10 Times The Simpsons Predicted the Future

In the 2005 episode “Midnight Rx,” The Simpsons presented a scenario involving legal marijuana in Canada. The episode featured a scene where Ned Flanders is offered a “reeferino” by his Canadian counterpart. At the time, the concept seemed a little far-fetched, as marijuana was still illegal.

However, later, this depiction foreshadowed significant changes legally. In October 2018, Canada legalized recreational marijuana nationwide, becoming the second country in the world to do so. Similarly, in America, marijuana has slowly become legalized across many states, including Massachusetts, Connecticut, Colorado, and California. This prediction, made 13 years in advance, is just one of the many times that The Simpsons based their plots on emerging social trends.

The show’s writers, known for their satirical approach to current events, inadvertently anticipated a major shift in drug policy, taking the first spot on our list of times The Simpsons predicted the future.

Next up on our list is the 1993 episode “Marge in Chains.” This episode depicted a flu-like outbreak called the “Osaka Flu” spreading through Springfield. This fictional scenario regained attention during the COVID-19 pandemic, as viewers noticed striking similarities between the animated crisis depicted in The Simpsons and real-world events.

Within the episode, the creators showcased characters panic buying, overwhelmed hospitals, and a widespread public health emergency – all of which were elements that became way too familiar in 2020. While the show had featured various outbreak scenarios over the years, this particular episode’s accuracy regarding the COVID-19 pandemic stood out to audience members. This episode captured both the spread of a virus and the societal response to a pandemic.

This prediction of a global pandemic is yet another moment where The Simpsons predicted the future in the satirical, animated comedy series.

Yet another time The Simpsons predicted the future was during the episode “Lisa’s Wedding”, that aired in 1995. Ahead of its time, the sci-fi-like episode showed characters making video calls on video devices.

However, in 2010, Apple introduced the first-ever version of FaceTime. The similarity was remarkable. While the version in The Simpsons was shown on a rotary phone, the version in reality is accessible on any Apple device. The Simpsons had envisioned future communication technology. This episode raised questions about how sci-fi had inspired real-world innovations. Again, the show’s creators imagined an even more connected world that had existed at the time.

This technological prediction demonstrated The Simpsons‘ ability to build on current trends and envision how people might communicate in the future. In the end, they really weren’t far off from reality.

Later, in 1996, The Simpsons showed characters storming the Capitol. It was a brief scene in “The Day the Violence Died.”

In this episode, a new cartoon replaced Itchy and Scratchy, after the show was taken off the air. The cartoon featured an amendment waiting to be ratified by Congress. The episode then shows several other characters running up the Capitol steps, firing guns and holding bombs with their fuses lit. Without a doubt, this is one of the most noted times that The Simpsons seemingly predicted the future.

As a mob of supporters of President Donald J. Trump stormed the Capitol in 2o21, the visual parallels between the episode and reality were astonishing. With characters scaling buildings with weapons, the show foreshadowed a significant moment in American history.

To me, the specificity of this prediction was particularly unsettling. It highlighted The Simpsons‘ insight into political discourse. Yet again, the show satirized American politics. This prediction of the future emphasized the show’s ability to capture societal boundary lines. The Simpsons visualized a scenario that many thought would be entirely impossible.

Later, yet again, The Simpsons predicted the future in an unlikely Olympic outcome. In 2010, the episode “Boy Meets Curl“, showed the U.S. curling team beating Sweden for gold. Since Sweden was one of the top-ranked teams globally, losing this game was a big deal.

In reality, in 2018, this exact scenario played out. The U.S. team won their first-ever curling gold. They defeated Sweden. The Simpsons had foreseen an unexpected sports result. This remarkably specific prediction wasn’t just about winning a medal, but rather, it named the exact match-up. The odds of guessing this exactly were very slim, yet The Simpsons got it right again. This highlights the show’s broad reach, not just predicting technology or politics.

Especially since curling isn’t a mainstream sport in the U.S., the writers featured it, demonstrating The Simpsons‘ ability to spot emerging trends in unexpected areas. This prediction also highlighted the show’s global awareness on a larger scale.

