The Walt Disney Company is set to purchase much of 21st Century Fox for $52.4 billion dollars. That’s a ton of money, but it’s nowhere near what Comcast was ready to pay for those pieces on the auction block.
Salivating overs its international businesses, the NBCUniversal parent company pitched a dollar amount to Fox in the low-$60 billion dollars range, a person with knowledge of those initial talks tells TheWrap. Using the definition of the word “low” (and thus, not “mid” or “high”), that means a Comcast takeover could have made Fox shareholders on the whole $10 billion richer.
We’ll write that out for readers to see exactly how long those zeroes go on: $10,000,000,000.
Also Read: Fox Tops Q2 Earnings Estimates as Cable Carries Broadcast TV Decline
Our insider tells us that an official Comcast bid never actually came in — this all happened during feeler talks. That is in line with what the company said after Disney’s agreement was accepted. This person also tells us that no secondary push from Comcast has since taken place — but these initial conversations resurfacing may force Fox to explain such a significant self-devaluation to shareholders. It’s starting to become a bit of a tough sell.
But before you think Fox screwed up, there could be very good reasons why it chose Disney’s $52 billion to Comcast’s $60 billion-plus. For starters, these purchase prices mean nothing if the deal dies along the way. Regulatory approval can be a nightmare these days — just look at AT&T-Time Warner — and operating a major corporation under such a cloud of mega M&A activity is neither fun nor free.
Somewhere along the way, Fox determined that Disney would make the better (or at least, more likely) parent. In our totally personal fantasy about this scenario, we’d like to think President Trump’s disdain for MSNBC may have reared its ugly head, much like Time Warner’s CNN seems to be a problem for this administration and that see-you-in-court merger. That would be ridiculous, of course, but why stop the absurdity now?
Also Read: Disney Expected to Lose $250 Million on Hulu in 2018
Speaking of keep-on-keeping-on, it’s definitely not too late for Comcast and Fox to combine. After all, the government still gets a say, as do shareholders. And if you owned a whole bunch of Fox stock, which deal would you root for? One could give you up to a 20 percent higher return than the other. You know, assuming Comcast would still pay such a premium now knowing what Fox was willing to take.
While there is no timeline set yet for Fox’s final stockholder vote on the Disney deal, those with a vested interest should circle March 19, 2018 on their calendars: That’s when AT&T and Time Warner will begin their court battle against the Department of Justice. A victory there for the very much for-profit corporations could change a whole heck of a lot in the consolidating media landscape — oh yeah, and make a bunch of major players filthy rich(er).
Fox and Comcast both declined comment on this story.
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<span id="__caret">_</span><span id="__caret">_</span>"The Simpsons" has an eerie knack for predicting the future, from Donald Trump's presidency to the U.S. Winning an Olympic Gold Medal in Curling. Here are 14 times the long-running comedic series got it right.<strong><a href="http://www.thewrap.com/tag/lady_gaga/" data-mce-href="http://www.thewrap.com/tag/lady_gaga/">Lady Gaga</a></strong>On the episode "Lisa Goes Gaga," <a href="http://www.thewrap.com/tag/lady_gaga/" data-mce-href="http://www.thewrap.com/tag/lady_gaga/">Lady Gaga</a> is shown suspended by cables flying over the audience at a concert. Well surprise, surprise because at the Super Bowl LI's halftime show, Gaga descended from the stadium's roof with suspension cables wearing pretty much the same outfit on her episode.<strong>2016 Nobel Prize Winner</strong>In a 2010 episode, Milhouse predicted that Bengt R. Holmstrom would win the Nobel Prize in Economics and sure enough, in<a href="https://twitter.com/MIT/status/785551840205307904?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-mce-href="https://twitter.com/MIT/status/785551840205307904?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"> 2016 Holmstrom and Oliver Hart</a> were announced as joint winners of the prize.<strong>Donald Trump Presidency</strong>17 years ago in an episode titled "Bart to the Future" shows Lisa as president after Donald Trump apparently ruined the economy.<strong>Arnold Palmer</strong>On the 28th season premiere, the satirical series made an Arnold Palmer Joke ... on the day that golfer Arnold Palmer died.Homer Simpson tells his wife Marge that he plans to "Arnold Palmer" his pal Lenny."Arnold Palmer Lenny?" Marge responds. "You're going to Arnold Palmer Lenny?"He was of course referring to the lemonade and iced tea drink mixture -- which was named after the golfer.<strong>Siegfried and Roy Tiger Attack</strong>In 1993, an episode titled "$pringfield (Or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Legalised Gambling)," the show imitated a Siegfried and Roy where the magicians got attacked by their trustworthy tiger.Well, in 2003 Roy was attacked by one of their white tigers during a live performance. He sustained injuries, but lived.<strong>Faulty Voting Machine</strong>During the 2012 elections, a voting machine proved faulty when <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/us-election/9659694/US-election-2012-voting-machine-changes-vote-for-Barack-Obama-to-Mitt-Romney.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-mce-href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/us-election/9659694/US-election-2012-voting-machine-changes-vote-for-Barack-Obama-to-Mitt-Romney.html">votes cast</a> for Barack Obama went to Mitt Romney instead.In a 2008 episode, Homer Simpson went to the voting booths to cast a vote for Obama, but ... his vote went to McCain instead.<strong>Higgs Boson</strong>In a 1998 episode, "The Wizard of Evergreen Terrace," Homer Simpson writes out an equation on a chalkboard which if solved "you get the mass of a Higgs boson that's only a bit larger than the nano-mass of a Higgs boson actually is," <a href="http://time.com/3731370/homer-simpson-higgs-boson/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-mce-href="http://time.com/3731370/homer-simpson-higgs-boson/">says Simon Singh</a>, science author.<strong>Horse Meat Scandal</strong>In 1994 an episode titled "Sweet Seymour Skinner's Baadasssss Song," the lunch lady was seen reaching into a barrel labeled "assorted horse parts" and putting the meat into the school's lunch pot.In 2013, it was reported that traces of <a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-21631961" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-mce-href="http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-21631961">horse DNA</a> was found in beef products across the UK.