D’oh! 20 Instances When The Simpsons Accurately Predicted The Future
Poor Buffalo
Image Source: USA Today’s FTW
From 1992-94, The Simpsons correctly predicted the Super Bowl winner each year. In an episode dedicated to Homer and Lisa’s proclivity for sports gambling, Homer discovers that Lisa has a gift for predicting football winners. “Lisa the Greek”, originally aired in January 1992, saw Lisa predicting a Washington Redskins victory over the Buffalo Bills. In 1993 and 1994, Lisa picked the Dallas Cowboys to overcome the Bills. Buffalo can’t catch a break.
O Canada
Image Source: MSN.com
It wasn’t until October 2018 that recreational use of marijuana became legal in Canada. However, the show referenced this moment 13 years prior. In an episode which sees Homer and Ned Flanders travel to Canada in search of cheaper prescription drugs, Ned encounters a Canadian version of himself. Ned’s doppelgänger subsequently offers up this gem:
“Say, would you like to puff on a reeferino? It’s legal here.”
Disney Runs Hollywood
Image Source: cnet.com
This prediction dates back to November 8, 1998. In an episode titled “When You Dish Upon a Star,” the iconic image of 20th Century Fox appeared outside an implied Fox studio. However, at the bottom of the sign there was a slight variation of the classic logo — “20th Century Fox, a Division of Walt Disney Co.” In December of 2017, Disney acquired 21st Century Fox for $52.4 billion — 19 years after The Simpsons called their shot.
God Particle
Image Source: Mashable
It is safe to say Homer isn’t the sharpest tool in the shed. Although, in an 1998 episode titled “The Wizard of Evergreen Terrace,” Homer writes out an equation that closely resembles the equation of the “God particle” — which wasn’t discovered until 2012.
“That equation predicts the mass of the Higgs boson,” Simon Singh, author of the 2013 book “The Simpsons and Their Mathematical Secrets,” told the British newspaper The Independent in 2015. “If you work it out, you get the mass of a Higgs boson that’s only a bit larger than the nano-mass of a Higgs boson actually is. It’s kind of amazing as Homer makes this prediction 14 years before it was discovered.”
President Trump
Image Source: SAYS.com
Donald Trump floated the idea of running for president long before he decided to do so. In 2000, the show had an episode in which Lisa was the POTUS. While sitting in the Oval Office, Lisa utters this statement:
“As you know, we’ve inherited quite a budget crunch from President Trump.”
While it is not the biggest reach to joke about Trump’s proclamations, it is quite odd that The Simpsons were 16 years ahead of the curve.
Papa-Paparazzi
Image Source: Billboard
Lady Gaga made an impactful appearance in Springfield. With Lisa down in the dumps, Gaga invades the city in an attempt to uplift Lisa. At one point during the concert, Gaga flies over the audience on a wire. Fast-forward five years, Gaga performed during the Super Bowl LI halftime show. You guessed it, she was also on a wire for part of that legendary performance.
Bengt Holmström
Image Source: Hollywood Reporter
Bengt Holmström is a very intelligent man. Alongside Harvard grad Oliver Hart, Holmström won the Nobel Prize in Economics in 2016. During the Season 22 premiere in 2010, Lisa and Milhouse participated in a school-wide pool betting on Nobel Prize winners. Milhouse, in the field of Economics, chose Holmström as his winner.
Ring of Fire
Image Source: The Simpsons
The history between Homer and Moe, a local tavern owner, is somewhat contentious. One such example — Homer told Moe about a cocktail that included cough medicine and fire. Moe betrayed Homer’s trust and began selling the “Flaming Moe” and found great success. In real life, a bar owner in New York began mixing Jägermeister and Bacardi 151 with Robitussin, and subsequently set it on fire. This man was clearly a fan of the show.
Homer’s Plan
Image Source: The Simpsons
Homer is an opportunist. In the episode “In Lard of the Dance,” Homer enlists the help of his son, Bart, in order to steal grease from Springfield Elementary. Homer knows that he can resell the grease and make money. 13 years later, in 2011, St. Louis police were notified that thieves had stolen $2,000 worth of grease from a restaurant. People don’t always make the best decisions.
