Since its 1989 premiere, the popular TV show The Simpsons has generated more than 700 episodes, making it the longest-running series in history. Along with its legendary prominence in the pop cultural zeitgeist, this cartoon about the Springfield family is also known for eerily anticipating future events decades before they really happen.

With casual gags making references to a number of significant world events, such as the unexpected 2016 U.S. Presidential election or Russia’s ascent to superpower status, the show’s precision in what it has gotten right is plain astonishing. As the last several years have become more unpredictable, many have begun to wonder what else the writers of this show foretold. Find out more about the eerily exact predictions made thus far by this storied series.

Universe in a Donut

Meeting one of the universe’s brightest brains and one of the dimmest minds the world has ever seen has a certain magical quality. Stephen Hawking, a theoretical physicist, has made cameos in various Simpsons episodes, but one in particular has fans scratching their heads.

During a drink at Moe’s Tavern in the twenty-second episode of the tenth season, “They Saved Lisa’s Brain,” Hawking expresses interest in Homer’s notion of a doughnut-shaped cosmos. Although Hawking is considerably more likely to have developed this theory than Homer Simpson, it does really exist.

One Shard

Once again, the “Lisa’s Wedding” episode is referenced, and this time the forecast is too unsettling to be regarded as accidental. Big Ben is shown with a computerized face in line with the technological improvements already apparent in the program, and behind it is a structure that wasn’t yet built when the episode first aired.

Although the episode from 1995 shows the Shard being built, actual construction didn’t begin until 2009. In addition to having a form that is similar to the mysterious building from the episode, the skyscraper is situated exactly where Big Ben is.

Unreliable voting equipment

The yearly Halloween episodes of “Treehouse of Horror” are now a cherished show tradition. One of the vignettes in the fourth episode of season 20 (“Treehouse of Horror XIX”) shows Homer trying to cast his ballot for Barack Obama in the 2008 American presidential election. The results are tallied in favor of John McCain, his opponent.

Even automated voting has been demonstrated to be flawed in the years after that program aired. There have been reports of ballots cast for then-President Obama in the 2012 presidential election being tallied for his rival Mitt Romney.

For America with Tom Hanks

This was another occasion when a prediction came from The Simpsons Movie, which was released in 2007, rather than the television show itself. The family in the film is watching TV when they come across a Tom Hanks ad. The US government has lost its credibility, therefore it is borrowing some of mine, Hanks says in the movie.

Similar to this, the Presidential Inaugural Committee issued a film in January 2022, narrated by none other than Tom Hanks, commemorating the first year of President Biden’s administration. The advertisement emphasized America’s ability to persevere in the face of serious obstacles during the last several years. Many people were unable to help but draw comparisons to The Simpsons’ version.

Tiger Attack in Siegfried and Roy

Local millionaire Mr. Burns opens a Las Vegas-style casino in Springfield in Season 5, Episode 10 (“$pringfield”). Gunter and Ernst, a pair of showy magicians who also deal with tigers, were one of his top attractions. The tiger Anastasia suddenly turns against them and begins to attack them at one point.

Sadly, reality mimicked art in 2003, almost 10 years after this episode aired. Roy Horn, one of the magicians and animal handlers, ended up getting attacked by one of the tigers during one of the performances for famous Vegas artists Siegfried and Roy.

Super Bowl performance by Lady Gaga

The 22nd episode of the 23rd season, “Lisa Goes Gaga,” is regarded by many devoted viewers as one of the lower-quality episodes in the lengthy history of the program. It did, however, foreshadow Lady Gaga’s Super Bowl performance extremely well and would happen only four years later.

The Experience of 2020

We may have been ready for the world’s tale in 2020 if we had just listened to Marge’s warning in 1993. The almost 30-year-old season 4 episode “Marge in Chains” had a narrative about an unusual flu virus that was ravaging Springfield and causing havoc on both young and elderly.

As if the illness weren’t horrible enough, people soon started to riot while being attacked by a swarm of bees in search of a cure. With so many people becoming ill, 2020 will undoubtedly be regarded as a difficult year. News reports also indicated the appearance of “murder hornets” in the scene.

H-Boson Particle

In the second episode of season 10 of The Simpsons, Homer has lofty goals after being inspired and driven by Thomas Edison’s creations. Homer may be seen writing on a whiteboard to reveal an equation as he gets immersed in all things theoretical and mathematical.

The Higgs-Boson particle, sometimes referred to as the “God particle,” was discovered more than 10 years later. In the episode “The Wizard of Evergreen Terrace,” you can see Homer writing a formula on his whiteboard. This equation is uncannily close to the formula.

Mutant Tomatoes

A ludicrous effort by Homer to crossbreed certain crops on a farm he owns culminates in the “tomacco” plant, a hybrid tomato/tobacco product, in the fifth episode of season eleven (“E-I-E-I-Annoyed Grunt”). The combination included radioactive waste from Homer’s day job at the power station. It was hard to think of an application for this revolting combination.

2013 saw yet another instance of satire becoming genuine as Japanese produce was impacted. The crops that grew close to the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power station, the site of a 2011 catastrophe, had transformed into hybrid nightmares and were no longer fit for anything other than waste.

The Isotopes of Albuquerque

The Albuquerque Isotopes may not have been a prediction in the traditional sense, but they were a logical continuation of the show’s cultural allusions. Homer goes on a hunger strike in season 12, episode 15 (“Hungry Hungry Homer”) in opposition to the Springfield Isotopes baseball team’s potential relocation to Albuquerque.