<strong>Guitar Hero</strong>The now basically extinct but once popular video game Guitar Hero was first released in 2005.But in a 2002 Simpsons episode, <a href="http://www.thewrap.com/tag/mick_jagger/" data-mce-href="http://www.thewrap.com/tag/mick_jagger/">Mick Jagger</a> and Keith Richards give Homer a jacket that has "guitar hero" printed on the back of it.<strong>Farmville</strong>The virtual reality game, Farmville, was all the craze in 2009 with people rushing home from work or school to tend to their farm.In a 1998 episode, "The Simpsons" shows a scene were kids are excited to play in a yard work simulator.<strong>Old Beatles Letters</strong>In Season 2's episode 18, "Brush With Greatness," Ringo Starr from the Beatles is shown responding to fan letters while saying: "They took the time to write me, and I don't care if it takes me another 20 years. I'm going to answer every one of them."Well, two women in England received a reply to their fan mail form Sir Paul McCartney <a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-essex-24318839" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-mce-href="http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-essex-24318839">50 years later.</a><strong>Smart Watches</strong>Sorry Apple, but The Simpsons had smart watches first.In a 1995 episode, where the show is set in the future, Lisa's husband is shown speaking to a phone on his wrist.The first smart watch wasn't created until 2013.<strong>Disney Owns Fox </strong>Back in 1998, a quick scene in "The Simpsons" showed 20th Century Fox as "a Division of Walt Disney Co." And in March 2019, Disney completed its $71.3 billion acquisition of 21st Century Fox's film and TV assets.<strong>U.S. Wins an Olympic Gold Medal in Curling</strong>In 2010, Homer and Marge beat Sweden and took home Olympic gold for Team U.S.A. in Mixed Match Curling. As the animated sportscaster said, "Open your history books, tear out the pages and put this indelible Olympic moment in."<strong>Murder Hornets and Coronavirus</strong>In a 1993 episode, a Japanese factory worker accidentally spreads the contagious "Osaka Flu" to Springfield, and in the town peoples' rush to find a cure, they accidentally knock over a van with killer bees inside. The spread of "murder hornets" in America has coincided with the coronavirus in 2020. The coincidence was first <a href="https://twitter.com/thatbilloakley/status/1258121128905543682?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1258121128905543682&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fdeadline.com%2F2020%2F05%2Ffans-claim-the-simpsons-predicted-coronavirus-in-1993-1202848816%2F" data-mce-href="https://twitter.com/thatbilloakley/status/1258121128905543682?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1258121128905543682&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fdeadline.com%2F2020%2F05%2Ffans-claim-the-simpsons-predicted-coronavirus-in-1993-1202848816%2F">noticed</a> by former "Simpsons" writer Bill Oakley.<strong>Ted Cruz's Cancun Trip </strong>In the 1993 episode "Marge in Chains," Springfield Mayor Joe Quimby gives a press conference announcing there's a pandemic happening -- and letting residents know he didn't escape to the Bahamas during the disaster. It's later revealed that Quimby is just wearing a suit from the waist up and is actually broadcasting from a beach in swim shorts. <a href="https://twitter.com/jesse_brenneman/status/1362467127857324033" data-mce-href="https://twitter.com/jesse_brenneman/status/1362467127857324033">Fans were quick to point out</a> it's an almost identical situation to Texas Sen. Ted Cruz's recent <a href="http://www.thewrap.com/ted-cruz-uses-his-daughters-as-scapegoats-for-controversial-cancun-trip/" data-mce-href="http://www.thewrap.com/ted-cruz-uses-his-daughters-as-scapegoats-for-controversial-cancun-trip/">escape attempt to Cancun</a>. -
<span id="__caret">_</span><span id="__caret">_</span>"The Simpsons" has an eerie knack for predicting the future, from Donald Trump's presidency to the U.S. Winning an Olympic Gold Medal in Curling. Here are 14 times the long-running comedic series got it right.<strong><a href="http://www.thewrap.com/tag/lady_gaga/" data-mce-href="http://www.thewrap.com/tag/lady_gaga/">Lady Gaga</a></strong>On the episode "Lisa Goes Gaga," <a href="http://www.thewrap.com/tag/lady_gaga/" data-mce-href="http://www.thewrap.com/tag/lady_gaga/">Lady Gaga</a> is shown suspended by cables flying over the audience at a concert. Well surprise, surprise because at the Super Bowl LI's halftime show, Gaga descended from the stadium's roof with suspension cables wearing pretty much the same outfit on her episode.<strong>2016 Nobel Prize Winner</strong>In a 2010 episode, Milhouse predicted that Bengt R. Holmstrom would win the Nobel Prize in Economics and sure enough, in<a href="https://twitter.com/MIT/status/785551840205307904?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-mce-href="https://twitter.com/MIT/status/785551840205307904?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"> 2016 Holmstrom and Oliver Hart</a> were announced as joint winners of the prize.<strong>Donald Trump Presidency</strong>17 years ago in an episode titled "Bart to the Future" shows Lisa as president after Donald Trump apparently ruined the economy.<strong>Arnold Palmer</strong>On the 28th season premiere, the satirical series made an Arnold Palmer Joke ... on the day that golfer Arnold Palmer died.Homer Simpson tells his wife Marge that he plans to "Arnold Palmer" his pal Lenny."Arnold Palmer Lenny?" Marge responds. "You're going to Arnold Palmer Lenny?"He was of course referring to the lemonade and iced tea drink mixture -- which was named after the golfer.<strong>Siegfried and Roy Tiger Attack</strong>In 1993, an episode titled "$pringfield (Or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Legalised Gambling)," the show imitated a Siegfried and Roy where the magicians got attacked by their trustworthy tiger.Well, in 2003 Roy was attacked by one of their white tigers during a live performance. He sustained injuries, but lived.<strong>Faulty Voting Machine</strong>During the 2012 elections, a voting machine proved faulty when <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/us-election/9659694/US-election-2012-voting-machine-changes-vote-for-Barack-Obama-to-Mitt-Romney.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-mce-href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/us-election/9659694/US-election-2012-voting-machine-changes-vote-for-Barack-Obama-to-Mitt-Romney.html">votes cast</a> for Barack Obama went to Mitt Romney instead.In a 2008 episode, Homer Simpson went to the voting booths to cast a vote for Obama, but ... his vote went to McCain instead.<strong>Higgs Boson</strong>In a 1998 episode, "The Wizard of Evergreen Terrace," Homer Simpson writes out an equation on a chalkboard which if solved "you get the mass of a Higgs boson that's only a bit larger than the nano-mass of a Higgs boson actually is," <a href="http://time.com/3731370/homer-simpson-higgs-boson/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-mce-href="http://time.com/3731370/homer-simpson-higgs-boson/">says Simon Singh</a>, science author.