13 of the craziest Simpsons predictions we've lived through

The Simpsons is an iconic American animated sitcom that first aired in December 1989.

This famous series has made many predictions throughout the show, and while this is not exactly a new feat in a TV show, the impressive part is that many of them came true.

The craziest Simpsons predictions

On this page, we examine things we've lived through or experienced, as predicted by The Simpsons. Let's take a look at the most shocking of them: 

1. Predicting new buildings

In Lisa's Wedding, episode 19 of season 6 from 1995, a strange prediction of Lisa's future shows her in London with a fellow university student, Hugh Parkfield.

This is one of those predictions where you have to look closely, or you'll miss it. In the London setting, a pointy building stands out behind the Tower Bridge, known today as The Shard.

2. A smartwatch

Again, in Lisa's Wedding episode, you see Lisa's boyfriend, Hugh, making a call by talking to his watch. In 2013, the first smartwatches with voice recognition were released.

3. The Ebola virus

In Season 9 of Lisa's Sax Episode 3, aired in 1997, the show talks about Lisa's love for the musical instrument, and in one scene it shows Bart is sick, and Marge tries to cheer him up by reading the book "Curious George and the Ebola Virus".

This is interesting, considering Ebola first became widely known with the outbreak in 2000 and then again in 2014. While this is not a big WOW, it's still strange that The Simpsons featured a relatively unknown disease at the time.

4. The 'All You Can Eat' scandal

In episode 8 of season 4, aired in 1992, Homer gets to The Frying Dutchman for an all-you-can-eat buffet. Homer goes all out, eating most of the items from the restaurant.

In the real world, a Springfield, Massachusetts, resident sued the Golden Corral Corporation for false advertising after getting kicked out of an all-you-can-eat restaurant. While the man accepted an out-of-court settlement, it's scary how uncanny the resemblance between the show episode and the real-life event was.

5. The Mother of Dragons turns evil

Episode 1 of season 29, The Serfsons, aired in 2017. The episode predicts a plot twist in the HBO Game of Thrones fantasy show. The show started brilliantly but took a deep nose dive by the end, with many loose ties and an unsatisfying last season. The Serfsons is an episode that parodies Westeros and GOT with a dragon that burns down the village after Homer revives it.

If you've watched GOT, this will immediately remind you of when Daenerys Targaryen's dragon burned King's Landing after the people surrendered.

6. Super Bowl predictions

In Season 3, episode 14, Lisa predicted that the Washington Redskins would win in the Super Bowl XXVI. The next year, the same happened with the Dallas Cowboys' win.

All online casino enthusiasts and sports bettors who decided to follow these predictions could land you instant wins during the Super Bowl.

7. The faulty voting machine

In 2008, a Simpsons episode showed Homer trying to vote for Barack Obama in the US general election. However, the machine was faulty, and he kept changing his vote.

A mere four years later, a voting machine in Pennsylvania had to be removed after it kept changing people's votes for Barack Obama to one for Mitt Romney, Obama's Republican rival.

8. Oh, autocorrect!

In episode 8, season 6, we see the school bullies Kearny and Dolph make a memo to 'beat up Martin' on a Newton device, but the memo translates it to 'eat up Martha.' The episode aired in 1994 and foreshadowed the frustrations that autocorrect would bring.

According to the former director of engineering iOS Applications for Apple, Nitin Ganatra, the Newton device, this episode says this moment in the show inspired their iPhone keyboard.

9. Donald Trump as US president

In the Bart to the Future episode 2000, the show makes another historical prediction when it states that Donald Trump was President of the United States.

The episode shows Lisa as President, and she clearly says, 'As you know, we've inherited quite the budget crunch from President Trump.' In 2017, Donald Trump became the 45th President of the United States.

10. The Apple Vision Pro virtual reality headset

In episode 2 of season 28, Friends and Family, Mr Burns hires the Simpsons as his virtual family. They all use VR headsets similar to the Vision Pro. At the end of the episode, the show fast-forwards a couple of years and shows everyone in Springfield wearing a headset.

In 2024, Apple released its VR headset, the Vision Pro, and social media was filled with people using it publicly.

11. Disney and Fox merging

Another big prediction is Disney's acquisition of Fox for $71.3 billion. When this happened in 2019, most people were surprised, but Simpsons fans who remembered the merger joke in 1998 didn't find it that surprising. The episode shows 20th Century Fox Studios labelled as a 'Division of Walt Disney Co.'

12. Nobel Prize winner

13. FaceTime

In episode 19 of season 6, which aired in 1995, Lisa had her future predicted by a fortune teller. During the episode, Lisa called her mom to share the exciting news, and the phone had a screen that showed Marge's face in real time.

That is pretty accurate, considering Skype was invented in 2003. In 2010, Apple announced the development of FaceTime for Apple users, allowing users to talk to and see each other.

Have we missed any of the Simpsons' exciting predictions over the years? Share your favourites with us on our social media accounts!