Long-running animated series The Simpsons is well known for making many accurate predictions about the future. Famously, their episodes have made eerie statements about what could happen in the next few years, although not every guess is always true.
Some of the predictions in the show are completely off the mark, while others are so close we wonder if a couple of time travelers are writing on the series. Here are five predictions that were completely wrong and five that have actually happened.
WRONG: THE DOME
We’ve had a number of natural disasters happen over the past few years. Right now, the world is even in fear of a brand new disease. Governments have formed strategies about how to contain these various natural forces.
However, not one government has been driven to using some sort of physical device to keep these forces at bay. The dome used in the Simpsons movie has not been replicated in real life.
RIGHT: TRUMP
The show has famously got one shocking prediction very right. During a piece of dialogue concerning one of the most intelligent characters, Lisa, and her own path to the White House, The Simpsons mentioned that Trump had been president.
Of course this was merely a joke at the time so it was surprising when Donald Trump actually ran to be president of the United States and then won. It made many fans go back to study all these other Simpsons predictions with a lot more scrutiny.
WRONG: TERMINATOR PRESIDENT
Speaking of the presidency, though, the show made another celebrity prediction that was actually linked to the hit show, The Apprentice. During the movie it made another bold choice of who could sit in the White House in the future.
Despite his political career, Arnold Schwarzenegger has never been president. The chances of him running for the position in the future are very small. However, it probably can’t be completely ruled out as a possibility; stranger things have happened.
RIGHT: THE SHARD
When peering into the future, sometimes the animators can make their own predictions that people won’t necessarily notice. During one episode that sees London in the future, there’s a building that looks very similar to the Shard.
At the time of the episode being made, the Shard was not part of the London landscape. What’s even more shocking is that the creators correctly identified what position the building would be in, without anything to base this on.
WRONG: VIRTUAL REALITY FOOD
Virtual reality is being developed very quickly, although perhaps not at the rate that the Simpsons writers expected it to. While lots of other futuristic things have been predicted correctly, this science fiction fantasy hasn’t panned out.
In the same vein that the show tributes classic science fiction films, it tries to make its own futuristic predictions. Virtual reality food was one of these guesses, but it’s the kind of technology that may actually never be developed and could even be impossible.
RIGHT: THREE-EYED FISH
One of the most famous animals in the show is a three-eyed fish. This was created due to the water that it swum in being contaminated by the nuclear power plant Homer happens to work in. Who would have known that this creature was real?
A three-eyed fish actually surfaced in real life, shocking scientists across the world. What was more bizarre was that the new animal was found not that far from a nuclear power point, supporting the theory Simpsons started so long ago.
WRONG: GEORGE CLOONEY’S DEATH
George Clooney is one of the most recognizable faces in Hollywood. It’s why his death in a Treehouse of Horror episode is all the most shocking, if not slightly hilarious. Homer is actually the one to kill off the famous actor.
After killing a few other notable faces (all of whom since died in real life) Homer causes Clooney to sink into some quicksand on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Unlike those other deaths, however, the show was clearly wrong this time.
RIGHT: BOUGHT BY DISNEY
An ongoing joke in the show is at the expense of the Walt Disney Company, who have been portrayed as somewhat evil overlords who are taking over the entertainment industry. One such joke suggests that Disney could actually buy 20th Century FOX.
The irony of this is, not only does Disney actually buy FOX, but The Simpsons came along with that sale and is a major part of the Disney+ streaming platform. It’s amazing how right the show actually managed to be — although their jokes about the company haven’t slowed.
WRONG: TECHNOLOGY
In the same way that the show tried to predict other future technology, one piece of innovation that The Simpsons guessed could happen was the use of hover vehicles. There are a couple of different iterations of this tech.
We see it on both cars and on bikes, demonstrating that the concept can be used in so many ways. However, in the real world, this technology isn’t exactly around the corner like some of these other predictions.
RIGHT: BELATED BEATLES MAIL
One episode had a funny side plot where Marge finally received a reply to a piece of fan mail that she wrote to Ringo Starr so many years before. This same story actually ended up happening in real life, too.
Paul McCartney found an old piece of fan mail that had been hidden away for some time. He promptly replied to it and the fan received their response over 5o years from when it was sent. It’s such a bizarre story that’s it’s almost scary how accurately this animated show managed to predict the events unfolding.
