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From Donald Trump’s presidency to Disney’s acquisition of Fox,The Simpsonshas proven itself to be the crystal ball of television. What started as satirical jokes and seemingly absurd plot points has transformed into a fascinating collection of predictions that actually came true, leaving fans and skeptics alike scratching their heads in disbelief.
No joke, this beloved animated series has been serving up predictions about our future for over three decades now. From presidential elections to tech innovations, they’ve nailed it so many times it’s actually getting a bit creepy. Ready to have your mind blown? Let’s check out 20 timesThe Simpsonsmade us all believe they’ve got a crystal ball hidden in their writers’ room!
1Donald Trump’s Presidency (2000)
Starting off with one of their most mind-blowing predictions ever. Picture yourself watchingThe Simpsonsback in 2000, when they dropped this bombshell inBart to the Future(Season 11, Episode 17). The episode shows Lisa becoming president afterDonald Trump‘s disastrous run in the White House. Everyone laughed it off because, come on, President Trump? That’s crazy talk! The writers even showed Trump leaving the country in massive debt, and Lisa having to clean up the mess.
Fast forward to 2016, and suddenly nobody was laughing anymore. Even the episode’s writer,Dan Greaney said,
…just seemed like the logical last stop before hitting bottom. It was pitched because it was consistent with the vision of America going insane.
Even the outfit that Lisa Simpson wore was quite similar toKamala Harris‘s outfit after the presidency of Trump in 2021.
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Turns out, what was meant to be a ridiculous joke turned into an eerily accurate preview of reality. How’s that for predictive comedy?
2Disney’s Acquisition of Fox (1998)
This one’s straight-up bizarre, folks! Back in the 1998 episodeWhen You Dish Upon a Star(Season 10, Episode 5),The Simpsonsslipped in what seemed like a throwaway joke showing 20th Century Fox as “a division of Walt Disney Co.” Everyone had a good laugh and moved on, because seriously, what were the chances?
But in 2019, Disney completed its$71.3 billion acquisitionof 21st Century Fox, making this prediction come true with stunning accuracy. The show’s writers probably didn’t realize they were predicting their own future corporate overlords, but here we are, living in a world where Homer Simpson and Mickey Mouse share the same corporate family.
3Smartwatches (1995)
Remember when the coolest tech we had was a calculator watch? Well, while we were all playing Snake on our Nokia bricks,The Simpsonswas out here predicting the future of wearable tech! In a 1995 titledLisa’s Wedding(Season 6, Episode 19), we see Hugh Parkfield (Lisa’s future husband) using his watch as a miniature phone. This prediction came about two decades before the Apple Watch’s 2015 debut and the subsequent smartwatch revolution.
WhileDick Tracymight have pioneered the concept of watch-based communication,The Simpsonsgave us a much more accurate preview of how we’d actually end up using this technology in our daily lives. Talk about hitting the nail on the head!
4Autocorrect Fails (1994)
In what might be one of the most relatable predictions,The Simpsonsforesaw the frustrating world of autocorrect mistakes. During a scene of the episodeLisa On Ice(Season 6, Episode 8) where bullies are using school computers, their message “Beat up Martin” gets autocorrected to “Eat up Martha.” This seemingly simple joke became prophetic as mobile phones began dominating our lives.
The prediction was so accurate that when Apple was developing the iPhone’s autocorrect feature, they specifically referred to this scene as “the Eat up Martha problem.”Nitin Ganatra, a founding member of the iPhone software group, said:
We needed to ensure the text input works on this thing, otherwise, “Here comes the Eat Up Marthas.“
A cartoon joke became a literal reference point for tech development! The Simpsons didn’t just predict the future – they gave it a catchphrase.
5The Higgs Boson Particle (1998)
Get ready for the nerdiest prediction ever! In a 1998 episode titled,The Wizard of Evergreen Terrace(Season 10, Episode 2), Homer Simpson – our favorite nuclear safety inspector somehow scribbled an equation that predicted the mass of the Higgs boson particle.