<strong>Horse Meat Scandal</strong>In 1994 an episode titled "Sweet Seymour Skinner's Baadasssss Song," the lunch lady was seen reaching into a barrel labeled "assorted horse parts" and putting the meat into the school's lunch pot.In 2013, it was reported that traces of <a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-21631961" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-mce-href="http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-21631961">horse DNA</a> was found in beef products across the UK.<strong>Guitar Hero</strong>The now basically extinct but once popular video game Guitar Hero was first released in 2005.But in a 2002 Simpsons episode, <a href="http://www.thewrap.com/tag/mick_jagger/" data-mce-href="http://www.thewrap.com/tag/mick_jagger/">Mick Jagger</a> and Keith Richards give Homer a jacket that has "guitar hero" printed on the back of it.<strong>Farmville</strong>The virtual reality game, Farmville, was all the craze in 2009 with people rushing home from work or school to tend to their farm.In a 1998 episode, "The Simpsons" shows a scene were kids are excited to play in a yard work simulator.<strong>Old Beatles Letters</strong>In Season 2's episode 18, "Brush With Greatness," Ringo Starr from the Beatles is shown responding to fan letters while saying: "They took the time to write me, and I don't care if it takes me another 20 years. I'm going to answer every one of them."Well, two women in England received a reply to their fan mail form Sir Paul McCartney <a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-essex-24318839" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-mce-href="http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-essex-24318839">50 years later.</a><strong>Smart Watches</strong>Sorry Apple, but The Simpsons had smart watches first.In a 1995 episode, where the show is set in the future, Lisa's husband is shown speaking to a phone on his wrist.The first smart watch wasn't created until 2013.<strong>Disney Owns Fox </strong>Back in 1998, a quick scene in "The Simpsons" showed 20th Century Fox as "a Division of Walt Disney Co." And in March 2019, Disney completed its $71.3 billion acquisition of 21st Century Fox's film and TV assets.<strong>U.S. Wins an Olympic Gold Medal in Curling</strong>In 2010, Homer and Marge beat Sweden and took home Olympic gold for Team U.S.A. in Mixed Match Curling. As the animated sportscaster said, "Open your history books, tear out the pages and put this indelible Olympic moment in."<strong>Murder Hornets and Coronavirus</strong>In a 1993 episode, a Japanese factory worker accidentally spreads the contagious "Osaka Flu" to Springfield, and in the town peoples' rush to find a cure, they accidentally knock over a van with killer bees inside. The spread of "murder hornets" in America has coincided with the coronavirus in 2020. The coincidence was first <a href="https://twitter.com/thatbilloakley/status/1258121128905543682?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1258121128905543682&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fdeadline.com%2F2020%2F05%2Ffans-claim-the-simpsons-predicted-coronavirus-in-1993-1202848816%2F" data-mce-href="https://twitter.com/thatbilloakley/status/1258121128905543682?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1258121128905543682&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fdeadline.com%2F2020%2F05%2Ffans-claim-the-simpsons-predicted-coronavirus-in-1993-1202848816%2F">noticed</a> by former "Simpsons" writer Bill Oakley.<strong>Ted Cruz's Cancun Trip </strong>In the 1993 episode "Marge in Chains," Springfield Mayor Joe Quimby gives a press conference announcing there's a pandemic happening -- and letting residents know he didn't escape to the Bahamas during the disaster. It's later revealed that Quimby is just wearing a suit from the waist up and is actually broadcasting from a beach in swim shorts. <a href="https://twitter.com/jesse_brenneman/status/1362467127857324033" data-mce-href="https://twitter.com/jesse_brenneman/status/1362467127857324033">Fans were quick to point out</a> it's an almost identical situation to Texas Sen. Ted Cruz's recent <a href="http://www.thewrap.com/ted-cruz-uses-his-daughters-as-scapegoats-for-controversial-cancun-trip/" data-mce-href="http://www.thewrap.com/ted-cruz-uses-his-daughters-as-scapegoats-for-controversial-cancun-trip/">escape attempt to Cancun</a>.Fox -
<span id="__caret">_</span><span id="__caret">_</span>"The Simpsons" has an eerie knack for predicting the future, from Donald Trump's presidency to the U.S. Winning an Olympic Gold Medal in Curling. Here are 14 times the long-running comedic series got it right.<strong><a href="http://www.thewrap.com/tag/lady_gaga/" data-mce-href="http://www.thewrap.com/tag/lady_gaga/">Lady Gaga</a></strong>On the episode "Lisa Goes Gaga," <a href="http://www.thewrap.com/tag/lady_gaga/" data-mce-href="http://www.thewrap.com/tag/lady_gaga/">Lady Gaga</a> is shown suspended by cables flying over the audience at a concert. Well surprise, surprise because at the Super Bowl LI's halftime show, Gaga descended from the stadium's roof with suspension cables wearing pretty much the same outfit on her episode.<strong>2016 Nobel Prize Winner</strong>In a 2010 episode, Milhouse predicted that Bengt R. Holmstrom would win the Nobel Prize in Economics and sure enough, in<a href="https://twitter.com/MIT/status/785551840205307904?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-mce-href="https://twitter.com/MIT/status/785551840205307904?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"> 2016 Holmstrom and Oliver Hart</a> were announced as joint winners of the prize.<strong>Donald Trump Presidency</strong>17 years ago in an episode titled "Bart to the Future" shows Lisa as president after Donald Trump apparently ruined the economy.<strong>Arnold Palmer</strong>On the 28th season premiere, the satirical series made an Arnold Palmer Joke ... on the day that golfer Arnold Palmer died.Homer Simpson tells his wife Marge that he plans to "Arnold Palmer" his pal Lenny."Arnold Palmer Lenny?" Marge responds. "You're going to Arnold Palmer Lenny?"He was of course referring to the lemonade and iced tea drink mixture -- which was named after the golfer.<strong>Siegfried and Roy Tiger Attack</strong>In 1993, an episode titled "$pringfield (Or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Legalised Gambling)," the show imitated a Siegfried and Roy where the magicians got attacked by their trustworthy tiger.Well, in 2003 Roy was attacked by one of their white tigers during a live performance. He sustained injuries, but lived.<strong>Faulty Voting Machine</strong>During the 2012 elections, a voting machine proved faulty when <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/us-election/9659694/US-election-2012-voting-machine-changes-vote-for-Barack-Obama-to-Mitt-Romney.