The Simpsons is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. First airing in 1989, it has run for over 35 seasons, making it the longest-running American primetime animated series. The show follows the Simpson family and satirizes American society and culture.
Remarkably, the show has repeatedly appeared to 'predict' real-world events years or even decades before they happened. From Trump's presidency to Disney's acquisition of Fox, from smartwatches to video calling, The Simpsons seems to possess an uncanny ability to foresee the future.
Of course, these 'predictions' largely stem from the writing team's sharp social observation, the statistical probability of 35+ seasons of content, and the comedic technique of pushing reality to absurd extremes. This site compiles 18 of the most famous cases and verifies each one.
Core Message
"We just took things to their most absurd extreme — and then reality caught up." — The Simpsons writing team
1989 — The Simpsons premieres, becoming America's longest-running animated series1995 — Season 6 features smartwatch, video calling and other tech predictions2000 — S11E17 'Bart to the Future' predicts Trump presidency2003 — Multiple predictions about animal attacks and scientific discoveries come true2013 — Disney-Fox acquisition plotline becomes reality 5 years later2017 — Trump inaugurated as president, The Simpsons makes headlines again
Prediction cases compiled from The Simpsons episode content and public reporting (Wikipedia )
Verification based on public news reports and historical records (Snopes )
Editorial opinions do not represent academic consensus; some 'predictions' are debated
Site icon: donut symbol — Homer Simpson's iconic favorite food and one of the show's most recognizable cultural symbols
The Simpsons Predictions All Prophecies 25 Q&A entries in total
S2E4 'Two Cars in Every Garage' (1990)
Matt Groening et al.: The episode features a three-eyed fish named 'Blinky' living near a nuclear power plant's drainage outlet.
S5E9 'The Last Temptation of Homer' (1993)
Matt Groening et al.: Homer writes a math equation on a blackboard that, when solved, yields a result remarkably close to the experimentally discovered mass of the Higgs boson.
S5E10 '$pringfield' (1993)
Matt Groening et al.: In the episode, Siegfried & Roy's white tiger attacks its trainer during a performance.
S5E15 'Deep Space Homer' (1994)
Matt Groening et al.: Homer is selected for a NASA space mission and is shown floating and eating chips in space. The episode also hints at commercial space tourism.
S5E19 'Sweet Seymour Skinner's Baadasssss Song' (1994)
Matt Groening et al.: The school cafeteria is caught using horse meat disguised as beef for school lunches.
S6E1 'Treehouse of Horror V' (1994)
Matt Groening et al.: The episode depicts scenarios with ubiquitous surveillance cameras and government mass surveillance of citizens.
S6E8 'Lisa on Ice' (1994)
Matt Groening et al.: A handheld device in the episode auto-'corrects' text to something wrong, eerily similar to modern smartphone autocorrect failures.
S6E19 'Lisa's Wedding' (1995)
Matt Groening et al.: In a scene set in 2010, Lisa's fiancé uses a wrist-mounted device to make calls, closely resembling a modern smartwatch.
S6E19 'Lisa's Wedding' (1995)
Matt Groening et al.: In the same episode, characters make face-to-face video calls through screens, similar to FaceTime or Skype.
S6E19 'Lisa's Wedding' (1995)
Matt Groening et al.: The episode features a tablet computer used for note-taking and reading, operated like a book.
S6E19 'Lisa's Wedding' (1995)
Matt Groening et al.: A male character wears an automatic translation earpiece that can translate one language to another in real time.
S6E25 'Who Shot Mr. Burns?' (1995)
Matt Groening et al.: Mr. Burns attempts to build a giant sun-blocking device to block sunlight from reaching Springfield.
S9E1 'The City of New York vs. Homer Simpson' (1997)
Matt Groening et al.: A scene shows a $9 brochure cover with a large '9' next to the New York skyline featuring the Twin Towers, visually resembling '9/11'.
S9E3 'Lisa's Sax' (1997)
Matt Groening et al.: The episode references the Ebola virus in a scene depicting a global health concern.
S10E2 'The Wizard of Evergreen Terrace' (1998)
Matt Groening et al.: Springfield holds a tomato-throwing festival where residents throw tomatoes at each other.
S10E5 'When You Dish Upon a Star' (1998)
Matt Groening et al.: The episode shows a 20th Century Fox sign with the subtitle 'A Division of Walt Disney Co.'
S11E5 'E-I-E-I-(Annoyed Grunt)' (1999)
Matt Groening et al.: Homer accidentally grows a tomato-tobacco hybrid plant called 'Tomacco'.
S11E17 'Bart to the Future' (2000)
Matt Groening et al.: In a flash-forward plot, Lisa becomes US president and mentions inheriting 'quite a budget crunch from President Trump' — a massive budget deficit.
S15E9 'I, (Annoyed Grunt)-Bot' (2004)
Matt Groening et al.: Homer builds a seemingly sentient robot to participate in robot fighting competitions.
S20E4 'Treehouse of Horror XIX' (2008)
Matt Groening et al.: The episode shows a voting machine switching a vote cast for one candidate to another candidate automatically.