And we’re not talking about some vague guess here – the equation actually came super close to the real deal discovered at CERN in 2012! Like, how does that even happen? Were quantum physicists moonlighting as comedy writers?
Scientists were shocked when they realized a cartoon predicted one of the biggest scientific discoveries of the century to such close accuracy. Maybe we should start checking Homer’s chalkboard scribblings for other physics breakthroughs!
6Nobel Prize Winner (2010)
So, in this one Simpsons episode,Elementary School Musical(Season 22, Episode 1), Milhouse, that nerdy kid, is seen filling out a betting pool. And guess what? He casually writes down Bengt R. Holmstrom’s name as the future Nobel Prize winner in Economics. Crazy, right?
Well, fast forward a few years to 2016, and boom!Holmstrom actually wins the Nobel Prize, along with Oliver Hart. Talk about a lucky guess or maybe a sneak peek into the future from the Simpsons writers! It is just further proof that evenThe Simpsonsare good at predicting the future.
7Faulty Voting Machines (2008)
In their Halloween special,Treehouse of Horror XIX(Season 20, Episode 4),The Simpsonsaired what would turn out to be less horror and more reality check! The scene showed Homer trying to vote forBarack Obama, but the machine kept registering his vote for John McCain.
Everyone laughed because, come on, how could a voting machine be that messed up? Well, flash forward to pretty much every election since then, and suddenly it’s not so funny anymore!
We’ve had countless stories aboutvoting machine “glitches,”suspicious counts, andtechnical difficulties. The episode basically became a preview of every election controversy we’ve had since.
Who knew a Halloween episode would end up being scarier in real life than it was as a cartoon? Maybe next election, we should just use paper ballots!
8Lady Gaga’s Super Bowl Performance (2012)
Talk about life imitating art! In 2012 in an episode titledLisa Goes Gaga(Season 23, Episode 22),The SimpsonsfeaturedLady Gagaperforming while suspended in the air over Springfield, rocking a metallic outfit and some crazy aerial moves.
Fast forward to Super Bowl LI in 2017, and what do we see? Gaga literally recreating the cartoon performance down to the smallest details! We’re talking same silver outfit vibes, same wire-suspended acrobatics, and even similar poses!
The similarities were so wild that fans immediately started posting side-by-side comparisons online. The only thing missing was Homer yelling “Woo-hoo!” in the background.
Did Gaga’s choreographer secretly binge-watchThe Simpsonsfor inspiration? Or maybe the show’s writers are just really good at predicting pop star performances? Either way, it’s another point for Springfield’s crystal ball!
9Facetime Calls (1995)
Back when most of us thought high-tech meant having a phone with an antenna that actually worked,The Simpsonswas out here predicting video calls like it was no big deal! Again, mentioning theLisa’s Weddingepisode, Lisa and Marge were having a casual video chat on handheld devices, and everyone watching probably thought, “Yeah, right, like that’ll ever happen!”
They nailed everything about video calling: the awkward angles, parents holding the phone way too close to their faces, and those classic “Can you see me?” moments. The only thing they didn’t predict was how many of us would be doing these calls in our pajamas while pretending to be professionally dressed from the waist up!
10The Corrupt FIFA Scandal (2014)
In what has to be one of their most jaw-dropping predictions, The Simpsons aired an episode titledYou Don’t Have to Live Like a Referee(Season 25, Episode 16) featuring FIFA officials getting hauled off in handcuffs. At the time, everyone was like, “Haha, good one!” because, you know, who’d believe soccer’s governing body could be that corrupt?
Well, hold onto your soccer balls, because just months later, real FBI agents werearresting actual FIFA executiveson corruption charges! The show even got the international scandal vibe right, with officials from different countries getting nabbed. Additionally, they predicted that Brazil would lose to Germany. It happened in thesemi-finals instead of the finals, but close enough!
11Horse Meat Scandal (1994)
Here’s a prediction that’ll make you think twice about cafeteria food! In the episode titledSweet Seymour Skinner’s Baadasssss Song(Season 5, Episode 19), Lunch Lady Doris was casually mentioned using “assorted horse parts” in the school meals. Everyone laughed because, come on, who’d actually put horse meat in food products?
