The prophetic animated series has been credited with foreseeing everything from 9/11 to the COVID-19 outbreak during its astounding 32 seasons. This year is no exception, as the Fox show has foreshadowed some of the year’s most significant events years in advance.
According to the fans of the cult animated series, if it happened on “The Simpsons,” it must also happen in real life, and so they try year after year to find similarities between an animated parody of reality and fact. This year was not at all an exception to practice.
One of the more seemingly successful “predictions” is undoubtedly the historic Virgin Galactic tourist space flight of businessman Richard Branson in July.
A clip from a 2014 episode was a dead ringer for footage published this summer of the 71-year-old Virgin Airlines executive hovering inside his Virgin Galactic rocket, as fans of the long-running series observed. An animated version of Branson can be seen lying back and appreciating a picture while drifting aboard his interstellar spacecraft in the prescient Season 25 episode “The War of Art.”
Some users wondered how the show manages to “predict every damn thing” while the official Branson’s space company account followed up by posting the pics compasion, adding that “’The Simpsons’ predicted it…” with a clapping hands emoji.
The Simpsons predicted it… ????
— virginatlantic (@VirginAtlantic) July 13, 2021
However, as some commentators pointed out, the Emmy-winning animation in this case may not have been entirely foresighted: Virgin Galactic was formed in 2004 by the philanthropist with the goal of taking tourists to space, so the event would still have to happen, sooner or later.
Perhaps the most significant of the predictions this year was the post-presidency of Donald Trump (the show predicted him as president way back in a 2000 episode), and the historic first woman, albeit not a president, but in the second most important public office.
And as if Trump’s election prediction wasn’t creepy enough, the cartoon crystal ball is now being credited with foreseeing another major political event: Kamala Harris’ stepping into the vice president’s office.
Users on social media referenced the episode of “Bart to the Future” from 2000, in which Lisa Simpson becomes the first “straight” female president of the US. And Bart’s sister does wear the identical purple ensemble as Harris did for the January 2021 inauguration, right down to the pearl necklace and earrings.
The Simpsons did it again! From mentioning they inherited the budget problems from Trump, right to Kamala Harris’s inauguration outfit! Incredible! pic.twitter.com/Ot8GZRxsrc
— Katie (@LuxMeaMundiAM) January 21, 2021
More for the January events, in another eerily similar to reality coincidence, some saw a direct parallel with the events of the January 6 riot, when Trump supporters broke into the Capitol in a bid to stop the certification of 2020 US election results.
Fans praised two episodes apparently foreshadowing the January 6 riots, as following the attack, Twitter user uploaded a scene from the 1996 episode “The Day the Violence Died,” in which a Capitol Hill lawmaker holds a newly enacted, anthropomorphic amendment to the Constitution allowing cops to beat “those liberal freaks.”
“Doors open, boys,” the amendment yells as a swarm of gun-toting, bomb-throwing amendments cry and charge up the steps of the federal building.
Simpsons predicted it many years ago #CapitolHill #WashingtonDC pic.twitter.com/CDFTq2kYb1
— Frɑncesco Creɑvani ???????? (@FCr_91) January 6, 2021
Users on Twitter have also credited 2020’s “Treehouse of Horror” Halloween episode with foreshadowing the invasion. Homer falls asleep and dreams of voting in the episode, missing his actual opportunity to vote. On Inauguration Day, the town is in ruins, with security robots swarming the streets.
The Simpsons prediction for 1/20/21 pic.twitter.com/O7FfK10Dap
— $ (@yamamafav) January 6, 2021
As for the actual January 20, Biden’s inauguration was a more low-key ceremony, bolstered by a TV special presented by Oscar-winning actor Tom Hanks, due to fears about the possibility of another Capitol riot and the pandemic.
For fans, it looks like “The Simpsons” may have foreshadowed this as well, with Hanks giving a similar address to the nation in a scene from 2007’s “The Simpsons Movie.”
The Simpsons saw Tom Hanks coming for Biden’s inauguration. pic.twitter.com/uoZuGPx0mw
— In My Mind (@MeAloneInMyMind) March 3, 2021
In February, Texas, located deep in the south of the country, was covered with unprecedented frosts, exactly at which moment Republican Senator Ted Cruz decided to go with his family to the hot Mexican resort town of Cancun.
Needless to say, social media jumped on the opportunity to compare the gag from the show to Ted Cruz’s bad choice of time for a family vacation. A total of 210 people died as a result of the extreme weather.
The Simpsons predicted Ted Cruz because of course they did. #TedCruz pic.twitter.com/A92O5Gr3NI
— Gareth Olver 〓〓 ???? (@GBO26) February 18, 2021
Cruz eventually conceded the trip was “a mistake,” but not before the Twitter meme machine shredded him.
Humanity is very fond of trying to guess what the future will be, and the more interesting it seems to search for “obvious” hints in the works of the past, when the event has already taken place. Therefore, we can all be sure that next year will bring us no less “shocking” and maybe really surprising similarities between the reality of the yellow characters and ours.
