11 Times Simpsons Predicted the Future and We Wish It Hadn't

1. President Trump (Season 11, Episode 17: "Bart to the Future")

When this episode aired in 2000, the idea of Donald Trump as President was purely comical – a gag perfect for a satirical, animated sitcom like "The Simpsons". Yet, 16 years later, in a plot twist that even M. Night Shyamalan would've found too unbelievable, Trump ascended to the highest office in the land.

The episode revolves around Bart being shown a vision of his future where Lisa has become president, succeeding President Trump. She inherits an economy in ruins, a scary foreshadowing of the real-life economic turbulence during Trump's reign. It's a classic example of "The Simpsons" absurd humor turning a little too real for comfort.

2. Disney Buys 20th Century Fox (Season 10, Episode 5: "When You Dish Upon a Star")

In an episode that aired in 1998, Ron Howard pitches a script to 20th Century Fox, with a sign in the Fox studio revealing it's now "A Division of Walt Disney Co". Fast-forward to 2017, and Disney's purchase of 20th Century Fox sent shockwaves throughout Hollywood.

The episode itself centers on Homer becoming friends with Alec Baldwin and Kim Basinger after a parasailing accident. This prediction is more amusing than distressing, but its accuracy is a sobering reminder of the concentration of media power in just a few hands.

3. The Horse Meat Scandal (Season 5, Episode 19: "Sweet Seymour Skinner's Baadasssss Song")

In this episode, our favorite bumbling principal Seymour Skinner gets fired, and Bart feels responsible, leading to a series of hilarious events. However, a less funny moment is when Lunchlady Doris resorts to using "assorted horse parts" due to budget cuts. Come 2013, a real-life scandal erupted in Europe when foods advertised as beef were found to contain horse meat. It was a scandal that rocked the food industry, and "The Simpsons" grim joke suddenly became a dark reality.

4. The Ebola Outbreak (Season 9, Episode 3: "Lisa's Sax")

Here's where things get a bit more chilling. In this 1997 episode, Bart is seen reading a book titled "Curious George and the Ebola Virus". Fast forward to 2014, and the Ebola Virus was causing an international health crisis. The episode primarily tells the origin story of Lisa's saxophone, giving us heartfelt moments mixed with the show's signature humor. But, Bart's seemingly innocent book turned out to be an ominous prediction that we certainly wish hadn't materialized.

5. Greece's Economic Collapse (Season 23, Episode 10: "Politically Inept, with Homer Simpson")

In a 2012 episode, a news ticker on a 'Head Butt' news report reads, "Europe puts Greece on eBay". Three years later, Greece became the first developed country to default to the International Monetary Fund, plunging into a severe economic crisis. The episode follows Homer as he becomes a political commentator after an airplane rant goes viral, satirizing news and politics. But it was the throwaway joke about Greece that made us wish "The Simpsons" crystal ball had taken a day off.

6. Smartwatches (Season 6, Episode 19: "Lisa's Wedding")

In this forward-looking episode from 1995, Lisa visits a fortune teller who reveals her future fiancé communicating through a watch. It took nearly two decades for this to become reality, but with the introduction of smartwatches, "The Simpsons" once again proved their knack for prescience. The episode is filled with the show's humor and heart, exploring Lisa's future life and her relationships. But the tech prediction, which seemed so futuristic at the time, is a reality we now take for granted.

7. NSA Spying Scandal (The Simpsons Movie, 2007)

In "The Simpsons Movie", we see the Simpson family on the run from the government. At one point, Marge warns Lisa that someone might be listening to their conversation, only to cut to an NSA worker listening in, who screams, "We've got another one". Six years later, Edward Snowden dropped the bombshell that the NSA had been spying on Americans, causing a national uproar.

8. The FIFA Corruption Scandal (Season 25, Episode 16: "You Don't Have to Live Like a Referee")

In this episode, Homer is chosen to be a World Cup referee because of his incorruptible nature. The episode depicts a FIFA executive being arrested for corruption, and just a year later in 2015, the actual FIFA was embroiled in a scandal leading to several arrests. "The Simpsons" might have brought humor to the situation, but the reality was a dark stain on the soccer world.

9. The "God Particle" (Season 10, Episode 2: "The Wizard of Evergreen Terrace")

Who knew "The Simpsons" could predict scientific discoveries? In this episode, Homer becomes an inventor, inspired by Thomas Edison. He can be seen in front of a blackboard with an equation that eerily predicts the mass of the Higgs Boson, or the "God Particle", more than a decade before it was discovered in 2013.

10. Faulty Voting Machines (Season 20, Episode 4: "Treehouse of Horror XIX")

In a segment of this episode, Homer tries to vote for Barack Obama in the 2008 US elections, but the machine keeps changing his vote to John McCain. Four years later in 2012, a similar malfunction happened in Pennsylvania, where a voting machine had to be removed for switching votes from Obama to Mitt Romney.

11. 9/11 Prediction (Season 9, Episode 1: "The City of New York Vs. Homer Simpson")

This is the prediction that no one wishes came true. In the episode, the Simpson family travels to New York City. Lisa holds up a magazine that features the number 9, next to an image of the Twin Towers, making it look like "9/11". The episode aired in 1997, four years before the tragic 9/11 attacks. While this could be pure coincidence, it is nonetheless chilling and an instance where we really wish "The Simpsons" had got it wrong.