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-mce-href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/us-election/9659694/US-election-2012-voting-machine-changes-vote-for-Barack-Obama-to-Mitt-Romney.html">votes cast</a> for Barack Obama went to Mitt Romney instead.In a 2008 episode, Homer Simpson went to the voting booths to cast a vote for Obama, but ... his vote went to McCain instead.<strong>Higgs Boson</strong>In a 1998 episode, "The Wizard of Evergreen Terrace," Homer Simpson writes out an equation on a chalkboard which if solved "you get the mass of a Higgs boson that's only a bit larger than the nano-mass of a Higgs boson actually is," <a href="http://time.com/3731370/homer-simpson-higgs-boson/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-mce-href="http://time.com/3731370/homer-simpson-higgs-boson/">says Simon Singh</a>, science author.<strong>Horse Meat Scandal</strong>In 1994 an episode titled "Sweet Seymour Skinner's Baadasssss Song," the lunch lady was seen reaching into a barrel labeled "assorted horse parts" and putting the meat into the school's lunch pot.In 2013, it was reported that traces of <a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-21631961" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-mce-href="http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-21631961">horse DNA</a> was found in beef products across the UK.<strong>Guitar Hero</strong>The now basically extinct but once popular video game Guitar Hero was first released in 2005.But in a 2002 Simpsons episode, <a href="http://www.thewrap.com/tag/mick_jagger/" data-mce-href="http://www.thewrap.com/tag/mick_jagger/">Mick Jagger</a> and Keith Richards give Homer a jacket that has "guitar hero" printed on the back of it.<strong>Farmville</strong>The virtual reality game, Farmville, was all the craze in 2009 with people rushing home from work or school to tend to their farm.In a 1998 episode, "The Simpsons" shows a scene were kids are excited to play in a yard work simulator.<strong>Old Beatles Letters</strong>In Season 2's episode 18, "Brush With Greatness," Ringo Starr from the Beatles is shown responding to fan letters while saying: "They took the time to write me, and I don't care if it takes me another 20 years. I'm going to answer every one of them."Well, two women in England received a reply to their fan mail form Sir Paul McCartney <a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-essex-24318839" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-mce-href="http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-essex-24318839">50 years later.</a><strong>Smart Watches</strong>Sorry Apple, but The Simpsons had smart watches first.In a 1995 episode, where the show is set in the future, Lisa's husband is shown speaking to a phone on his wrist.The first smart watch wasn't created until 2013.<strong>Disney Owns Fox </strong>Back in 1998, a quick scene in "The Simpsons" showed 20th Century Fox as "a Division of Walt Disney Co." And in March 2019, Disney completed its $71.3 billion acquisition of 21st Century Fox's film and TV assets.<strong>U.S. Wins an Olympic Gold Medal in Curling</strong>In 2010, Homer and Marge beat Sweden and took home Olympic gold for Team U.S.A. in Mixed Match Curling. As the animated sportscaster said, "Open your history books, tear out the pages and put this indelible Olympic moment in."<strong>Murder Hornets and Coronavirus</strong>In a 1993 episode, a Japanese factory worker accidentally spreads the contagious "Osaka Flu" to Springfield, and in the town peoples' rush to find a cure, they accidentally knock over a van with killer bees inside. The spread of "murder hornets" in America has coincided with the coronavirus in 2020. The coincidence was first <a href="https://twitter.com/thatbilloakley/status/1258121128905543682?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1258121128905543682&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fdeadline.com%2F2020%2F05%2Ffans-claim-the-simpsons-predicted-coronavirus-in-1993-1202848816%2F" data-mce-href="https://twitter.com/thatbilloakley/status/1258121128905543682?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1258121128905543682&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fdeadline.com%2F2020%2F05%2Ffans-claim-the-simpsons-predicted-coronavirus-in-1993-1202848816%2F">noticed</a> by former "Simpsons" writer Bill Oakley.<strong>Ted Cruz's Cancun Trip </strong>In the 1993 episode "Marge in Chains," Springfield Mayor Joe Quimby gives a press conference announcing there's a pandemic happening -- and letting residents know he didn't escape to the Bahamas during the disaster. It's later revealed that Quimby is just wearing a suit from the waist up and is actually broadcasting from a beach in swim shorts. <a href="https://twitter.com/jesse_brenneman/status/1362467127857324033" data-mce-href="https://twitter.com/jesse_brenneman/status/1362467127857324033">Fans were quick to point out</a> it's an almost identical situation to Texas Sen. Ted Cruz's recent <a href="http://www.thewrap.com/ted-cruz-uses-his-daughters-as-scapegoats-for-controversial-cancun-trip/" data-mce-href="http://www.thewrap.com/ted-cruz-uses-his-daughters-as-scapegoats-for-controversial-cancun-trip/">escape attempt to Cancun</a>.Fox
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<span id="__caret">_</span><span id="__caret">_</span>"The Simpsons" has an eerie knack for predicting the future, from Donald Trump's presidency to the U.S. Winning an Olympic Gold Medal in Curling. Here are 14 times the long-running comedic series got it right.<strong><a href="http://www.thewrap.com/tag/lady_gaga/" data-mce-href="http://www.thewrap.com/tag/lady_gaga/">Lady Gaga</a></strong>On the episode "Lisa Goes Gaga," <a href="http://www.thewrap.com/tag/lady_gaga/" data-mce-href="http://www.thewrap.com/tag/lady_gaga/">Lady Gaga</a> is shown suspended by cables flying over the audience at a concert. Well surprise, surprise because at the Super Bowl LI's halftime show, Gaga descended from the stadium's roof with suspension cables wearing pretty much the same outfit on her episode.<strong>2016 Nobel Prize Winner</strong>In a 2010 episode, Milhouse predicted that Bengt R. Holmstrom would win the Nobel Prize in Economics and sure enough, in<a href="https://twitter.com/MIT/status/785551840205307904?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-mce-href="https://twitter.com/MIT/status/785551840205307904?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"> 2016 Holmstrom and Oliver Hart</a> were announced as joint winners of the prize.<strong>Donald Trump Presidency</strong>17 years ago in an episode titled "Bart to the Future" shows Lisa as president after Donald Trump apparently ruined the economy.<strong>Arnold Palmer</strong>On the 28th season premiere, the satirical series made an Arnold Palmer Joke ... on the day that golfer Arnold Palmer died.Homer Simpson tells his wife Marge that he plans to "Arnold Palmer" his pal Lenny."Arnold Palmer Lenny?" Marge responds. "You're going to Arnold Palmer Lenny?"He was of course referring to the lemonade and iced tea drink mixture -- which was named after the golfer.