption investigation<\/a> into numerous FIFA officials in 2015.<\/p>\n Eighteen individuals and two corporations were ultimately indicted on charges of racketeering, wire fraud and money laundering.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Serfsons\u201d (Season 29, Episode 1)<\/p>\n \u201cThe Simpsons\u201d released an episode parodying \u201cGame of Thrones\u201d in 2017.<\/p>\n Two years later, Daenerys and her dragon Drogon burned down King\u2019s Landing in the \u201cGame of Thrones\u201d episode \u201cThe Bells.\u201d HBO<\/p>\n Two years before \u201cGame of Thrones\u201d concluded with its widely panned series finale<\/a>, \u201cThe Simpsons\u201d kicked off its 29th season with an episode poking fun at the HBO hit called \u201cThe Serfsons.\u201d<\/p>\n After Homer revives a dragon to restore magic to the kingdom, the mythical creature turns on the citizens of Springfieldia and begins burning the village down. <\/p>\n Flash forward to May 2019, and many Westeros fans were left furious when Daenerys (Emilia Clarke) mounted her dragon Drogon and burned King\u2019s Landing to the ground<\/a> in the show\u2019s penultimate episode, \u201cThe Bells.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWest Wing Story\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe Simpsons\u201d seemed to predict that Joe Biden would choose Kamala Harris as his 2020 running mate.<\/p>\n Biden chose Harris as his running mate two years after the \u201cSimpsons\u201d short was released, and the pair went on to win the presidency and vice presidency. AP<\/p>\n After \u201cThe Simpsons\u201d predicted Trump\u2019s ascension to the White House long before it actually happened, the show appeared to do it once more for Joe Biden and Kamala Harris.<\/p>\n In the August 2019 short \u201cWest Wing Story,\u201d writer David Silverman parodied \u201cWest Side Story\u201d and depicted then-President Trump in a sing-off against Squad members Rashida Tlaib,\u00a0Ilhan Omar,\u00a0Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and\u00a0Ayanna Pressley.<\/p>\n Trump ultimately lost the sing-off and was chased out of the White House, where he came face-to-face with a long line of 2020 Democratic presidential candidates.<\/p>\n Although they wouldn\u2019t become running mates until August 2020<\/a>, \u201cThe Simpsons\u201d paired Biden and Harris together. The duo were elected president and vice president<\/a> that November.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Across 37 seasons and now almost 800 episodes, \u201cThe Simpsons\u201d has\u00a0continued to surprise viewers by seeming to predict…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":478146,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[64,63,21297,134,243169,62489,137596,427],"class_list":{"0":"post-478145","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-tv","8":"tag-au","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-cartoons","11":"tag-entertainment","12":"tag-simpsons","13":"tag-sitcoms","14":"tag-the-simpsons","15":"tag-tv"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/478145","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=478145"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/478145\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/478146"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=478145"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=478145"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=478145"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}