The Simpsons have uncannily predicted true events in their episodes years before they come to fruition. The Simpsons is known for its absurd characters and plots. While the predictions might be eerie to some people, it is simply the writing being rather wacky with their plotlines.
Let’s look at the 5 real events The Simpsons impossibly predicted:
Ebola Outbreak
“Lisa’s Sax” – Season 9, Episode 3 (1997)
Despite the episode premiering in 1997, The Simpsons somehow predicted the 2000 Ebola Outbreak in the Republic of Congo. The episode “Lisa’s Sax” centres on Lisa’s love for the saxophone, but in a weird turn of events, Bart falls sick. Marge then shows him a specifically titled book, Curious George and The Ebola Virus. Since Ebola was relatively unknown, it’s strange that they would even mention it.
Titan Submersible by OceanGate Incident
“Homer’s Paternity Coot” – Season 17, Episode 10 (2006)
In June 2023, a submersible operated by OceanGate imploded due to poor conditions and pressure. The submersible, the Titan, was meant to explore the ruins of the famous Titanic, commissioned by 5 tourists. In The Simpsons episode “Homer’s Paternity Coot”, Homer explores the underwater with his alleged father, Mason Fairbanks, and nearly drowns due to lose of oxygen. It is frightening how similar the experience is, especially when the reason behind their deaths lies with the poor conditions of the machines. Mike Reiss, the showrunner, has tested the submarine before and expressed his concern over the safety issues.
The Higgs Boson Particle
“The Wizard of Evergreen Terrace” – Season 10, Episode 2 (1998)
Higgs boson particle, or simply the Higgs particle, was discovered as recent as 2012. However, in “The Wizard of Evergreen Terrace”, Homer decides to become a scientific inventor after being inspired by Thomas Edison. He strangely ends up writing down an equation that is similar to the Higgs boson particle’s equation. Scientists themselves were baffled by this phenomenon, stating that it was a bigger version of the particle.
Government Spying on Citizens
The Simpsons Movie (2007)
One of the funniest cuts from The Simpsons happened in The Simpsons Movie. Lisa worries that the family will be caught by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for warning the world when Marge says, “Oh Lisa, it’s not like the government is listening to everybody’s conversation,” only to cut to the National Security spying on the entirety of the USA. In 2013, Edward Snowden leaked highly classified information from the NSA that exposed their practice of spying on citizens. It is, to this day, a huge scandal. It couldn’t have been a coincidence this time.
Siegfried & Roy
“$pringfield Or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Legalized Gambling” – Season 5, Episode 10 (1993)
The magician duo Siegfried Fischbacher and Roy Horn were attacked by their white tiger, Montecore, during a performance in 2003 that severely injured Roy. In a weird coincidence, the events of “$pringfield Or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Legalized Gambling” are a play-by-play of the 2003 incident, especially with how uncannily similar the fictional duo in the show, Gunter and Ernst, were to Siegfried & Roy. They were even German named like their real-life counterparts who are German Americans.
There are several other parallels to reality that The Simpsons has covered. These are only the tip of the iceberg. Do you believe in it, or is it just a pure coincidence of chaotic writing?
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