<strong>Siegfried and Roy Tiger Attack</strong>In 1993, an episode titled "$pringfield (Or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Legalised Gambling)," the show imitated a Siegfried and Roy where the magicians got attacked by their trustworthy tiger.Well, in 2003 Roy was attacked by one of their white tigers during a live performance. He sustained injuries, but lived.<strong>Faulty Voting Machine</strong>During the 2012 elections, a voting machine proved faulty when <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/us-election/9659694/US-election-2012-voting-machine-changes-vote-for-Barack-Obama-to-Mitt-Romney.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-mce-href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/us-election/9659694/US-election-2012-voting-machine-changes-vote-for-Barack-Obama-to-Mitt-Romney.html">votes cast</a> for Barack Obama went to Mitt Romney instead.In a 2008 episode, Homer Simpson went to the voting booths to cast a vote for Obama, but ... his vote went to McCain instead.<strong>Higgs Boson</strong>In a 1998 episode, "The Wizard of Evergreen Terrace," Homer Simpson writes out an equation on a chalkboard which if solved "you get the mass of a Higgs boson that's only a bit larger than the nano-mass of a Higgs boson actually is," <a href="http://time.com/3731370/homer-simpson-higgs-boson/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-mce-href="http://time.com/3731370/homer-simpson-higgs-boson/">says Simon Singh</a>, science author.<strong>Horse Meat Scandal</strong>In 1994 an episode titled "Sweet Seymour Skinner's Baadasssss Song," the lunch lady was seen reaching into a barrel labeled "assorted horse parts" and putting the meat into the school's lunch pot.In 2013, it was reported that traces of <a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-21631961" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-mce-href="http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-21631961">horse DNA</a> was found in beef products across the UK.<strong>Guitar Hero</strong>The now basically extinct but once popular video game Guitar Hero was first released in 2005.But in a 2002 Simpsons episode, <a href="http://www.thewrap.com/tag/mick_jagger/" data-mce-href="http://www.thewrap.com/tag/mick_jagger/">Mick Jagger</a> and Keith Richards give Homer a jacket that has "guitar hero" printed on the back of it.<strong>Farmville</strong>The virtual reality game, Farmville, was all the craze in 2009 with people rushing home from work or school to tend to their farm.In a 1998 episode, "The Simpsons" shows a scene were kids are excited to play in a yard work simulator.<strong>Old Beatles Letters</strong>In Season 2's episode 18, "Brush With Greatness," Ringo Starr from the Beatles is shown responding to fan letters while saying: "They took the time to write me, and I don't care if it takes me another 20 years. I'm going to answer every one of them."Well, two women in England received a reply to their fan mail form Sir Paul McCartney <a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-essex-24318839" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-mce-href="http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-essex-24318839">50 years later.</a><strong>Smart Watches</strong>Sorry Apple, but The Simpsons had smart watches first.In a 1995 episode, where the show is set in the future, Lisa's husband is shown speaking to a phone on his wrist.The first smart watch wasn't created until 2013.<strong>Disney Owns Fox </strong>Back in 1998, a quick scene in "The Simpsons" showed 20th Century Fox as "a Division of Walt Disney Co." And in March 2019, Disney completed its $71.3 billion acquisition of 21st Century Fox's film and TV assets.<strong>U.S. Wins an Olympic Gold Medal in Curling</strong>In 2010, Homer and Marge beat Sweden and took home Olympic gold for Team U.S.A. in Mixed Match Curling. As the animated sportscaster said, "Open your history books, tear out the pages and put this indelible Olympic moment in."<strong>Murder Hornets and Coronavirus</strong>In a 1993 episode, a Japanese factory worker accidentally spreads the contagious "Osaka Flu" to Springfield, and in the town peoples' rush to find a cure, they accidentally knock over a van with killer bees inside. The spread of "murder hornets" in America has coincided with the coronavirus in 2020. The coincidence was first <a href="https://twitter.com/thatbilloakley/status/1258121128905543682?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1258121128905543682&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fdeadline.com%2F2020%2F05%2Ffans-claim-the-simpsons-predicted-coronavirus-in-1993-1202848816%2F" data-mce-href="https://twitter.com/thatbilloakley/status/1258121128905543682?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1258121128905543682&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fdeadline.com%2F2020%2F05%2Ffans-claim-the-simpsons-predicted-coronavirus-in-1993-1202848816%2F">noticed</a> by former "Simpsons" writer Bill Oakley.<strong>Ted Cruz's Cancun Trip </strong>In the 1993 episode "Marge in Chains," Springfield Mayor Joe Quimby gives a press conference announcing there's a pandemic happening -- and letting residents know he didn't escape to the Bahamas during the disaster. It's later revealed that Quimby is just wearing a suit from the waist up and is actually broadcasting from a beach in swim shorts. <a href="https://twitter.com/jesse_brenneman/status/1362467127857324033" data-mce-href="https://twitter.com/jesse_brenneman/status/1362467127857324033">Fans were quick to point out</a> it's an almost identical situation to Texas Sen. Ted Cruz's recent <a href="http://www.thewrap.com/ted-cruz-uses-his-daughters-as-scapegoats-for-controversial-cancun-trip/" data-mce-href="http://www.thewrap.com/ted-cruz-uses-his-daughters-as-scapegoats-for-controversial-cancun-trip/">escape attempt to Cancun</a>.Fox