S22E1 'Elementary School Musical' (2010)
Matt Groening et al.: A news ticker in the episode displays 'Nobel Prize: Milhouse Van Houten'.
S23E9 'Holidays of Future Passed' (2011)
Matt Groening et al.: The episode features wearable smart glasses that users can access information and navigation through.
S23E22 'Lisa Goes Gaga' (2012)
Matt Groening et al.: The episode depicts Lady Gaga performing at a major event, descending from the ceiling on aerial wires.
S25E16 'You Don't Have to Live Like a Referee' (2014)
Matt Groening et al.: The episode depicts widespread FIFA corruption, with officials accepting bribes.
S27E20 'Trumptastic Voyage' (2015)
Matt Groening et al.: The episode depicts Donald Trump descending an escalator while crowds cheer.
Prophecy Verification Evaluating predictions against reality for expired time points
S9E1 'The City of New York vs. Homer Simpson' (1997)
Matt Groening et al.: A scene shows a $9 brochure cover with a large '9' next to the New York skyline featuring the Twin Towers, visually resembling '9/11'.
On September 11, 2001, terrorists crashed hijacked planes into the Twin Towers, killing nearly 3,000. The visual coincidence of '9' next to the towers sparked widespread discussion, but the writers denied intentional prediction — '$9' was a common price for NYC tourism magazines.
S5E10 '$pringfield' (1993)
Matt Groening et al.: In the episode, Siegfried & Roy's white tiger attacks its trainer during a performance.
On October 3, 2003, Las Vegas performer Roy Horn was attacked and severely injured by white tiger Montecore during a show. The episode depicted a nearly identical scenario 10 years earlier.
S11E5 'E-I-E-I-(Annoyed Grunt)' (1999)
Matt Groening et al.: Homer accidentally grows a tomato-tobacco hybrid plant called 'Tomacco'.
In 2003, Oregon farmer Rob Baur, inspired by the episode, successfully grafted a tomato plant onto tobacco roots, creating a real 'Tomacco' plant. The plant contained nicotine, consistent with the show's depiction.
S10E2 'The Wizard of Evergreen Terrace' (1998)
Matt Groening et al.: Springfield holds a tomato-throwing festival where residents throw tomatoes at each other.
While Spain's La Tomatina festival dates back to 1945, it went globally viral after 2004 through internet spread, attracting many international tourists. When the episode aired, this event was virtually unknown in the US.
S6E8 'Lisa on Ice' (1994)
Matt Groening et al.: A handheld device in the episode auto-'corrects' text to something wrong, eerily similar to modern smartphone autocorrect failures.
After the iPhone launched in 2007, autocorrect became a standard smartphone feature, and its frequent failures became a widely mocked phenomenon. The episode foresaw this 13 years earlier.
S6E19 'Lisa's Wedding' (1995)
Matt Groening et al.: In the same episode, characters make face-to-face video calls through screens, similar to FaceTime or Skype.
Skype launched video calling in 2003, and Apple introduced FaceTime in 2010. While video calling concepts existed earlier, the episode accurately depicted it becoming an everyday communication method.
S6E19 'Lisa's Wedding' (1995)
Matt Groening et al.: The episode features a tablet computer used for note-taking and reading, operated like a book.
Apple released the iPad in 2010, launching the modern tablet era. While tablet concepts existed earlier, the episode's depiction of usage scenarios closely matches how iPads are actually used.
S2E4 'Two Cars in Every Garage' (1990)
Matt Groening et al.: The episode features a three-eyed fish named 'Blinky' living near a nuclear power plant's drainage outlet.
In 2011, a three-eyed fish was discovered in a reservoir near a nuclear power plant in Córdoba, Argentina, causing a global media sensation. Mutated fish were also reported near Fukushima after the nuclear disaster.
S5E9 'The Last Temptation of Homer' (1993)
Matt Groening et al.: Homer writes a math equation on a blackboard that, when solved, yields a result remarkably close to the experimentally discovered mass of the Higgs boson.
In July 2012, CERN announced the discovery of the Higgs boson with a mass of approximately 125 GeV. One of the episode's writers, David X. Cohen, has a physics background. While the equation wasn't a direct prediction of the Higgs mass, the coincidence sparked widespread discussion.
S20E4 'Treehouse of Horror XIX' (2008)
Matt Groening et al.: The episode shows a voting machine switching a vote cast for one candidate to another candidate automatically.
During the 2012 US presidential election, electronic voting machine malfunctions were reported in Pennsylvania and other states, with Obama votes being switched to Romney. This closely mirrored the episode's plot.
S5E19 'Sweet Seymour Skinner's Baadasssss Song' (1994)
Matt Groening et al.: The school cafeteria is caught using horse meat disguised as beef for school lunches.
In 2013, a major horse meat scandal erupted across Europe: beef products in multiple countries were found to contain horse meat, including frozen burgers and ready meals sold by major retailers like Tesco. The scandal affected the entire European food supply chain.
S6E1 'Treehouse of Horror V' (1994)
Matt Groening et al.: The episode depicts scenarios with ubiquitous surveillance cameras and government mass surveillance of citizens.
