Did The Simpsons Predict the Future? 25 Predictions Fact-Checked

The Data Drop #025

We fact-checked 25 of the most famous predictions.
6 were eerily exact. 7 were completely fake.

750+ episodes | 35+ seasons | 1989 - present

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The short answer

Did The Simpsons predict the future?

Sometimes, and less often than the internet says: of the 25 most famous Simpsons predictions we checked against the episodes, 6 came true almost exactly, 14 got the gist right, and 5 were stretches about things that already existed, while 7 more that keep going viral were doctored screenshots, spliced clips or AI fakes.

The exact six are President Trump in 2000, Disney buying Fox in 1998, the Nobel economics winner Bengt Holmstrom by name in 2010, US curling gold over Sweden, the censored statue of David, and Cypress Hill playing with the London Symphony Orchestra, and the show managed it with more than 750 episodes of jokes about the future.

1. Trump PresidencyS11E17, aired 2000, came true 2016, 16 years laterExact
2. Disney Buys FoxS10E05, aired 1998, came true 2019, 21 years laterExact
3. Nobel Prize WinnerS22E01, aired 2010, came true 2016, 6 years laterExact
4. US Curling Gold vs SwedenS21E12, aired 2010, came true 2018, 8 years laterExact
5. David CensorshipS02E09, aired 1990, came true 2023, 33 years laterExact
6. Cypress Hill + LSOS07E24, aired 1996, came true 2024, 28 years laterExact
7. Siegfried & Roy AttackS05E10, aired 1993, came true 2003, 10 years laterClose
8. SmartwatchesS06E19, aired 1995, came true 2015, 20 years laterClose
9. FIFA CorruptionS25E16, aired 2014, came true 2015, 1 year laterClose
10. NSA SurveillanceFilm, aired 2007, came true 2013, 6 years laterClose
11. Horse Meat ScandalS05E19, aired 1994, came true 2013, 19 years laterClose
12. Tomacco PlantS11E05, aired 1999, came true 2003, 4 years laterClose
13. Three-Eyed FishS02E04, aired 1990, came true 2011, 21 years laterClose
14. Lady Gaga Super BowlS23E22, aired 2012, came true 2017, 5 years laterClose
15. Voting Machine GlitchS20E04, aired 2008, came true 2012, 4 years laterClose
16. Richard Branson in SpaceS25E15, aired 2014, came true 2021, 7 years laterClose
17. Baby TranslatorS03E24, aired 1992, came true 2016, 24 years laterClose
18. FarmvilleS09E12, aired 1998, came true 2009, 11 years laterClose
19. Germany Beats BrazilS25E16, aired 2014, came true 2014, months laterClose
20. A Matrix ChristmasS15E14, aired 2004, came true 2021, 17 years laterClose
21. AutocorrectS06E08, aired 1994, came true 2007, 13 years laterStretch
22. Video CallingS06E19, aired 1995, came true 2010, 15 years laterStretch
23. Higgs BosonS10E02, aired 1998, came true 2012, 14 years laterStretch
24. Pandemic from AsiaS04E21, aired 1993, came true 2020, 27 years laterStretch
25. Ebola VirusS09E03, aired 1997, came true 2014, 17 years laterStretch

The Exact Predictions

The ones they nailed.

Six predictions so specific, so accurate, that coincidence barely covers it.

The Close Calls

Not exact, but uncanny.

Fourteen predictions where the Simpsons got the gist right. Sometimes satire becomes prophecy.

The Full Picture

All 25 Predictions, Mapped

Each line spans from the episode's air date to when the prediction came true. Longer line = more impressive.

Exact Close Stretch

Honesty Check

Some of these are a stretch.

Not every Simpsons joke is a prophecy. These commonly cited "predictions" were actually referencing things that already existed.

The internet lied about these.

Doctored screenshots, spliced clips, and AI-generated fakes. These "predictions" never happened.

The Simpsons didn't predict the future. They made 750+ episodes and aired over 16,000 minutes of television. With that many jokes about the future, some of them were bound to land.