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<span id="__caret">_</span><span id="__caret">_</span>"The Simpsons" has an eerie knack for predicting the future, from Donald Trump's presidency to the U.S. Winning an Olympic Gold Medal in Curling. Here are 14 times the long-running comedic series got it right.<strong><a href="http://www.thewrap.com/tag/lady_gaga/" data-mce-href="http://www.thewrap.com/tag/lady_gaga/">Lady Gaga</a></strong>On the episode "Lisa Goes Gaga," <a href="http://www.thewrap.com/tag/lady_gaga/" data-mce-href="http://www.thewrap.com/tag/lady_gaga/">Lady Gaga</a> is shown suspended by cables flying over the audience at a concert. Well surprise, surprise because at the Super Bowl LI's halftime show, Gaga descended from the stadium's roof with suspension cables wearing pretty much the same outfit on her episode.<strong>2016 Nobel Prize Winner</strong>In a 2010 episode, Milhouse predicted that Bengt R. Holmstrom would win the Nobel Prize in Economics and sure enough, in<a href="https://twitter.com/MIT/status/785551840205307904?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-mce-href="https://twitter.com/MIT/status/785551840205307904?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"> 2016 Holmstrom and Oliver Hart</a> were announced as joint winners of the prize.<strong>Donald Trump Presidency</strong>17 years ago in an episode titled "Bart to the Future" shows Lisa as president after Donald Trump apparently ruined the economy.<strong>Arnold Palmer</strong>On the 28th season premiere, the satirical series made an Arnold Palmer Joke ... on the day that golfer Arnold Palmer died.Homer Simpson tells his wife Marge that he plans to "Arnold Palmer" his pal Lenny."Arnold Palmer Lenny?" Marge responds. "You're going to Arnold Palmer Lenny?"He was of course referring to the lemonade and iced tea drink mixture -- which was named after the golfer.<strong>Siegfried and Roy Tiger Attack</strong>In 1993, an episode titled "$pringfield (Or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Legalised Gambling)," the show imitated a Siegfried and Roy where the magicians got attacked by their trustworthy tiger.Well, in 2003 Roy was attacked by one of their white tigers during a live performance. He sustained injuries, but lived.<strong>Faulty Voting Machine</strong>During the 2012 elections, a voting machine proved faulty when <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/us-election/9659694/US-election-2012-voting-machine-changes-vote-for-Barack-Obama-to-Mitt-Romney.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-mce-href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/us-election/9659694/US-election-2012-voting-machine-changes-vote-for-Barack-Obama-to-Mitt-Romney.html">votes cast</a> for Barack Obama went to Mitt Romney instead.In a 2008 episode, Homer Simpson went to the voting booths to cast a vote for Obama, but ... his vote went to McCain instead.<strong>Higgs Boson</strong>In a 1998 episode, "The Wizard of Evergreen Terrace," Homer Simpson writes out an equation on a chalkboard which if solved "you get the mass of a Higgs boson that's only a bit larger than the nano-mass of a Higgs boson actually is," <a href="http://time.com/3731370/homer-simpson-higgs-boson/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-mce-href="http://time.com/3731370/homer-simpson-higgs-boson/">says Simon Singh</a>, science author.<strong>Horse Meat Scandal</strong>In 1994 an episode titled "Sweet Seymour Skinner's Baadasssss Song," the lunch lady was seen reaching into a barrel labeled "assorted horse parts" and putting the meat into the school's lunch pot.In 2013, it was reported that traces of <a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-21631961" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-mce-href="http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-21631961">horse DNA</a> was found in beef products across the UK.<strong>Guitar Hero</strong>The now basically extinct but once popular video game Guitar Hero was first released in 2005.But in a 2002 Simpsons episode, <a href="http://www.thewrap.com/tag/mick_jagger/" data-mce-href="http://www.thewrap.com/tag/mick_jagger/">Mick Jagger</a> and Keith Richards give Homer a jacket that has "guitar hero" printed on the back of it.<strong>Farmville</strong>The virtual reality game, Farmville, was all the craze in 2009 with people rushing home from work or school to tend to their farm.In a 1998 episode, "The Simpsons" shows a scene were kids are excited to play in a yard work simulator.<strong>Old Beatles Letters</strong>In Season 2's episode 18, "Brush With Greatness," Ringo Starr from the Beatles is shown responding to fan letters while saying: "They took the time to write me, and I don't care if it takes me another 20 years. I'm going to answer every one of them."Well, two women in England received a reply to their fan mail form Sir Paul McCartney <a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-essex-24318839" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-mce-href="http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-essex-24318839">50 years later.</a><strong>Smart Watches</strong>Sorry Apple, but The Simpsons had smart watches first.In a 1995 episode, where the show is set in the future, Lisa's husband is shown speaking to a phone on his wrist.The first smart watch wasn't created until 2013.<strong>Disney Owns Fox </strong>Back in 1998, a quick scene in "The Simpsons" showed 20th Century Fox as "a Division of Walt Disney Co." And in March 2019, Disney completed its $71.3 billion acquisition of 21st Century Fox's film and TV assets.<strong>U.S. Wins an Olympic Gold Medal in Curling</strong>In 2010, Homer and Marge beat Sweden and took home Olympic gold for Team U.S.A. in Mixed Match Curling. As the animated sportscaster said, "Open your history books, tear out the pages and put this indelible Olympic moment in."<strong>Murder Hornets and Coronavirus</strong>In a 1993 episode, a Japanese factory worker accidentally spreads the contagious "Osaka Flu" to Springfield, and in the town peoples' rush to find a cure, they accidentally knock over a van with killer bees inside. The spread of "murder hornets" in America has coincided with the coronavirus in 2020. The coincidence was first <a href="https://twitter.com/thatbilloakley/status/1258121128905543682?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1258121128905543682&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fdeadline.com%2F2020%2F05%2Ffans-claim-the-simpsons-predicted-coronavirus-in-1993-1202848816%2F" data-mce-href="https://twitter.com/thatbilloakley/status/1258121128905543682?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1258121128905543682&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fdeadline.com%2F2020%2F05%2Ffans-claim-the-simpsons-predicted-coronavirus-in-1993-1202848816%2F">noticed</a> by former "Simpsons" writer Bill Oakley.<strong>Ted Cruz's Cancun Trip </strong>In the 1993 episode "Marge in Chains," Springfield Mayor Joe Quimby gives a press conference announcing there's a pandemic happening -- and letting residents know he didn't escape to the Bahamas during the disaster. It's later revealed that Quimby is just wearing a suit from the waist up and is actually broadcasting from a beach in swim shorts. <a href="https://twitter.com/jesse_brenneman/status/1362467127857324033" data-mce-href="https://twitter.com/jesse_brenneman/status/1362467127857324033">Fans were quick to point out</a> it's an almost identical situation to Texas Sen. Ted Cruz's recent <a href="http://www.thewrap.com/ted-cruz-uses-his-daughters-as-scapegoats-for-controversial-cancun-trip/" data-mce-href="http://www.thewrap.com/ted-cruz-uses-his-daughters-as-scapegoats-for-controversial-cancun-trip/">escape attempt to Cancun</a>.Fox