In June 2013, Edward Snowden leaked details of the NSA's mass surveillance programs (PRISM), revealing extensive government monitoring of global communications. The episode's satire of government surveillance became prophetic after the Snowden revelations.
S23E9 'Holidays of Future Passed' (2011)
Matt Groening et al.: The episode features wearable smart glasses that users can access information and navigation through.
Google launched Google Glass smart glasses in 2013. While Google Glass ultimately failed commercially, it pioneered the wearable smart glasses category. In 2023, Meta's Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses achieved better market reception.
S9E3 'Lisa's Sax' (1997)
Matt Groening et al.: The episode references the Ebola virus in a scene depicting a global health concern.
In 2014, West Africa experienced the worst Ebola outbreak in history, killing over 11,000 people and causing global panic. While Ebola existed when the episode aired (1997), it wasn't a public concern; the show's portrayal anticipated it becoming a global health crisis.
S6E19 'Lisa's Wedding' (1995)
Matt Groening et al.: In a scene set in 2010, Lisa's fiancé uses a wrist-mounted device to make calls, closely resembling a modern smartwatch.
Apple released the Apple Watch in 2015, with Samsung and others releasing smartwatches even earlier. The wrist-mounted communication device in the episode closely matches real-world smartwatch design and functionality.
S25E16 'You Don't Have to Live Like a Referee' (2014)
Matt Groening et al.: The episode depicts widespread FIFA corruption, with officials accepting bribes.
In May 2015, the US Department of Justice indicted multiple senior FIFA officials on corruption charges involving tens of millions in bribes and kickbacks. The episode depicted FIFA corruption one year before the scandal broke.
S27E20 'Trumptastic Voyage' (2015)
Matt Groening et al.: The episode depicts Donald Trump descending an escalator while crowds cheer.
On June 16, 2015, Trump descended an escalator at Trump Tower to announce his presidential candidacy. The episode aired just weeks later, though production timelines suggest the creators were aware. It recreated the iconic escalator scene.
S22E1 'Elementary School Musical' (2010)
Matt Groening et al.: A news ticker in the episode displays 'Nobel Prize: Milhouse Van Houten'.
The 2016 Nobel Prize in Chemistry was awarded to Ben Feringa and others. While names don't exactly match, The Simpsons' multiple coincidences with Nobel Prizes have drawn attention. The show's math consultants include scholars connected to Nobel laureates.
S6E19 'Lisa's Wedding' (1995)
Matt Groening et al.: A male character wears an automatic translation earpiece that can translate one language to another in real time.
In 2017, Google launched Pixel Buds earphones that could provide near-real-time language translation via Google Translate. Multiple companies have since released similar translation earpiece products.
S11E17 'Bart to the Future' (2000)
Matt Groening et al.: In a flash-forward plot, Lisa becomes US president and mentions inheriting 'quite a budget crunch from President Trump' — a massive budget deficit.
Donald Trump was elected the 45th US president in November 2016 and inaugurated in January 2017. The episode predicted this 16 years earlier, even mentioning budget deficit issues. This is The Simpsons' most famous 'prediction'.
S23E22 'Lisa Goes Gaga' (2012)
Matt Groening et al.: The episode depicts Lady Gaga performing at a major event, descending from the ceiling on aerial wires.
On February 5, 2017, Lady Gaga descended from the roof of NRG Stadium on cables during the Super Bowl LI halftime show, eerily similar to the episode's depiction.
S10E5 'When You Dish Upon a Star' (1998)
Matt Groening et al.: The episode shows a 20th Century Fox sign with the subtitle 'A Division of Walt Disney Co.'
On March 20, 2019, Walt Disney Company completed its $71.3 billion acquisition of 21st Century Fox entertainment assets. The episode predicted this historic merger 21 years earlier.
S5E15 'Deep Space Homer' (1994)
Matt Groening et al.: Homer is selected for a NASA space mission and is shown floating and eating chips in space. The episode also hints at commercial space tourism.
2021 marked the dawn of commercial space tourism: Virgin Galactic's Richard Branson in July, Blue Origin's Jeff Bezos in July, and SpaceX's Inspiration4 all-civilian mission in September. Ordinary people (non-professional astronauts) going to space mirrors the show's scenario.
S6E25 'Who Shot Mr. Burns?' (1995)
Matt Groening et al.: Mr. Burns attempts to build a giant sun-blocking device to block sunlight from reaching Springfield.
In 2024, multiple 'solar geoengineering' proposals entered serious scientific discussion, including stratospheric aerosol injection and space sunshades. While Harvard's SCoPEx project was shelved, various nations and groups are advancing similar research. Burns' evil plan has become a legitimate climate change proposal.
S15E9 'I, (Annoyed Grunt)-Bot' (2004)
Matt Groening et al.: Homer builds a seemingly sentient robot to participate in robot fighting competitions.
In 2024, humanoid robotics saw major breakthroughs: Boston Dynamics' Atlas, Tesla's Optimus Gen 2, and Figure AI's Figure 01 demonstrated impressive autonomous capabilities. Robot fighting competitions continue to be popular worldwide.