Cut to 2013, and Europe is having a complete meltdown afterdiscovering horse meatin everything from lasagna to burger patties! The scandal was massive – we’re talking major food companies, supermarket chains, and a whole lot of explaining to do.
The Simpsonsdidn’t just predict the scandal; they nailed the casual way it was handled by food suppliers. Though thankfully, real lunch ladies weren’t as brutally honest as Doris about their mystery meat sources! This prediction was so accurate, it probably made a lot of people seriously reconsider their frozen dinner choices!
12Siegfried and Roy, Tiger Attack (1993)
This one’s actually kind of freaky. In a ’93 episode titled$pringfield(Season 5, Episode 10),The Simpsonsincluded a parody ofSiegfried and Roy, where their white tiger turns on them during a show. Everyone thought it was just another wacky cartoon gag, until2003when Roy Horn was seriously injured by one of his white tigers during a live performance.
It’s one of those predictions that makes you wonder if the show’s writers have some sort of cosmic warning system. This one definitely falls into the “creepy accurate” category of Simpsons predictions, and probably made a lot of animal trainers nervous about rewatching old episodes.
13Three-Eyed Fish (1990)
In one of the series’ most iconic environmental commentary episodes, we met Blinky, the mutated three-eyed fish who became Springfield’s unofficial mascot for nuclear mishaps. Blinky briefly appeared first in the episode titled,Homer’s Odyssey(Season, 1, Episode 3) but we later see him inTwo Cars in Every Garage and Three Eyes on Every Fish(Season 2, Episode 17).
This seemingly outlandish plot point swam straight into reality in 2011 when fishermen in Argentina pulled a three-eyed wolf fish from a reservoir near – you guessed it – a nuclear power plant. The reservoir was being fed by heated water from the nuclear facility, making this coincidence almost too perfect.
The discovery sparked serious environmental concerns and discussions about nuclear waste management, proving once again thatThe Simpsons‘ satirical takes on environmental issues weren’t just funny – they were eerily prophetic.
14Baby Translator (1992)
In one of the show’s more heartwarming episodes titledBrother, Can You Spare Two Dimes?(Season 3, Episode 24), Homer’s long-lost half-brother Herb Powell bounced back from bankruptcy by inventing a device that could translate baby babbles into comprehensible English. While everyone thought it was just another wacky Simpsons invention, modern technology is catching up to Herb’s genius.
Several AI companies are now developing sophisticated apps that can distinguish between different types of baby cries. While we haven’t quite reached the point where we can translate gibberish into “Dear mother, I would very much appreciate some milk,” we’re getting surprisingly close.
15FarmVille (1998)
Before social media took over our lives and our free time,The Simpsonsshowed Comic Book Guy completely addicted to a virtual farming game in their episode titledBart Carny(Season 9, Episode 12). He obsessively tended to his digital crops, much to the confusion of the other characters.
Fast forward a decade, and suddenly millions of people were doing exactly the same thing with FarmVille on Facebook, sending endless notifications about their virtual carrots and requesting help with their digital barns.
The show basically predicted not just the concept of social media gaming, but the addictive nature of these platforms beforeMark Zuckerberghad even thought about creating Facebook.
The episode perfectly captured how these seemingly simple games could consume people’s lives, showing Comic Book Guy neglecting his beloved comic book store to water his virtual vegetables. It’s a brilliant example of howThe Simpsonsdidn’t just predict specific technologies, but the way these technologies would impact human behavior.
16The Invention of the Tomacco Plant (1999)
In one of Homer’s most memorable agricultural adventures, he accidentally created a hybrid plant combining tomatoes and tobacco – the infamous “tomacco.” Using plutonium as fertilizer (because why not?), he produced a highly addictive fruit that had local animals hooked after just one bite.
