Yahoo News 8 times The Simpsons predicted the future
Before it ran on for about 17 seasons too many, The Simpsons was as close to TV perfection as you could get. A razor sharp satirical sense combined with some of the best writing in TV history gave the show a pre-eminent aura that no series has yet managed to duplicate.
So sharp was the writers' collective observational ability that The Simpsons even managed to predict numerous cultural and political developments way before they actually happened.
While a number of cheeky memes have suggested more prescience than the show actually had, here are eight times they really did get it right on the money.
1. President Trump
Season 11, Episode 17: Bart to the Future
Simultaneously the most impressive and most dispiriting prediction on our list, at the turn of the century, The Simpsons depicted the Presidency of one Donald J. Trump. Of course, the real estate magnate and reality TV show star would ascend to power 16 years later, but even back in 2000, such a thing seemed pretty unlikely.
Perhaps the most disheartening thing about this one coming true is how the show's writers foresaw Trump's occupying the Oval Office as one of the final steps on America's road to decline.
Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter, writer Dan Greaney said: "That just seemed like the logical last stop before hitting bottom. It was pitched because it was consistent with the vision of America going insane." Comedy at its best.
2. Martin's Newton predicted Autocorrect
Season 6, Episode 8: Lisa on Ice
Back in 1994, autocorrect, and its various shortcomings, were yet to enter the public consciousness. But, of course, The Simpsons managed to call this one way before the first iPhone would arrive.
In season six, episode eight, school bully Kearney asks his long-time cohort Dolph to take a memo on his "Newton" to beat up the perpetually hopeless Martin.
At the time, Apple's personal assistant device didn't quite have the cultural impact the company had intended, and the writers took an amusing swipe at its underwhelming performance in this moment.
Dolph's "Beat up Martin" note automatically gets changed to "Eat up Martha", prompting Dolph to hurl the thing at Martin's head.
Such autocorrect issues would become the norm for every smartphone user in the forthcoming decades, and with this brief gag, The Simpsons managed to predict yet another cultural meme. Meanwhile, the Newton has been unceremoniously consigned to history, but at least it'll be remembered for its effectiveness at giving poor Martin a concussion.
3. Homer discovers the "God particle"
Season 10, Episode 2: The Wizard of Evergreen Terrace
In season 10, Homer turns his attention to becoming an inventor, conceiving such devices as the "everything's OK alarm," which sounds every three seconds unless something isn't okay. But during his time in the lab (i.e. the basement), Homer seemingly inadvertently predicts the mass of the Higgs boson or "God particle".
During one montage, Homer stands in front of an equation written on a blackboard, which, when worked out, gives you a figure close to the mass of the actual Higgs boson. According to Dr. Simon Singh, author of the tome The Simpsons and their Mathematical Secrets: "If you work it out, you get the mass of a Higgs boson that's only a bit larger than the nano-mass of a Higgs boson actually is."
With some help from the large hadron collider, physicists would eventually discover the particle in 2012, 14 years after Homer. But Homer managed to do it all with some chalk and a chalkboard, proving what fans of the show have known for some time: that the man is a secret genius.
4. Dodgy voting machines
Season 20, Episode 4: Treehouse of Horror XIX
Obama triumphed in the 2012 US Presidential election: no thanks to a dodgy voting machine in Pennsylvania which switched people's votes from the Democratic candidate to his rival, Mitt Romney. There was even footage of the machine in action.
Ah 2012, when the biggest political concern was an actual politician possibly getting into office. How times have changed.
Naturally, The Simpsons foresaw this absurdity four years earlier during one of its 'Treehouse of Horror' episodes. In it, Homer tries to vote for Obama, only to have his vote switched to the then-Republican candidate John McCain. A horror if ever there was one.
5. Baby translator
Season 3, Episode 24: Brother, Can You Spare Two Dimes?
Back in the show's early years, we saw quite a bit of Homer's Danny Devito-voiced brother Herb. And after Homer managed to bankrupt his bro back in season one, the former high-roller returned in 1992's season three to invent a baby translator and restore his fortune.
Homer is, of course, rewarded with the Spine Melter 2000 massage chair that had given him a 2001: A Space Odyssey-esque spiritual experience earlier in the episode.
But another result of Herb's seemingly bizarre invention was its actual materialisation. Yes, someone actually invented a baby translator app in 2015.
We're not sure how much The Simpsons played into this one, but it deserves the credit simply for coming up with the idea some 23 years before its actual arrival. We'd have preferred someone actually invent a chair capable of inducing a spiritual experience, to be honest – if only to help us forget about number one on our list coming true.
6. Siegfried and Roy Tiger Attack
Season 5, Episode 10: $pringfield (Or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Legalized Gambling)
The Simpsons' version of Siegfried and Roy, Gunter and Ernst, show up a few times throughout the series. One of Homer's memorable lines comes when he encounters the pair with their tiger in Vegas and exclaims: "Ah, a lion!"
But back in season five, the duo can be seen performing in Mr. Burns' short-lived casino in Springfield. Unfortunately, the pair are mauled by their tiger on-stage, in what would prove to be a grim prophecy.
10 years later, the actual Siegfried and Roy show went the same way when Roy Horn was similarly mauled during a performance. The attack left the performer partially paralysed, bringing an end to the pair's iconic Vegas show.
7. Horse-meat scandal
Season 5, Episode 19: Sweet Seymour Skinner's Baadasssss Song
Springfield Elementary has served up some questionable cuisine in its time, from "Malk" to gym mats (which contain "very little meat"). And it seems some companies were so inspired by a particular Springfield Elementary "secret ingredient," they decided to go ahead and use it.
The Simpsons predicted the horse meat scandal in 1994.. pic.twitter.com/1RKFPYHv2T
- Gordon Heliotrope (@GordoHelio) March 5, 2013
1994's "Sweet Seymour Skinner's Baadasssss Song" showed Lunchlady Doris delving into a barrel of horse meat for use in the kids' school dinners. And in 2013, Horse DNA was identified in four beef products from Bird's Eye, Taco Bell, and catering supplier Brakes. Yes, it seems a few companies decided to carve up some poor horsies and throw the results into their, we're sure otherwise delightful, fare.
8. Skype/Facetime
Season 6, Episode 19: Lisa's Wedding
Admittedly, this one is a bit of a sci-fi staple, so The Simpsons can't claim all the credit. That said, the show really was on a role in the mid-nineties, not only hitting what is arguably its comedic peak but also predicting all-manner of future invention.
In 1995 the show envisioned a future where a college-age Lisa falls in love with the unashamedly stereotypical Englishman Hugh. During the episode, Lisa and Hugh get engaged, and Lisa delivers the news to a slightly haggard Marge via video call.
Predicting the likes of Skype and Facetime is only one of the many prescient moments in the episode. 'Lisa's Wedding' is also notable for predicting the seemingly perpetual tour on which the Rolling Stones seem to be, with the "Steel Wheelchair Tour 2016" poster hanging in Hugh's dorm room.
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