10 frighteningly accurate prophecies from The Simpsons

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

The Trump presidency, the Ebola epidemic and the three-eyed fish.

The Simpsons are rich in scenes that then come true in real life. It's not about the magical abilities of the screenwriters. In order for the series to be truly interesting and topical, they have to follow the news in different areas and react to them in a timely manner. So it's just a reflection of reality. However, some of the script moves are definitely worth considering.

1. A three-eyed fish was caught in a pond near the nuclear power plant

The Simpsons kids were fishing in a pond near the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant, and Bart caught a three-eyed fish. At the same time, numerous violations were revealed at the station.

This is not to say that the prediction was so incredible. The issue of mutation due to radiation has been discussed for a long time, and the emergence of an aquatic animal with three eyes was only a matter of time. But in 2011 in Argentina, in a reservoir next to a local nuclear power plant, a three-eyed fish was actually caught.

2. The statue of David was censored

Marge fights to have scenes of cruelty and violence removed from her children's favorite cartoon. She achieves her goal, but her associates turn the idea into absurdity. They oppose the display of a statue of David in Springfield because he is naked. During a talk show on the subject, TV host Kent Brockman shows off a sculpture wearing trousers.

In 2016, a resident of St. Petersburg complained about the nudity of a copy of the statue of David, installed near the Church of St. Anna on Kirochnaya Street. In her words, the sculpture spoils the image of the city and badly affects children. As a result, the “Dress David” campaign was launched. Anyone could offer their own version of an outfit for a world masterpiece. During the action, the statue's genitals were covered with a cap.

3. Terrorists blew up the towers of the World Trade Center

In the episode, Lisa is holding a magazine. The $ 9 price tag and the image of the World Trade Center towers on it resemble the fateful date of September 11, written in American format: 9.11. The prediction seems far-fetched - so, in fact, it is. But in retrospect, it looks ominous.

4. There was an epidemic of Ebola

Marge invites the sad Bart to read Curious George and the Ebola Virus. It is difficult to consider this a complete prediction: the virus was discovered in 1976. However, at the time of the episode's release, he was so far off the agenda that his mention can be considered curious.

Major epidemics of Ebola were recorded in 1995, 2000, 2003, 2007 and 2014.

5. Disney bought 20th Century Fox

In this episode, a sign in front of 20th Century Fox headquarters indicates that it is a division of the Walt Disney Co. It must have looked incredible then. But in the late 2010s, Disney did buy the movie studio.

6. A hybrid of tomatoes and tobacco appeared

Homer, who suddenly became a farmer, invents the tomac, a hybrid of tomato and tobacco. A disgusting-tasting vegetable quickly becomes addictive, and therefore has a commercial success.

This episode did not predict the appearance of the tomak, but rather inspired its creation. The Simpsons fan Rob Baur got a vegetable with a nicotine content, though not by crossing, but by grafting a tomato sprout to tobacco.

7. An electoral machine falsified voter votes

Homer tries to vote for Barack Obama using a special machine. However, he counts the vote for his rival John McCain.

In 2012, in Pennsylvania, the already real voting machine had to be removed because it voted for Barack Obama to his rival Mitt Romney.

8. Bengt Holmström was nominated for the Nobel Prize

Lisa, Martin and Milhouse are betting on who will receive the Nobel Prize. Bengt Holmström is among the nominees that can be seen on Martin's card. True, he did not receive an award in the cartoon.

The Nobel Prize in Economics for Contributions to Contract Theory was awarded to MIT professor Bengt Holmström in 2016.

9. Donald Trump became president of the United States

Bart sees the future in which Lisa became the president of the United States. At the White House meeting, Lisa says, "As you know, President Trump left us with a budget crisis." It is clear from the context that she took office immediately after him. True, Trump himself does not appear in this episode, and footage with him, which are considered prophetic, is cut from the Trumptastic Voyage video released in 2015.

It is also worth noting that the idea of him as a politician in 2000 did not arise from scratch. In the 2000 presidential election, he participated in the reform party primaries. But he became president only in 2017.

10. Smart watches, video communication, autocorrect and other technologies appeared

Photo: frame from the series "The Simpsons"

Photo: frame from the series "The Simpsons"

Photo: frame from the series "The Simpsons"

These predictions were in different series, but they should be combined into one paragraph. The reason is simple: they cannot be ignored, but they cannot be considered something supernatural. By the time they appeared in the animated series, these technologies already existed, albeit not in the form in which we know about them now.

In the 19th episode of season six, Lisa's Wedding, which takes the Simpsons into the future, her boyfriend is on the phone hours later. Here, Lisa communicates with Marge using a screen that is attached to a regular dial phone. An episode earlier, the bully Dolph sets himself a reminder with the words "Beat up Martin", and gets "Eat up, Martha" ("Eat, Martha").