Buzz
There are countless reasons why The Simpsons is widely considered one of the greatest sitcoms, and arguably one of the best TV shows ever. It has stood the test of time, continuing to shape pop culture with its remarkable storytelling, sharp humor, and infamous predictions. So many predictions. It's as if someone on The Simpsons writing team owns a crystal ball, predicting everything from Donald Trump’s presidency to Disney’s eventual acquisition of their parent company.
While some of these so-called predictions might just be pure chance, many appear to be the result of the writers' acute awareness of current events. Observing societal trends and incorporating them into the show often led to future events resembling the storylines. It’s less about being psychic and more about being perceptive and clever. This results in moments like these.
10. The Rise of Donald Trump as President
The Simpsons truly gained recognition for its predictive prowess when it eerily predicted Donald Trump becoming president. In a 2000 episode titled “Bart to the Future,” we see a future where Bart is struggling, while Lisa becomes the first straight female president. A telling line in the episode has Lisa saying, “We’ve inherited quite the budget crunch from President Trump.” Out of all the celebrities The Simpsons could have chosen for president, why was Trump the one?
Perhaps there are some magicians working at 20th Century Fox. Or maybe it’s because Donald Trump did actually attempt to run for president in 2000, the same year the episode aired. Back then, he ran as a Reform Party candidate, and the writers might have seen a chance to highlight how outlandish it would be if Trump actually became president. In fact, 2000 wasn’t even the first time he teased the idea of running for office—he had been hinting at it since 1988.
9. Apple Watches
The 1995 episode “Lisa’s Wedding” gave us another sneak peek into the future of The Simpsons. This time, they predicted yet another groundbreaking piece of technology. In the episode, Lisa’s fiancé sports a watch that bears a striking resemblance to what we now know as the Apple Watch. This uncanny similarity was even highlighted in a Mashable article.
To begin with, the watch featured in the episode doesn't resemble the Apple Watch at all. Instead, The Simpsons presented a literal phone attached to a wristband, which is more reminiscent of the classic phone watches from Dick Tracy. This wasn’t so much a prediction of future phone watches, but rather a nod to the iconic detective series.
8. Autocorrect
While discussing tech, many viewers believe The Simpsons foretold the rise of autocorrect. It’s the reason why your texts might tell people you're ‘ducking’ happy instead of... well, you know. The episode in question shows Dolph attempting to write a note that says 'Beat up Martin,' but autocorrect changes it to 'Eat up Martha.'
Much like the Trump prediction, The Simpsons was simply making fun of a trend that was relevant at the time, which continues to be an issue today. In the mid-1990s, Apple released the Newton, a device with a notoriously poor touch-input system. The result? A laughingstock in the tech world, as many people struggled to input messages without the Newton ruining them. It’s ironic—humans landed on the Moon, yet we couldn’t get a phone to spell correctly.
7. Voting Machine Errors
In the 2008 Treehouse of Horror special, there was a joke where Homer attempts to vote for Barack Obama, but the voting machine mistakenly records his vote for John McCain. This moment was eerily similar to a 2012 incident in the election, where a voting machine swapped a vote for Barack Obama with one for Mitt Romney.
It’s no surprise that voting machine issues have been prevalent since the advent of voting machines. A 2008 report from The New York Times noted that around 143 voting machines malfunctioned that year. These malfunctions ranged from printer jams to machines shutting down without explanation. Given the sizable victories Obama secured in both 2008 and 2012, he probably didn’t lose much sleep over Homer Simpson’s potentially misplaced vote.
6. The Ebola Outbreak
To clarify upfront: No, The Simpsons did not predict the emergence of a new disease, despite what some internet theories suggest. In a 1997 episode, Marge offers to read a book titled “Curious George and the Ebola Virus,” featuring an (hopefully) napping George on the cover. In 2014, the Ebola outbreak caused widespread fear and panic in the U.S.—even though there wasn’t much reason to worry about it.
