How The Simpsons accidentally became the internet’s greatest prophet

The Simpsons, which first aired in 1989, was one of the most popular sitcoms of the time. Thanks to Homer's chaotic persona, Marge’s super tall hair, Bart’s wild pranks, Lisa’s smart ideas, and Maggie, always with her pacifier.

Later, the audience realized that some episodes depicted actual events that had occurred in real life.

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How The Simpsons accidentally became the internet’s greatest prophet

How the discussion of “predictions” began

The Simpsons can predict the future! As an example, we can look at the 2000s when they made a joke about Trump. They showed Trump winning the presidential elections. Years later, it actually happened in 2016; he actually won.

It almost felt like the writers were gifted with a predictive vision. The show also predicts new technology, political events, and social changes before they actually occur.

When fans saw the episodes turning into prophecies, the world was confused and amused. Fan theories reveal that the writers were just really good at spotting trends and making clever jokes. Still, The Simpsons remains a hot topic of discussion to this day.

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Strange similarities in technology

The Simpsons has surprised viewers more than once in terms of technology. In an episode from 1994, a smartwatch-like device was seen, which did not exist in reality at the time.

Many years later, the Apple Watch came into the market, and people were surprised to see old episodes. Another example is video calls. Today, we make video calls every day, but in the nineties, this was a thing of the future.

The Simpsons has already made funny stories about robot technology, virtual reality, and automatic translation machines. These were part of the humor at the time, but in reality, with the development of technology, they have become a reality.

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A touch of the future in politics and the corporate world

Not only technology, but also big political events are seen in this show. For example, in 1998, Homer was seen in the Fox office, where it was written, “A division of Disney.”

It was usually perceived as a joke, but in 2019, Disney really bought Fox. Again, an old scene from The Simpsons is found to be eerily similar to the design of the 2012 London Olympics opening ceremony. These examples spread on the internet, and people started thinking that the writers had traveled into the future. In reality, it was the result of accurate ideas and imagination of changing society.

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Lesser-known prophecies

Beyond the well-known Trump and Disney predictions, The Simpsons has made smaller yet surprising forecasts. A 1994 episode featured a device making “autocorrect” mistakes, long before smartphones caused the same frustration. In another 1997 episode, Marge told Bart to read the book “Curious George and the Ebola Virus.” Most of the audience didn’t even care about Ebola.

But in 2014, Ebola was all over the news. However, The Simpsons also showed a funny three-eyed fish named Blinky living by the power plant. This was long before anyone found weird fish in dirty water for real.

However, in 2012, Homer tried to vote, but the machine changed his vote; this really happened in America later on. Also, in a 1993 episode, there was a flu from Asia that made everyone scared and sick. Years later, COVID-19 showed up and made people think the old episode was just like real life.

In another episode of The Simpsons, horse meat was secretly added to cafeteria food. It was years before the 2013 European horse meat scandal shocked consumers. Even small details like Lady Gaga performing at a Super Bowl halftime show while flying above the crowd in a harness appeared on the show years before she actually did it in 2017.

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The talent and diverse knowledge of the writers

The Simpsons' strength lies not only in its funny stories but also in the talent of its writing team. Many of the writers have higher education in mathematics, science, politics, and even economics.

They used to observe the real world in depth and create stories from that knowledge. Their ability to correctly predict the future makes The Simpsons so unique even today. This proves that the combination of creativity and expertise can make entertainment even stronger than you can imagine.

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Cultural influence and a global connection

The Simpsons is a big part of pop culture, and people everywhere relate to it. For example, Homer gets stressed at work; everyone knows that feeling. Marge tries to keep the house in order, which is tough for several parents.

Bart is always getting into trouble, like many kids do. Lisa loves learning new things, and Maggie just watches it all happen. Plus, The Simpsons talks about big stuff too, like climate change and new technology. Because of all of this, a silly joke from Springfield might become super popular online in countries like Japan or India as well.

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Memes, virality, and the digital age

People on the internet love the show as their treasure trove of memes and viral picks. Now and then, someone finds an old clip of Homer messing up or a funny gadget from a past episode.

Then, if something like that happens in real life, the clip goes viral. Right away, people start using hashtags, posting on Twitter, and talking about it everywhere. The media also joins the fun and asks, “Did The Simpsons predict this?” Really, the internet just likes to make these moments seem special and surprising.

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Finally, the so-called predictions of The Simpsons are actually a combination of our perspective, the influence of social media, and the extraordinary imagination of the writers. The show has humorously portrayed societal trends, making it similar to reality. Therefore, this series should not be seen as a fortune teller but as a symbol of creativity.

Also Read: Who is Santa’s Little Helper in The Simpsons and which episodes does he appear in? Details revealed