After the Calgary Cannons moved to New Mexico a short time later, the Albuquerque Tribune asked the public to choose a new team name. They decided on the moniker Albuquerque Isotopes after turning out in large numbers to support the new club.

Ferrets Being Sold As Toy Poodles

Fat Tony, a prominent gangster, is renowned for his familiarity with Springfield’s underbelly. He often engages in shady behavior and concocts nefarious plots throughout the series. One scam really caused genuine criminals to sit up and take note of what the show’s writers were doing.

Criminals tried to train ferrets and pass them off as toy poodles after being inspired by the season 13 finale. In the cartoon version, cotton balls were used to complete the task. So picture the shock of an Argentinian guy who believed he was buying a puppy but subsequently discovered that it was really a ferret.

Billboard in blood

Many plots use show-within-a-show advertising, in which radio, television, and billboard advertisements convey the narrative of a secondary plot. The popular animated series Itchy and Scratchy was advertising their first film with a very graphic billboard in the sixth episode of season 4 (“Itchy & Scratchy: The Movie”).

On the billboard, Scratchy is seen having his head chopped off and spitting what looks to be blood onto moving vehicles. Similar advertising appeared on a genuine billboard for the Quentin Tarantino film Kill Bill Vol. 1 in 2008, promoting the remains of Beatrix Kiddo’s most recent victim.

Punishment Day

The Simpsons’ Season 4, Episode 20 (“Whacking Day”) is a famous episode that parodies some of the customs that certain small towns maintain, despite how absurd they may appear. Springfield citizens are entrusted with killing as many snakes as they can in honor of Whacking Day.

In reality, southern Florida now hosts an annual Python Challenge competition. Locals and visitors alike wade into the Florida Everglades’ murky waters to assist reduce the number of Burmese pythons, whose overpopulation has harmed nearby species.

Game of Thrones’ Drogon’s Fiery Rampage

The Serfsons was the title of the first episode of the 29th season in 2017. The narrative placed the Simpsons family smack in the heart of Springfieldia, a country that closely resembled Westeros in the popular television series Game of Thrones in many ways.

In the episode, a dragon that can breathe fire ends up destroying the Serfson family’s hamlet. As Game of Thrones came to a conclusion in the spring of 2019, great debate erupted as King’s Landing people saw their whole town being burned to the ground by Daenerys’ own Drogon in the action-packed episode “The Bells.”

Lexicon of Phrases and Phrases

The Simpsons has been a fantastic source of fun for almost thirty years, but they have also contributed many catchphrases to popular culture. “D’oh!” is one of Homer’s catchphrases that immediately springs to mind. It has ingrained itself into the language to the point that saying it in a tricky circumstance is now acceptable.

The Oxford English Dictionary now recognizes this famous term from prime-time blunders as a legitimate word in the English language. The terms “embiggen,” “meh,” and “yoink,” as well as others that the authors came up with or that the program popularized, have also been included to certain dictionaries.

Political Objects

Even though The Simpsons has become an icon now, when it was first famous, some people were upset because they believed it represented the demise of traditional family values. Even while it may not have been the first program to make fun of a conventional family structure, the fact that a U.S. President made reference to it helped it get a lot more attention.

On the campaign trail, President George H.W. Bush promoted conservative ideals, saying that America needs to return to the wholesome relationships shown on The Waltons and stop acting like The Simpsons. Naturally, the program chose to base an episode from the seventh season, “Two Bad Neighbors,” on the remark. In this episode, Homer and President Bush, his new neighbor, grow to be adversaries.

Countless Primetime Animations

The Simpsons was one of the first animated programs to include mature comedy and situations into a cartoon, while cartoons in the 1970s and 1980s tended to pander to kid audiences. This gamble paid off, as the program gained a devoted audience of teenagers and adults.

This undoubtedly paved the way for more animated series to come, with King of the Hill, South Park, and Family Guy among the more popular ones that immediately followed The Simpsons franchise. The combination of clever comedy and startling situations became the ideal formula for animated comedies.

The Laugh Track is gone

The idea and sound of a laugh track should be fairly recognizable to anybody who grew up in the 1970s and 1980s. These instances were provided to us by comedy writers, who may not have had enough trust in their audiences to laugh at the right times without needing to prompt them.

Thankfully, The Simpsons did not come with a laugh track. The prepared reaction had become boring to audiences, and other programs followed suit. Today, the majority of programs, whether they are live-action or animated comedies, can be appreciated without forced laughs.

Permanently Influencing Our Culture

Since The Simpsons established the bar for animated humor, several other television programs have recycled a number of its gags or plotlines. There was also a plot thread about The Simpsons’ influence on television.

The Simpsons Already Did It was an episode of the venerable cartoon series South Park. The whole idea of the episode is how there are so many jokes and gags previously created by The Simpsons writers that nothing is unique any longer.

Putting Fox in the Public Eye for Good

The Simpsons’ success and cultural acceptability have placed FOX firmly and permanently on the entertainment map. Despite the network’s modest beginnings in 1985, it has grown to become one of the most recognizable and prosperous networks in entertainment since the debut of the blockbuster program.

The grounds of the FOX headquarters in New York City are graced by a monument of Bart Simpson as an homage to the eccentric characters that have reshaped animated television culture. Although the series has no intentions to terminate, when it does, millions of fans will undoubtedly be able to speak to how significant the program has been.