Since 1989, The Simpsons has been a staple on the Fox network. With 29 seasons, one movie, and over 600 episodes under its belt, the animated series has done it all, including predicting the future on several occasions. Although most of these predictions are gags, it's strange to see so many news headlines and pieces of technology originate on an episode of The Simpsons.
Obviously, The Simpsons has been on the air almost three decades, so a few things are bound to have come true, but many moments from the show hit the nail on the head. Searching through the series, we narrowed down 10 of the most important and eerily accurate predictions the show made over the years.
Smartwatch (Season 6, Episode 19)
Predicted: 1995
Came True: 2014
When Lisa meets a fortune teller, she is presented with one possible future where she's engaged to a man named Hugh. During one moment, Hugh talks into his watch to order someone around. While smartwatches aren't a household item yet, many people have been using the device since they were made available in 2014.
Faulty Voting Machines (Season 20, Episode 4)
Predicted: 2008
Came True: 2012
Homer steps into an electronic voting booth and tries to vote for Barack Obama. However, each time he presses the touchscreen, a vote registers for John McCain. Something eerily similar happening in 2012 at a voting booth, which wasn't calibrated correctly. Every time the person tried to vote for Obama, it registered one for Mitt Romney.
President Trump (Season 11, Episode 17)
Predicted: 2000
Came True: 2017
Bart takes a glimpse into the future in this 2000 episode, where his sister, Lisa, is President of the United States. She mentions to her Cabinet that they've inherited a budget crunch from President Trump. On January 20, 2017, Donald Trump was sworn into office as President of the United States.
NSA Spying On Civilians (The Simpsons Movie)
Predicted: 2007
Came True/Revealed To The Public: 2013
The Simpson family was on the run during the family's 2007 film, after Homer is caught polluting the lake by the EPA. While escaping on a bus, the NSA spies on their conversation through the bus driver, who was apparently a robot. In 2013, NSA employee Edward Snowden revealed documents to the public that the government agency has been spying on the public.
Bengt R Holstrom Winning The Nobel Prize (Season 22, Episode 1)
Predicted: 2010
Came True: 2016
Lisa, Martin, Database, and Milhouse had a betting pool for the Nobel Prize in this 2010 episode. If you look to the right of the red circle, you'll notice Milhouse picked Bengt R Holstrom to win the prize for Economics. In 2016, Holstrom actually won that prize.
FIFA Corruption (Season 25, Episode 16)
Predicted: 2014
Came True: 2015
Lisa gives a speech about her father being a hero, which goes viral. Because of this, Homer is asked to referee games at the World Cup in Brazil. Homer refuses bribes to fix games, as corruption seems to be rampant at the World Cup. In 2015, it was revealed that certain bodies within FIFA were involved in bribery, fraud, and money laundering.
Mass Of Higgs Boson (Season 10, Episode 2)
Predicted: 1998
Came True: 2012
It's no secret that there are math geeks writing episodes of The Simpsons. In an episode from 1998, Homer wants to be an inventor and in doing so, writes a complicated problem on a chalk board. What's crazy about this is that the equation in question actually predicts the mass of the Higgs Boson--or God particle--which was realized in 2012.
Greece's Debt Default (Season 23, Episode 10)
Predicted: 2012
Came True: 2015
Homer Simpson is invited to be a guest on the TV show Headbutt, and during the episode, the lower ticker has a gag that reads "Europe puts Greece on eBay." It's a throwaway gag about the country's debt. However, in 2015, Greece defaulted on its debt, and the country is still having financial troubles.
Roy Horn Attacked By His Tiger (Season 5, Episode 10)
Predicted: 1993
Came True: 2003
Mr. Burns opens up his own casino in this 1993 episode, complete with its own magic show starring Gunter and Ernst, a Siegfried and Roy parody. During their show, one of the men is attacked by their tiger. In 2003, Roy was attacked by his tiger Montecore, and there injuries were so severe that Roy couldn't walk or talk for a couple of years. Even though he was attacked, Roy made sure no harm came to the tiger, which later died of an illness in 2014.
Disney Owns Fox (Season 10, Episode 5)
Predicted: 1998
Came True: 2017
During an episode in 1998, Ron Howard was pitching a script Homer wrote to 20th Century Fox, and in what seems like a throwaway joke, an establishing shot of the Fox building features a sign that reads "A Division Of Walt Disney Co." At the end of 2017, 21st Century Fox was acquired by Disney for $52 billion.
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