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<span id="__caret">_</span><span id="__caret">_</span>"The Simpsons" has an eerie knack for predicting the future, from Donald Trump's presidency to the U.S. Winning an Olympic Gold Medal in Curling. Here are 14 times the long-running comedic series got it right.<strong><a href="http://www.thewrap.com/tag/lady_gaga/" data-mce-href="http://www.thewrap.com/tag/lady_gaga/">Lady Gaga</a></strong>On the episode "Lisa Goes Gaga," <a href="http://www.thewrap.com/tag/lady_gaga/" data-mce-href="http://www.thewrap.com/tag/lady_gaga/">Lady Gaga</a> is shown suspended by cables flying over the audience at a concert. Well surprise, surprise because at the Super Bowl LI's halftime show, Gaga descended from the stadium's roof with suspension cables wearing pretty much the same outfit on her episode.<strong>2016 Nobel Prize Winner</strong>In a 2010 episode, Milhouse predicted that Bengt R. Holmstrom would win the Nobel Prize in Economics and sure enough, in<a href="https://twitter.com/MIT/status/785551840205307904?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-mce-href="https://twitter.com/MIT/status/785551840205307904?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"> 2016 Holmstrom and Oliver Hart</a> were announced as joint winners of the prize.<strong>Donald Trump Presidency</strong>17 years ago in an episode titled "Bart to the Future" shows Lisa as president after Donald Trump apparently ruined the economy.<strong>Arnold Palmer</strong>On the 28th season premiere, the satirical series made an Arnold Palmer Joke ... on the day that golfer Arnold Palmer died.Homer Simpson tells his wife Marge that he plans to "Arnold Palmer" his pal Lenny."Arnold Palmer Lenny?" Marge responds. "You're going to Arnold Palmer Lenny?"He was of course referring to the lemonade and iced tea drink mixture -- which was named after the golfer.<strong>Siegfried and Roy Tiger Attack</strong>In 1993, an episode titled "$pringfield (Or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Legalised Gambling)," the show imitated a Siegfried and Roy where the magicians got attacked by their trustworthy tiger.Well, in 2003 Roy was attacked by one of their white tigers during a live performance. He sustained injuries, but lived.<strong>Faulty Voting Machine</strong>During the 2012 elections, a voting machine proved faulty when <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/us-election/9659694/US-election-2012-voting-machine-changes-vote-for-Barack-Obama-to-Mitt-Romney.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-mce-href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/us-election/9659694/US-election-2012-voting-machine-changes-vote-for-Barack-Obama-to-Mitt-Romney.html">votes cast</a> for Barack Obama went to Mitt Romney instead.In a 2008 episode, Homer Simpson went to the voting booths to cast a vote for Obama, but ... his vote went to McCain instead.<strong>Higgs Boson</strong>In a 1998 episode, "The Wizard of Evergreen Terrace," Homer Simpson writes out an equation on a chalkboard which if solved "you get the mass of a Higgs boson that's only a bit larger than the nano-mass of a Higgs boson actually is," <a href="http://time.com/3731370/homer-simpson-higgs-boson/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-mce-href="http://time.com/3731370/homer-simpson-higgs-boson/">says Simon Singh</a>, science author.<strong>Horse Meat Scandal</strong>In 1994 an episode titled "Sweet Seymour Skinner's Baadasssss Song," the lunch lady was seen reaching into a barrel labeled "assorted horse parts" and putting the meat into the school's lunch pot.In 2013, it was reported that traces of <a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-21631961" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-mce-href="http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-21631961">horse DNA</a> was found in beef products across the UK.<strong>Guitar Hero</strong>The now basically extinct but once popular video game Guitar Hero was first released in 2005.But in a 2002 Simpsons episode, <a href="http://www.thewrap.com/tag/mick_jagger/" data-mce-href="http://www.thewrap.com/tag/mick_jagger/">Mick Jagger</a> and Keith Richards give Homer a jacket that has "guitar hero" printed on the back of it.<strong>Farmville</strong>The virtual reality game, Farmville, was all the craze in 2009 with people rushing home from work or school to tend to their farm.In a 1998 episode, "The Simpsons" shows a scene were kids are excited to play in a yard work simulator.<strong>Old Beatles Letters</strong>In Season 2's episode 18, "Brush With Greatness," Ringo Starr from the Beatles is shown responding to fan letters while saying: "They took the time to write me, and I don't care if it takes me another 20 years. I'm going to answer every one of them."Well, two women in England received a reply to their fan mail form Sir Paul McCartney <a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-essex-24318839" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-mce-href="http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-essex-24318839">50 years later.</a><strong>Smart Watches</strong>Sorry Apple, but The Simpsons had smart watches first.In a 1995 episode, where the show is set in the future, Lisa's husband is shown speaking to a phone on his wrist.The first smart watch wasn't created until 2013.<strong>Disney Owns Fox </strong>Back in 1998, a quick scene in "The Simpsons" showed 20th Century Fox as "a Division of Walt Disney Co." And in March 2019, Disney completed its $71.3 billion acquisition of 21st Century Fox's film and TV assets.<strong>U.S. Wins an Olympic Gold Medal in Curling</strong>In 2010, Homer and Marge beat Sweden and took home Olympic gold for Team U.S.A. in Mixed Match Curling. As the animated sportscaster said, "Open your history books, tear out the pages and put this indelible Olympic moment in."<strong>Murder Hornets and Coronavirus</strong>In a 1993 episode, a Japanese factory worker accidentally spreads the contagious "Osaka Flu" to Springfield, and in the town peoples' rush to find a cure, they accidentally knock over a van with killer bees inside. The spread of "murder hornets" in America has coincided with the coronavirus in 2020. The coincidence was first <a href="https://twitter.com/thatbilloakley/status/1258121128905543682?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1258121128905543682&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fdeadline.com%2F2020%2F05%2Ffans-claim-the-simpsons-predicted-coronavirus-in-1993-1202848816%2F" data-mce-href="https://twitter.com/thatbilloakley/status/1258121128905543682?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1258121128905543682&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fdeadline.com%2F2020%2F05%2Ffans-claim-the-simpsons-predicted-coronavirus-in-1993-1202848816%2F">noticed</a> by former "Simpsons" writer Bill Oakley.<strong>Ted Cruz's Cancun Trip </strong>In the 1993 episode "Marge in Chains," Springfield Mayor Joe Quimby gives a press conference announcing there's a pandemic happening -- and letting residents know he didn't escape to the Bahamas during the disaster. It's later revealed that Quimby is just wearing a suit from the waist up and is actually broadcasting from a beach in swim shorts. <a href="https://twitter.com/jesse_brenneman/status/1362467127857324033" data-mce-href="https://twitter.com/jesse_brenneman/status/1362467127857324033">Fans were quick to point out</a> it's an almost identical situation to Texas Sen. Ted Cruz's recent <a href="http://www.thewrap.com/ted-cruz-uses-his-daughters-as-scapegoats-for-controversial-cancun-trip/" data-mce-href="http://www.thewrap.com/ted-cruz-uses-his-daughters-as-scapegoats-for-controversial-cancun-trip/">escape attempt to Cancun</a>.Fox