LLD and the McRib
Image Source: Gifer
This one is gross. By now you have probably seen the infamous ‘pink slime’ that fast-food chains had in their kitchens. Well, in one episode of The Simpsons, Lunch Lady Doris is seen putting gym mats through the school’s meat grinder. Unfortunately, one of the ingredients in the McRib is also used in the manufacturing of gym mats.
Homer Up To His Old Tricks
Image Source: Gifer
Homer has a knack for stealing food products. First grease, now sugar. After spotting a disabled truck full of sugar, Homer takes advantage of the situation by stealing the goods and begins pawning it off in his neighborhood. Over in India, two children were arrested in 2009 for stealing a sugar truck that they were tasked with cleaning. To make matters worse, the two had stolen the truck from their boss.
Super Curling
Image Source: ABC News
In 2010, the United States captured a gold medal in curling thanks to Homer and Marge Simpson. In 2018, John Shuster led the American curlers to Olympic gold for the first time ever. In the 2010 episode “Boy Meets Curl,” Springfield’s favorite couple defeated Sweden and Russia to win the gold. At last year’s Olympic Games, the American’s also defeated Sweden to claim the gold.
Read to Lead
Image Source: Know Your Meme
During The Simpson’s Movie, a not-so-veiled shot was taken at Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger’s intelligence. Schwarzenegger was four years into his run as Governor at the time of the movie’s 2007 release. The line in question — “I was elected to lead, not to read.”
Five years later, in the midst of the 2012 GOP race, Herman Cain ran this inspiring slogan:
“We need a leader, not a reader.”
We are just as confused as you are.
Tomacco Road
Image Source: IMDb
In the midst of Homer’s glove-slapping heel turn, he takes his family to the old farm he used to live on. While there, he breeds a tobacco/tomato hybrid which he dubs ‘tomacco.’ Drawing inspiration from Homer, a man named Rob Baur decided to grow his own hybrid plant at his home in Oregon. There is no word on whether the project has been a success.
Extreme Burgers
Image Source: Paste Magazine
The Simpsons made mouths water with their Good Morning Burger — an 18 oz burger bathed in butter and sporting bacon, ham and a fried egg. At the time of the episode’s release, items such as the Sourdough Jack and the Baconator didn’t exist. Now, almost any fast-food establishment and many restaurants carry a similar monstrosity.
Attention Grabber
Image Source: YouTube
The adventures of Itchy and Scratchy make for some of the most memorable moments in Simpson’s history. When the duo had a movie coming out in Springfield, they decided to advertise via a billboard that spewed blood whenever Itchy hit Scratchy over the head. When New Zealand was getting ready for the TV premiere of Kill Bill, a billboard was erected that likewise sprayed blood.
Homer Wonka
Image Source: YouTube
Homer’s love for food — especially sweets — runs deep. In one memorable episode, Homer learns of his heritage. When Homer starts to envision “the Land of Chocolate” (Germany), Homer visualizes the entire town being made out of chocolate. Buildings, rivers, animals — everything is chocolate. Enter, China. A theme park made entirely of chocolate opened its doors in 2011.
What Killed The Dinosaurs?
Image Source: Imgur
The Ice Age! Before Arnold Schwarzenegger mesmerized audiences as Mr. Freeze in Batman & Robin, The Simpsons had their own icy moment. In the episode, “Last Exit to Springfield,” Homer and Bart decide to watch a McBain film. In said film, McBain comes through an ice sculpture and delivers an all-time classic bit of dialogue — “Ice to see you.”
Between that poor line and the appearance of Mr. Freeze four years later, the audience has had enough.
Ned Flanders Hangover
Image Source: Pintrest
The similarities between The Simpsons trip to Vegas and the film The Hangover are striking. Ned Flanders and Homer had quite the time in Vegas. They played poker, wrecked their suite, came face-to-face with a tiger, and met Mike Tyson. The Hangover crew played poker, wrecked their suite, came face-to-face with a tiger, and met Mike Tyson. Hmmm….
Chipmunk Wars
Image Source: Mashable
The Simpsons did it again. Ginormous Pictures promoted both “Star Wars: The Apology” and “Alvin and the Chipmunks 3: Gettin’ Rabies!” at the same time, on the same facade. In December 2015, Star Wars: The Force Awakens and Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Road Chip came out at the same time.
