‘The Simpsons’ Predicted More Than Just The Coronavirus and Murder Hornets
The Coronavirus has gripped much of the world since late 2019. The pandemic is unprecedented, and its quick spread has caused the closure of schools and businesses across the globe. While it seems like no one could have predicted the current pandemic, fans of The Simpsons note that the series may have done just that. The same episode may have predicted the current threat of murder hornets, as well. The coronavirus and murder hornets aren’t the only things fans think The Simpsons writers have predicted. In fact, there is a pretty lengthy list of events that occurred in the world after they appeared on The Simpsons.
Fans think The Simpsons predicted the Coronavirus and murder hornets
In a 1993 episode titled “Marge in Chains,” a mysterious virus makes its way to Springfield via contaminated packages from Japan. The virus quickly spreads through the town, and leads to protests, with residents demanding a cure. During the demonstrations, a swarm of killer bees attacks. There is a lot to unpack there, and sure, the episode has some interesting similarities to the current state of the world, but did the show really predict the future? Probably not.
Forbes points out that the details of the Osaka Flu referenced in the 1993 The Simpsons episode don’t exactly line up with the current pandemic. However, fans are still finding the similarities a little eerie. The novel illness, the protests, and the inclusion of killer bees in the episode sure make it seem like The Simpsons writers can predict the future. Then again, the show has produced nearly 700 episodes. With that much content, some things are bound to line up, and it’s not the first time the series seems to have predicted future events.
The show also predicted a three-eyed fish and a tiger attack on Siegfried and Roy
The Simpsons is pretty good at predicting the future. Aside from eluding to the murder hornets that have arrived in the United States, and the current pandemic, series’ writers predicted the invention of smartwatches, the existence of a three-eyed fish and the tiger attack that left Roy Horn seriously injured in 2003. All three episodes aired in the 1990s.
A November 1990 episode of The Simpsons featured a character named “Blinky.” The three-eyed fish was caught by Bart while he was out fishing, and it was primarily suggested that Blinky’s extra eye was due to the nuclear power plant polluting the water supply. The entire episode was supposed to be a fictional commentary on pollution, but 21 years later, it became a reality. In 2011, a three-eyed fish was discovered in an Argentinian reservoir, reported IGN. The water in the reservoir was polluted by, you guessed it, a power plant.
In a 1993 episode of The Simpsons, Homer and Ned take in a magic show in Las Vegas. That show was a parody of Siegfried and Roy’s wildly popular stage show. At the end of the show, both magicians are attacked by their white tiger. 10 years later, in 2003, Horn was attacked by a white tiger by the name of Montecore while on stage. He sustained life-threatening injuries but eventually recovered. Horn died on May 8 from complications of Covid-19. He was 75.
The Simpsons also predicted serious voting errors
In a 2008 episode of The Simpsons, Homer enters a voting booth to cast his vote for the presidential election. There was a big problem, though. Every time Homer clicked on Barack Obama’s name, the voting machine registered a vote for his opponent, John McCain. Eventually, Homer is eaten by the machine and spit back out into the lobby. Presumably, his numerous votes for McCain still registered.
An eerily similar situation played out in Pennsylvania in 2012. A Reddit user posted a video of a voting machine in the state in November 2012. The short clip shows the user attempting to vote for Barack Obama, but each time they hit Obama’s name on the machine, it registered the vote for Obama’s opponent, Mitt Romney. TechCrunch reported that the device in question had been removed from circulation after the video was posted. MSNBC reported that similar issues might have occurred in other states. The machines were, reportedly, recalibrated. A software glitch was blamed for the error.
