Over the years there have been many spooky parallels between world events and scenes from the cult-classic cartoon series, The Simpsons.
Just this weekend, Channel 4 pulled the episode: ‘Lisa the Iconoclast’ seemingly for bearing similarities to former president, Donald Trump’s assassination attempt while hosting a campaign rally in Pennsylvania.
The episode, which first aired in the 90s was due to be repeated on Sunday – the day after horror scenes unfolded in the US state. It depicts a shooter on the roof of a building as a public gathering – similar to a rally – takes place below.
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But it was switched with another episode at the last minute after Trump was hit on the ear by gunman, Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20 who opened fire before being “neutralized” by Secret Service snipers.
(Image: Fox)
For years, writers of the show have fallen under suspicion for their “psychic powers” having “predicted” a string of real-life occurances from Donald Trump’s presidency, the loss of the Titanic submarine and even the Willy Wonka Chocolate Experience fiasco.
And if those premonitions are anything to go by, here’s what could be in store for 2024:
World War 3
(Image: Fox)
In an early special episode of The Simpsons which aired on the Tracey Ullman show in 1987, Homer pranks his family with scares of World War 3.
He states:” Wake up everybody. It’sa World War 3. Quick! Down to the fallout shelter. The bombs are dropping…If this were really a nuclear war, we would all be dead by now.”
He later adds: “Oh ooh an English boy yeah…You know, we saved your ass in World War 2.
“And yeah, we saved your ass in World War 3.”
Robots taking our jobs
(Image: Fox)
Episode 17 of series 23 shows Homer losing his job after his boss, Mr Burns announces he’s replacing his staff with robots.
Mr Burns declares: “Meet the future masters of the human race.”
He adds: “You will train them and they will replace you.”
Given the huge strides that have been made in technology recently, this wouldn’t be so hard to imagine.
Female president
(Image: Fox)
In an episode called ‘Back to the Future,’ Lisa becomes the first president of the USA. As Lisa sits in the Oval Office, she says her presidency has “inherited quite a budget crunch from President Trump.”
While many claim the “prediction” has already come true with the advent of Kamala Harris as the first black female vice president, they wonder whether she could take the top spot in 2024.
Another episode aired in 2016 hints that Trump’s daughter, Ivanka would run for president. In one scene, Homer can be seen wearing a badge that states: “Ivanka 2028.”
Mars takeover
(Image: Fox)
In episode 6 of series 27, Lisa learns that the government is seeking volunteers to move to Mars and she and her family sign up for the task.
It’s reminiscent of Elon Musk’s pledge to colonize the Red Planet leaving many wondering what dark magic the writers behold.
Musk made a guest appearance on The Simpsons in 2015 in the episode called ‘The Musk Who Fell to Earth.’
He lands in Springfield inside a rocket capsule and turns the town into a dystopia by developing new products he thinks will benefit residents. Also, in this episode is the prediction that Musk will buy Twitter.
End of the world?
An episode called Treehouse of Horror 23 sees the family try and escape being swallowed up by a mysterious black hole.
It eventually sucks up all of Springfield leaving baby Maggie alone. Many wonder whether it means the world could be on the edge of a catastrophic disaster.
According the scientists, the closest black hole to our planet is 1560 light years away, HubPages reports.
But with a track record of fortelling future events, does this mean the end of the world is nearer than we thought?
(Image: Fox)
Other “predictions” in the show’s 35-year history include the arrival of smart watches and the Siegfried and Roy tiger attack. Marge once read a book about Ebola years before the outbreak and in another episode, lunch lady Doris could be seen serving horsemeat to students years before the scandal.
The ‘Lisa the Iconoclast’ episode description reads: “Lisa finds out that Springfield’s founder was a murderous pirate who tried to assassinate George Washington, and decides her fellow citizens should know the truth.”
In the episode, the gunman admitted he could ‘pick her off’ after waiting for orders from the fictional Springfield mayor who stood beside him on the roof.
In a video The Simpsons Conspiracy: How They Predict The Future, the host of YouTube channel Chuppl said: “Unlike most other shows, The Simpsons writing team consists largely of writers who are extremely educated in fields ranging from mathematics to social sciences because of this they are also really connected to those that are on the cutting edge.”
They worked out that it takes around 13 years for a prediction made by the show to come true and that the most accurate predictions come from writers with math degrees.
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