‘The Simpsons’ has been a beloved TV show, ever since its debut in 1989. It has cemented its status not just for its wit, but also for the shocking predictions that have almost always come true.
Back in 2000, The Simpsons aired an episode titled Bart to the Future. It showed Lisa as president, taking over from “President Trump.” At the time, it was a satirical nod to Trump’s political ambitions. He had made an attempt to run for office via the Reform Party. Fast forward to 2016, and Donald Trump was elected the 45th President of the US. When Trump later announced his run for 2024, fans pointed to the show’s odd prediction. (Image: Instagram)
In the 1993 episode Springfield (Or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Legalized Gambling), magicians inspired by Siegfried and Roy are shown being attacked by their white tiger during a show. Ten years later, in 2003, Roy Horn was mauled by a white Bengal tiger during a live performance in Las Vegas. He survived but was left partially paralysed, which marked the end of the duo’s iconic act. (Image: Instagram)
A brief gag in a 2010 episode of Elementary School Musical shows Milhouse betting on Finnish economist Bengt R. Holmström to win the Nobel Prize in Economics and Database bets on Dutch synthetic organic chemist Ben Feringa for chemistry. But six years later, Holmström did in fact receive the Nobel Prize. He shared the honour with Oliver Hart. (Image: Instagram)
The 1993 episode Marge in Chains portrayed Springfield dealing with a virus outbreak, the Osaka Flu, caused by imported juicers from Japan. As the panic grew, a mob opened a truck, thinking it contained medicine, only to accidentally release a swarm of killer bees. In 2020, the world was hit by COVID-19, a virus that also originated in Asia. Around the same time, there were several outlets that reported the sighting of deadly Asian giant hornets, often called murder hornets in the US. Though the virus in the show was inspired by the 1968 Hong Kong Flu, the overlap led many to draw a connection. (Image: Instagram)
In the 2012 episode Lisa Goes Gaga, the pop star is seen flying over a crowd while attached to cables. Five years later, during the 2017 Super Bowl halftime show, Lady Gaga made a dramatic entrance by descending from the stadium roof on cables. The moment immediately reminded fans of the animated version. (Image: Instagram)
The Simpsons slipped in a small visual gag in a 1998 episode When You Dish Upon a Star where a sign outside the 20th Century Fox studio read “a division of Walt Disney Co.” Nearly two decades later, in 2017, Disney announced it was acquiring 21st Century Fox in a massive $52 billion deal. The transaction, completed in 2019, included Fox’s film and television studios. (Image: Instagram)
In season 2’s 1991 episode Brush with Greatness, Marge reminisces about her teen crush on Ringo Starr. She had sent him a portrait, and years later, he finally replied with a kind letter. While the show had Ringo, something similar played out in real life in 2024. Paul McCartney responded to a fan video made 60 years earlier by a Brooklyn woman named Adrienne. He recorded a sweet message and invited her to his New York photo exhibit. McCartney had also replied to a mixtape from fans that was sent five decades earlier. (Image: Instagram)
Homer’s Paternity Coot, a 2006 episode, features Homer going on a submarine dive with a man claiming to be his real father. Together, they explore a shipwreck in submarines. During the dive, Homer gets separated and stuck. He is seen losing oxygen in the underwater vehicle. On June 18, 2023, five passengers boarded OceanGate’s Titan submersible to visit the Titanic wreck. Within hours, communication was lost, and the sub imploded during descent. A Simpsons writer later shared with The US Sun that he had taken the same dive three times and experienced communication issues on every trip. (Image: Instagram)