The Ebola virus was initially identified in 1976 in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and it has since caused devastation across various African nations. Most Americans likely didn't realize the virus even existed until a few cases emerged in the U.S. This seems like a case where a Simpsons writer was attempting to educate the American public about the disease. Unfortunately, it took over a decade before the message fully registered.
5. Lady Gaga Performing At The Super Bowl
Lady Gaga has risen to international fame, so it’s no surprise that The Simpsons dedicated an entire episode to her. However, the odd part is that many people believe the episode predicted Lady Gaga’s performance at the 2017 Super Bowl. CNN even specifically used language linking the episode to the Super Bowl.
The episode makes no mention of the Super Bowl. The performance in question takes place when Lady Gaga first visits Springfield. The main connection people seem to make between the two is that Lady Gaga flies through the air on a wire. But flying pop stars pulling off acrobatic feats are hardly new. Just ask P!nk.
4. Siegfried And Roy Tiger Attack
In the iconic 1993 episode, “$pringfield (Or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Legalized Gambling),” Mr. Burns introduces a parody of Siegfried and Roy, featuring performers with white tigers in their act. While the episode treated the tiger attack as a joke, a similar incident tragically occurred to the real Roy Horn in 2003, years after the episode aired.
While most of the entries on this list have some backstory explaining how The Simpsons writers came up with their ideas, this one has a slightly different explanation:
They. Were. Tigers.
It’s certainly unfortunate what happened to Roy, but they were live tigers. No matter how well-trained an animal may be, one bad moment is all it takes to trigger an attack. If you need more evidence, just watch Blackfish for other examples of similar events. The Simpsons simply foresaw what was bound to happen at some point.
3. Mass of the Higgs Boson
At first, we were almost impressed by this prediction because of its sheer magnitude. In a 1998 episode, Homer becomes an inventor and writes an equation on a blackboard. While viewers might be distracted by the decaying doughnut at the bottom of the board, the equation at the top almost precisely predicts the real mass of the Higgs boson, a key elementary particle in particle physics. Fifteen years later, scientists discovered that Homer’s equation was remarkably close to the actual mass of the particle.
So, how could this be possible? It turns out the writer’s room for The Simpsons is not only packed with some of the funniest people around but also some of the brightest minds. The equation Homer wrote was proposed in the 1960s but wasn’t proven conclusively until 50 years later.
But how did some TV writers know about this? We may owe this one to Al Jean. Jean, a former showrunner on The Simpsons, actually attended Harvard at just 16 years old. It’s quite possible that Jean was aware of the equation and decided to include it as one of the world’s most sophisticated and subtle Easter eggs ever.
2. Nobel Prize Winner
In a Season 22 episode of The Simpsons, there’s a gag where Lisa, Martin, and Milhouse bet on who will win which Nobel Prizes. Surprisingly, Milhouse actually guessed one correctly. In 2016, Bengt R. Holmstrom indeed won the Nobel Prize for economics, just as they predicted. We’re curious how much Milhouse cashed in from that bet.
If you take a closer look at the picture, you'll see numerous names on the card. These are all real people, and each one has made contributions that would qualify them for a Nobel Prize. In this case, The Simpsons simply played the odds and ended up getting one right, proving to the world that The Simpsons is staffed by bona fide psychics.
1. Disney Buys 20th Century Fox
This prediction is one of the more recent revelations. In a 1998 episode, there’s a brief visual gag when the Simpsons go to Fox Studios for Homer to make a movie. In the background, there’s a sign showing the 20th Century Fox logo, accompanied by the phrase: “A Division of Walt Disney Co.” As we now know, Disney did indeed acquire Fox, which means Disney officially owns The Simpsons. Funny how things work out.
Fox is just the latest in a long line of media properties consumed by Disney. The entertainment behemoth also owns ESPN, Lucasfilm, Marvel, ABC, A&E Networks, and countless others. It’s likely that in 1998, the writers were already aware of Disney’s buying spree and decided to have a little fun by predicting if Disney would one day take over Fox. Turns out, they couldn’t have been more right.
