16 predictions the Simpsons got right - did you know these?
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If you have turned on your television in the last 15 or 20 years, you have certainly seen an episode of the famous cartoon "The Simpsons". One of the best-known pop culture productions in the world, it is almost impossible to find anyone who does not know Homer Simpson, the patriarch of the family.
Besides being known for sarcasm, humor, and irony, the series is also known for showing in its episodes some events that, some time later, actually happened in real life, so "The Simpsons" has a reputation for making predictions that you should know about.
To make you dizzy with the events predicted by the cartoon, we have prepared this list with 16 predictions that the Simpsons got right. Check it out!
1. three-eyed fish - Season 2, episode 4
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In this episode, released in 1990, Bart catches a three-eyed fish named Blinky in the river near the power plant where Homer works, and the story makes headlines in the town.
More than a decade later, a three-eyed fish was found in a reservoir in Argentina. Coincidence or not, the reservoir was fed by water from a nuclear power plant.
2. the censorship of Michelangelo's David - Season 2, episode 9
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That same season, an episode showed Springfield residents protesting the statue of David by Michelangelo that was being displayed in the local museum, calling the work of art obscene because of its nudity.
The satire of censorship became a reality in July 2016, when Russian activists dressed up a copy of the Renaissance statue that had been erected in downtown St. Petersburg.
3. letter from the Beatles - Season 2, episode 18
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In 1991, an episode of "The Simpsons" showed Ringo Starr, drummer of the mythical Beatles, thoughtfully answering some fan letters that had been written decades ago.
See_also: 08:08 - What is the significance of seeing this schedule often?In September 2013, two Beatles fans from the town of Essex, England, received a response from Paul McCartney to a letter and recording they sent to the band 50 years ago.
The recording was sent to a theater in London where the band was to play, but was found years later at a street sale hosted by a historian. In 2013, BBC broadcaster The One Show reunited the duo, the letter sent, and a response from McCartney.
Siegfried & Roy's tiger attack - Season 5, episode 10
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In 1993, an episode of the series parodied the magician duo Siegfried & Roy. During the episode, the magicians were violently attacked by a trained white tiger while performing in a casino.
In 2003, Roy Horn, of the duo Siegfried & Roy, was attacked during a live performance by one of his white tigers. He survived, but suffered serious injuries in the attack.
5. horse meat scandal - Season 5, episode 19
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In 1994, an episode showed a company using "assorted pieces of horse meat" to prepare lunch for Springfield schoolchildren.
Nine years later, Ireland's Food Safety Authority has found horse DNA in more than a third of samples of supermarket hamburgers and ready meals sold in the nation's capital.
6. smartwatches - Season 6, episode 19
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Almost 20 years before the Apple Watch, Apple's first smartwatch, was released, "The Simpsons" showed in this episode a wrist computer that works basically the same way as today's smartwatches do.
7. robot librarians - Season 6, episode 19
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This episode shows that all librarians in the universe of the series have been replaced by robots.
More than 20 years later, robotics students at Aberystwyth University in Wales have built a prototype for a walking library robot, while scientists in Singapore have begun testing their own library robots.
8. the discovery of the Higgs boson equation - Season 8, episode 1
Reproduction / Simpsons
In an episode that aired in 1998, Homer Simpson becomes an inventor and is shown in front of a complicated equation on a blackboard.
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According to Simon Singh, author of the book "The Simpsons and Their Mathematical Secrets," the equation refers to the mass of the Higgs boson particle. This equation was first described in 1964 by Professor Peter Higgs and five other physicists, but it was only in 2013 that scientists discovered proof of the Higgs boson in an experiment costing more than 10 billion euros.
9. ebola outbreak - Season 9 Episode 3
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In one of the scariest previews, this episode shows Lisa saying that her brother, Bart, is sick because he read the book "George the Curious and the Ebola Virus." At the time, the virus was already known, but had not caused much damage.
In 2013, however, 17 years later, an outbreak of Ebola spread across the world, especially the African continent, killing more than 2,000 people in the Democratic Republic of Congo alone.
10. Disney buys 20th Century Fox - Season 10, episode 5
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In this episode, which aired in 1998, there are scenes that take place at the 20th Century Fox studios. In front of the building, a sign in front of it indicates that it is "a division of the Walt Disney Co."
On December 14, 2017, Disney purchased 21st Century Fox for about $52.4 billion, acquiring Fox's movie studio (20th Century Fox), as well as much of its television production assets. The media conglomerate now has access to popular material such as "X-Men," "Avatar," and "The Simpsons."
The Invention of the Tomacco Plant Season 11 Episode 5
Reproduction / Simpsons
In this 1999 episode, Homer used nuclear energy to create a tomato and tobacco hybrid, which he called a "tomacco."
This inspired Rob Baur, an American fan of "The Simpsons", to create his own version of this plant. In 2003, Baur grafted a tobacco root and a tomato stem to make "tomacco". The creators of "The Simpsons" were so impressed that they invited Baur and his family to go to the studio that produces the cartoon. And detail: there, they ate the tomacco.
12. defective ballot boxes Season 20 Episode 4
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This 2008 episode of "The Simpsons" showed Homer trying to vote for Barack Obama in the US general election, but a faulty ballot box changed his vote.
Four years later, a ballot box in Pennsylvania had to be removed after it changed people's votes for Barack Obama to those of his Republican rival, Mitt Romney.
13. the US beats Sweden in curling at the Olympics - Season 21, episode 12
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In one of the biggest surprises at the 2018 Winter Olympics, the American curling team won gold over the favorite, Sweden.
See_also: To Dream of a Running MouseThis historic victory was predicted in an episode of "The Simpsons" that aired in 2010. In the episode, Marge and Homer Simpson compete in curling at the Vancouver Olympics and beat Sweden.
In real life, the US men's Olympic curling team won a gold medal by beating Sweden, even though they were behind, which is exactly what happened in "The Simpsons". For us Brazilians, who do not have much contact with this sport, it may sound random, but it is worth saying that Sweden was practically unbeatable in this sport.
14. Nobel Prize Winner - Season 22, episode 1
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MIT professor Bengt Holmström won the Nobel Prize in Economics in 2016. Interestingly, six years earlier, characters from "The Simpsons" bet on him as one of the potential winners.
Holmström's name appeared on a betting ballot when Martin, Lisa and Milhouse were betting on who would be the winners of that year's Nobel Prize, and some chose the name of this MIT professor.
15. Lady Gaga's Super Bowl halftime show Season 23 Episode 22
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In 2012, Lady Gaga performed for the city of Springfield during the Super Bowl, the championship game of the NFL, the U.S. American soccer league.
Five years later, in real life, she appeared flying off the roof of Houston NRG Stadium (just as her show on "The Simpsons" began) to perform her Super Bowl halftime show.
16. Daenerys Targaryen's big twist in "Game of Thrones" - Season 29, episode 1
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In the penultimate episode of the "Game of Thrones" series, Daenerys Targaryen shocked fans when she and her dragon devastated the already surrendered and defeated city of King's Landing, killing thousands of innocent people and displeasing many fans.
In 2017, in an episode of the 29th season of "The Simpsons" that paralleled several aspects of "Game of Thrones" - including the Three-Eyed Raven and the Night King - Homer accidentally revives a dragon that begins incinerating a town.
Coincidence or not, the fact is that the funny and brilliant "The Simpsons" series has predicted many things that have come true in real life, initially shocking the fans, but later becoming a fact of life in the already long list of times that real life has imitated fiction. And then, do you remember another "The Simpsons" prediction that came true?
