10 frighteningly accurate prophecies from The Simpsons
Miscellaneous / / August 01, 2021
The Trump presidency, the Ebola epidemic and the three-eyed fish.
The Simpsons are rich in scenes that then come true in real life. It's not about the magical abilities of the screenwriters. In order for the series to be truly interesting and topical, they have to follow the news in different areas and react to them in a timely manner. So it's just a reflection of reality. However, some of the script moves are definitely worth considering.
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1. Three-eyed fish caught in a pond near the nuclear power plant
1990: Season 2, Episode 4, Two Cars in Every Garage and Three Eyes on Every Fish
The Simpsons kids were fishing in a pond near the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant, and Bart caught a three-eyed fish. At the same time, numerous violations were revealed at the station.
This is not to say that the prediction was so incredible. The issue of mutation due to radiation has been discussed for a long time, and the emergence of an aquatic animal with three eyes was only a matter of time. But in 2011 in Argentina, in a reservoir next to a local nuclear power plant, they really caughtThree eyed fish found near nuclear plant in Argentina three-eyed fish.
2. The statue of David was censored
1990: Season 2, Episode 9, Itchy & Scratchy, & Marge
Marge fights to have scenes of cruelty and violence removed from her children's favorite cartoon. She achieves her goal, but her associates turn the idea into absurdity. They oppose the display of a statue of David in Springfield because he is naked. During a talk show on the topic, TV host Kent Brockman shows off a sculpture wearing trousers.
In 2016, a resident of St. Petersburg complainedSt. Petersburg will cover up the nakedness of David in response to the complaint of the city dweller on the nudity of a copy of the statue of David, installed near the Church of St. Anna on Kirochnaya Street. In her words, the sculpture spoils the image of the city and badly affects children. As a result, the “Dress David” campaign was launched. Anyone could offer their own version of an outfit for a world masterpiece. During the action, the statue's genitals were covered with a cap.
3. Terrorists blew up the towers of the World Trade Center
1997: Season 9, Episode 1, The City of New York vs. Homer Simpson)
In the episode, Lisa is holding a magazine. The $ 9 price tag and the image of the World Trade Center towers on it resemble the fateful date of September 11, written in American format: 9.11. The prediction seems far-fetched - so, in fact, it is. But in retrospect, it looks ominous.
4. Ebola outbreak occurs
1997: Season 9, Episode 3 Lisa's Sax
Marge invites the sad Bart to read Curious George and the Ebola Virus. It is difficult to consider this a complete prediction: the virus was discovered in 1976. However, at the time of the episode's release, he was so far off the agenda that his mention can be considered curious.
Major epidemics of Ebola were recorded in 1995, 2000, 2003, 2007 and 2014.
5. Disney bought 20th Century Fox
1998: Season 10, Episode 5, When You Dish Upon a Star
In this episode, a sign in front of 20th Century Fox headquarters indicates that it is a division of the Walt Disney Co. It must have looked incredible then. But in the late 2010s, Disney really bought film studio.
6. A hybrid of tomatoes and tobacco appeared
1999: Season 11, Episode 5 Tomak (5 E ‑ I ‑ E ‑ I- (Annoyed Grunt))
Homer, who suddenly became a farmer, invents the tomac, a hybrid of tomato and tobacco. A disgusting-tasting vegetable quickly becomes addictive, and therefore has a commercial success.
This episode did not predict the appearance of the tomak, but rather inspired its creation. Simpsons fan Rob Baur receivedSimpsons Plant Seeds of Invention a vegetable with a nicotine content, however, not by crossing, but by grafting a tomato sprout to tobacco.
7. Electoral machine falsified voter votes
2008: Season 20, Episode 4 Treehouse of Horror XIX
Homer tries to vote for Barack Obama using a special machine. However, he counts the vote for his rival John McCain.
In 2012, in Pennsylvania, the already real voting machine had to be removed because it gaveUS election 2012: voting machine 'changes vote for Barack Obama to Mitt Romney' votes for Barack Obama to his rival Mitt Romney.
8. Bengt Holmström was nominated for the Nobel Prize
2010: Season 22, Episode 1 Elementary School Musical
Lisa, Martin and Milhouse are betting on who will receive the Nobel Prize. Bengt Holmström is among the nominees that can be seen on Martin's card. True, he did not receive an award in the cartoon.
The Nobel Prize in Economics for Contributions to Contract Theory was awarded to MIT professor Bengt Holmström in 2016.
9. Donald Trump became the President of the United States
2000: 11th season, 17th episode of Bart to the Future
Bart sees a future in which Lisa became the president of the United States. At the White House meeting, Lisa says, "As you know, President Trump left us with a budget crisis." It is clear from the context that she took office immediately after him. True, Trump himself does not appear in this episode, and footage with him, which are considered prophetic, is cut from the Trumptastic Voyage video released in 2015.
It is also worth noting that the idea of him as a politician in 2000 did not arise from scratch. In the 2000 presidential election, he participated in the reform party primaries. But he became president only in 2017.
10. Smart watches, video calling, autocorrect and other technologies appeared
Photo: frame from the series "The Simpsons"
Photo: frame from the series "The Simpsons"
Photo: frame from the series "The Simpsons"
These predictions were in different series, but they should be combined into one paragraph. The reason is simple: they cannot be ignored, but they cannot be considered something supernatural. By the time they appeared in the animated series, these technologies already existed, albeit not in the form in which we know about them now.
In the 19th episode of season six, Lisa's Wedding, which takes the Simpsons into the future, her boyfriend is on the phone hours later. Here, Lisa communicates with Marge using a screen that is attached to a regular dial phone. An episode earlier, the bully Dolph sets himself a reminder with the words "Beat up Martin", and gets "Eat up, Martha" ("Eat, Martha").
What predictions have you noticed? Share in the comments.
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