While this seemed like typicalSimpsonsabsurdity, it inspired Rob Baur, a dedicated fan and amateur scientist, to attempt the experiment in real life. In 2003, using actual grafting techniques rather than nuclear fertilizer,Baur successfully created a real tomacco plantby grafting tobacco roots onto a tomato plant. The resulting fruit contained nicotine, just like in the show, though significantly less addictive than Homer’s version.
17Average Joe Astronaut (1994)
The episode titledDeep Space Homer(Season 5, Episode 15) where NASA sent Homer Simpson to space seemed like pure comedy gold at the time. The idea that space agencies would send an ordinary citizen into orbit just to boost ratings and public interest seemed absurd – until it wasn’t.
Fast forward to today, and we’ve got billionaires likeElon Musk,Jeff Bezos, andRichard Bransonmaking space tourism a reality. While they might not be launching beer-loving safety inspectors with a fondness for donuts, they are sending civilians into space with minimal training.
Companies likeSpaceXandBlue Originare actively working to make space travel accessible to “regular” people (well, regular people with very deep pockets). The episode even predicted some of the PR aspects of modern space tourism, with Homer’s mission being partly about generating public interest in the space program – something today’s private space companies are very focused on.
18Robotic Library Books (1995)
WhenThe SimpsonsinLisa’s Wedding(this one episode has quite a lot of technical predictions) featured an automated library system with books zooming around on their own, it seemed like something out of a sci-fi fever dream.
Today, modern libraries have embraced automation in ways that would make Lisa Simpson proud.Advanced RFIDsystems track books throughout the library, automated sorting machines organize returns, and self-checkout kiosks have become standard features. The episode cleverly predicted how technology would revolutionize even traditional institutions like libraries.
19The Shard (1995)
Another one ofThe Simpsons‘ predictions that moves into the eerie category comes fromLisa’s Weddingepisode. The opening shot is that of the Big Ben with a digital face (talk about a glow-up) and the London skyline. The psychic ability of the writers comes through when in the left corner of the frame a figure resembling a skyscraper is spotted.
Well, it is not only a regular skyscraper, based on the positioning and shape of the thing it isThe Shard. And the reason why it is on this list is because The Shard was fully constructed only in 2012 (nearly two decades after the episode was aired).
20Michelangelo’s “David” Controversy (1990)
The episode titledItchy & Scratchy & Marge(Season 2, Episode 9) where Springfield residents worked themselves into a moral panic over a nude statue of Michelangelo’s David perfectly satirized American prudishness and artistic censorship. What seemed like exaggerated comedy has since played out multiple times in real communities across America.
In various cities, from Florida to Maine, replica David statues have sparked heated debates about public decency. Just like inThe Simpsons, concerned parents and moral guardians have demanded fig leaves or other coverings for the Renaissance masterpiece.
The Simpsonsagain successfully predicted how these controversies would unfold, complete with town hall meetings, local news coverage, and intense debates about artistic merit versus community standards. The episode remains a pitch-perfect satire of moral panics and censorship attempts, proving that sometimes reality can be just as absurd as a cartoon comedy.
Over three decades, this yellow-skinned family from Springfield has somehow turned into our generation’s personal crystal ball. The show’s writers have this freakishly good knack for catching tiny seeds of what’s brewing in society and spinning them into episodes that end up mirroring reality years or even decades later.
So, next time you’re catching an episode, pay attention to those seemingly random jokes or background gags. For all we know that throwaway line about space pizza delivery or underwater cities might just be a sneak peek at what’s coming our way.The Simpsonsmight just be the longest-running, most accidentally accurate fortune-teller we’ve ever had – and honestly, that’s both hilarious and awesome.
You can streamThe Simpsonson Disney+.
Sweta Rath
Articles Published :269
Sweta Rath is an Author at FandomWire, specializing in long-form articles, explainers, and entertainment analysis covering movies, TV series, and celebrity profiles. A results-driven content strategist, she combines analytical precision with creative storytelling to deliver authoritative entertainment content.Her diverse skill set includes SEO optimization, digital marketing, and WordPress content management, enabling her to create high-performing content that bridges scholarly literary insight with accessible fan engagement across multiple digital platforms.