Next on our list of times when The Simpsons predicted the future is a 2012 episode (“Lisa Goes Gaga“) that featured Lady Gaga performing mid-air at the Super Bowl. Five years later, she did exactly that. Her 2017 Super Bowl show mirrored the animated version. As a famous artist at the time, this moment showed how in touch The Simpsons was with pop culture.

As The Simpsons often parodied famous figures, sometimes, these parodies became a reality. This prediction highlighted the show’s pop culture savvy. The accuracy of this prediction amazed fans and critics alike. Did Lady Gaga draw inspiration from The Simpsons? Or was this purely coincidental? Either way, the connection between pop culture and animation has become more apparent than ever.

Yet another historical moment that The Simpsons predicted was in 2016, in the episode “Friends and Family,” when the show introduced the audience to a VR headset. Later, audience members noticed uncanny similarities. This headset resembled the Apple Vision Pro, which was announced in 2023. This moment truly proved the show’s insight into future tech trends.

The Simpsons predicted a product seven years before its reveal to the public. Although various big-tech companies had hinted at these technological advancements over time, the writers envisioned the specificity of this advanced VR technology. They anticipated its design and function. This level of detail and accuracy in a prediction is rare and impressive. As the writers often feature futuristic technology in the show, sometimes, these fictional gadgets become reality.

Also Read: Top 10 Cartoon Network Shows of the 90s

While we are on technological predictions, a 1995 episode of The Simpsons, “Lisa’s Wedding,” predicted the future when it depicted a watch phone. At one point in the episode, Lisa’s future husband, Hugh Parkfield, bent over and spoke into a device on his wrist. It was a half-flip phone, a half-wristwatch that most modern viewers would likely compare to a smartwatch. For the time, this was really science fiction.

Two decades later, smartwatches became a reality when Apple released its first Apple Watch in 2015. Like our earlier FaceTime example, The Simpsons had foreseen many pieces of tech long before their time. Within the episode, the writers imagined how we’d use such devices. It predicted their impact on communication and how smartwatches created a connected, wearable future. Their prediction came true.

This episode and the Apple Watch demonstrate how technology has evolved to fit human needs and behaviors. In both fictional and real-life scenarios, smartwatches were used to bridge the communication gap, creating a continuously more connected society.

Up next, the 1994 episode “Lisa on Ice” of The Simpsons joked about text mistranslation. A device changed “Beat up Martin” to “Eat up Martha.” This gag predicted future frustrations with autocorrect.

Later, the joke became a reality with smartphones. Just like in that classic Simpsons episode, we’ve probably found ourselves battling autocorrect’s “helpful” suggestions more times than we can count. Users often struggle with autocorrect mistakes. For example, sending a quick “On my way!” only to have your phone insist you meant “On my whale!”

The Simpsons had anticipated this technological quirk. This prediction not only revealed the show’s tech insight but also demonstrated an understanding of human-computer interaction. The writers foresaw how technology might misinterpret human intent.

This example showcases The Simpsons‘ ability to predict not just technology but also its impact on daily life. Not only did the writers anticipate the technology itself, but they also understood that advanced technology doesn’t always make life easier. They predicted the humorous side of tech failures, capturing the frustration in our human relationships with devices.

The Simpsons‘ uncanny ability to predict future events has become legendary, but perhaps none of their forecasts were as striking as their anticipation of Donald Trump‘s presidency.

Last but not least, in the 2000 episode “Bart to the Future,” Lisa, serving as President of the United States, mentioned inheriting a budget crunch from her predecessor, President Trump. At the time, this line seemed like an absurd joke, as Donald Trump was known as a flamboyant real estate mogul and TV personality, not a serious political contender. Yet 16 years later, the impossible became a reality when Trump won the 2016 presidential election, turning what was once a silly gag into an eerily precise prediction.

This prediction shows just how well The Simpsons understood American culture and politics. The writers somehow saw something in Trump as a character, turning a silly joke into an accidental political forecast. After all, The Simpsons showed us that today’s futuristic predictions could be tomorrow’s reality.

RELATED: Top 10 The Simpsons Episodes of the 90s