If you’ve ever been halfway through a news story and thought, “Wait… didn’t The Simpsons do this already?” you’re not the only one. For more than 30 years, Springfield’s most dysfunctional family has been dishing out laughs, cultural jabs, and—somehow—an uncanny number of eerily accurate predictions. From political twists to tech breakthroughs, the show has a knack for “calling it” long before real life catches up.
Here’s a journey through 16 of the oddest, funniest, and most mind-blowing moments The Simpsons appeared to have a peek into the future, counting backwards from the latest jaw-dropper.
16. Cypress Hill Meets the London Symphony Orchestra
In the 1996 episode Homerpalooza, Cypress Hill “accidentally” books the London Symphony Orchestra for their set, leading to a bizarrely classy jam session. Flash-forward to July 2024, and it happened—Cypress Hill performed with the LSO at London’s Royal Albert Hall. As B-Real put it, without that Simpsons episode, “we probably wouldn’t be doing this.”
15. Japan’s Prime Minister and the Fukushima Fish
Way back in 1990, Two Cars in Every Garage and Three Eyes on Every Fish featured Mr. Burns consuming a mutant fish on live television to “prove” his power plant was safe. In 2023, Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and his cabinet consumed sashimi from Fukushima to demonstrate the seafood was okay after wastewater was released—eliciting immediate Simpsons parallels.
14. The Disney-Fox Acquisition
An offhand joke during the 1998 episode When You Dish Upon a Star included the 20th Century Fox logo emblazoned with “A Division of Walt Disney Co.” What was a merger-of-media joke turned out to be true in 2019, when Disney acquired Fox for $71.3 billion.
13. Smartwatches and Video Chat
In Lisa’s Wedding (1995), Lisa’s future fiancé calls from his watch, and Lisa video-calls her mom. Seemed implausible then—until FaceTime and smartwatches were commonplace tech by the 2010s.
12. Homer and the Higgs Boson
In The Wizard of Evergreen Terrace (1998), Homer scribbles an intricate formula on a blackboard. Decades later, scientists found it closely estimated the mass of the Higgs boson particle, found in 2012. Coincidence? You decide.
11. Lady Gaga’s Super Bowl Entrance
In Lisa Goes Gaga (2012), the diva floats above Springfield on wires in a glittery costume. Five years later, she made a remarkably similar appearance at the actual Super Bowl halftime show.
10. President Trump
The 2000 episode Bart to the Future makes a passing reference to Lisa taking over, “quite a budget crunch from President Trump.” Sixteen years later, Donald Trump became president. The show’s post-election chalkboard joke? “Being right sucks.”
9. Milhouse Calls the Nobel Prize
During Elementary School Musical (2010), Milhouse wagers Finnish economist Bengt R. Holmström will receive the Nobel Prize in Economics. Six years after the episode aired, Holmström won it.
8. U.S. Curling Gold
The 2010 Boy Meets Curl episode has Homer and Marge guide the U.S. to curling gold against Sweden. In 2018, Team USA defeated Sweden for their first-ever men’s curling gold.
7. FIFA’s Corruption Gets Exposed
In You Don’t Have to Live Like a Referee (2014), Homer officiates the World Cup during rampant FIFA corruption. In the next year, the actual FIFA was shaken by one of the largest corruption scandals in sporting history.
6. The Siegfried & Roy Incident
In the 1993 $ Springfield episode, a Siegfried & Roy parody act is attacked by their white tiger. Ten years later, Roy Horn had his career-ending tiger assault on stage in Las Vegas.
5. The Ebola Reference
In Lisa’s Sax (1997), Marge attempts to lift Bart’s spirits with a book called Curious George and the Ebola Virus. Ebola was not well known in the U.S. at the time, but large outbreaks years later made the scene prophetic.
4. Restaurant Grease Thefts
In Lard of the Dance (1998), Homer and Bart attempt to earn money by stealing and selling grease. Years later, “grease theft” was actually a real crime trend, with criminals stealing used cooking oil to make money on biodiesel.
3. Beatle Fan Mail—50 Years Late
In Brush With Greatness (1991), Ringo Starr finally responds to fan mail written decades ago. In 2013, two Essex women received a response from Paul McCartney—50 years after posting him a mixtape.
2. The NSA Is Listening
The Simpsons Movie (2007) depicts the NSA watching everyone. Six years on, Edward Snowden’s leaks proved mass surveillance was indeed very real.
1. Submarine Disaster Foreshadowing
In Homer’s Paternity Coot (2006), Homer is stuck in a submersible during a treasure hunt. In 2023, the OceanGate Titan exploded on a Titanic expedition—having eerily similar communication issues to the episode.
Whether it’s biting satire or simple coincidence, The Simpsons’ future-predicting powers are the stuff of legend. Okay, they may not have a crystal ball stashed behind Moe’s tavern, but at this point, you can’t blame us for wondering.