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<span id="__caret">_</span><span id="__caret">_</span>"The Simpsons" has an eerie knack for predicting the future, from Donald Trump's presidency to the U.S. Winning an Olympic Gold Medal in Curling. Here are 14 times the long-running comedic series got it right.<strong><a href="http://www.thewrap.com/tag/lady_gaga/" data-mce-href="http://www.thewrap.com/tag/lady_gaga/">Lady Gaga</a></strong>On the episode "Lisa Goes Gaga," <a href="http://www.thewrap.com/tag/lady_gaga/" data-mce-href="http://www.thewrap.com/tag/lady_gaga/">Lady Gaga</a> is shown suspended by cables flying over the audience at a concert. Well surprise, surprise because at the Super Bowl LI's halftime show, Gaga descended from the stadium's roof with suspension cables wearing pretty much the same outfit on her episode.<strong>2016 Nobel Prize Winner</strong>In a 2010 episode, Milhouse predicted that Bengt R. Holmstrom would win the Nobel Prize in Economics and sure enough, in<a href="https://twitter.com/MIT/status/785551840205307904?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-mce-href="https://twitter.com/MIT/status/785551840205307904?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"> 2016 Holmstrom and Oliver Hart</a> were announced as joint winners of the prize.<strong>Donald Trump Presidency</strong>17 years ago in an episode titled "Bart to the Future" shows Lisa as president after Donald Trump apparently ruined the economy.<strong>Arnold Palmer</strong>On the 28th season premiere, the satirical series made an Arnold Palmer Joke ... on the day that golfer Arnold Palmer died.Homer Simpson tells his wife Marge that he plans to "Arnold Palmer" his pal Lenny."Arnold Palmer Lenny?" Marge responds. "You're going to Arnold Palmer Lenny?"He was of course referring to the lemonade and iced tea drink mixture -- which was named after the golfer.<strong>Siegfried and Roy Tiger Attack</strong>In 1993, an episode titled "$pringfield (Or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Legalised Gambling)," the show imitated a Siegfried and Roy where the magicians got attacked by their trustworthy tiger.Well, in 2003 Roy was attacked by one of their white tigers during a live performance. He sustained injuries, but lived.<strong>Faulty Voting Machine</strong>During the 2012 elections, a voting machine proved faulty when <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/us-election/9659694/US-election-2012-voting-machine-changes-vote-for-Barack-Obama-to-Mitt-Romney.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-mce-href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/us-election/9659694/US-election-2012-voting-machine-changes-vote-for-Barack-Obama-to-Mitt-Romney.html">votes cast</a> for Barack Obama went to Mitt Romney instead.In a 2008 episode, Homer Simpson went to the voting booths to cast a vote for Obama, but ... his vote went to McCain instead.<strong>Higgs Boson</strong>In a 1998 episode, "The Wizard of Evergreen Terrace," Homer Simpson writes out an equation on a chalkboard which if solved "you get the mass of a Higgs boson that's only a bit larger than the nano-mass of a Higgs boson actually is," <a href="http://time.com/3731370/homer-simpson-higgs-boson/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-mce-href="http://time.com/3731370/homer-simpson-higgs-boson/">says Simon Singh</a>, science author.<strong>Horse Meat Scandal</strong>In 1994 an episode titled "Sweet Seymour Skinner's Baadasssss Song," the lunch lady was seen reaching into a barrel labeled "assorted horse parts" and putting the meat into the school's lunch pot.In 2013, it was reported that traces of <a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-21631961" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-mce-href="http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-21631961">horse DNA</a> was found in beef products across the UK.<strong>Guitar Hero</strong>The now basically extinct but once popular video game Guitar Hero was first released in 2005.But in a 2002 Simpsons episode, <a href="http://www.thewrap.com/tag/mick_jagger/" data-mce-href="http://www.thewrap.com/tag/mick_jagger/">Mick Jagger</a> and Keith Richards give Homer a jacket that has "guitar hero" printed on the back of it.<strong>Farmville</strong>The virtual reality game, Farmville, was all the craze in 2009 with people rushing home from work or school to tend to their farm.In a 1998 episode, "The Simpsons" shows a scene were kids are excited to play in a yard work simulator.<strong>Old Beatles Letters</strong>In Season 2's episode 18, "Brush With Greatness," Ringo Starr from the Beatles is shown responding to fan letters while saying: "They took the time to write me, and I don't care if it takes me another 20 years. I'm going to answer every one of them."Well, two women in England received a reply to their fan mail form Sir Paul McCartney <a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-essex-24318839" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-mce-href="http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-essex-24318839">50 years later.</a><strong>Smart Watches</strong>Sorry Apple, but The Simpsons had smart watches first.In a 1995 episode, where the show is set in the future, Lisa's husband is shown speaking to a phone on his wrist.The first smart watch wasn't created until 2013.<strong>Disney Owns Fox </strong>Back in 1998, a quick scene in "The Simpsons" showed 20th Century Fox as "a Division of Walt Disney Co." And in March 2019, Disney completed its $71.3 billion acquisition of 21st Century Fox's film and TV assets.<strong>U.S. Wins an Olympic Gold Medal in Curling</strong>In 2010, Homer and Marge beat Sweden and took home Olympic gold for Team U.S.A. in Mixed Match Curling. As the animated sportscaster said, "Open your history books, tear out the pages and put this indelible Olympic moment in."<strong>Murder Hornets and Coronavirus</strong>In a 1993 episode, a Japanese factory worker accidentally spreads the contagious "Osaka Flu" to Springfield, and in the town peoples' rush to find a cure, they accidentally knock over a van with killer bees inside. The spread of "murder hornets" in America has coincided with the coronavirus in 2020. The coincidence was first <a href="https://twitter.com/thatbilloakley/status/1258121128905543682?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1258121128905543682&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fdeadline.com%2F2020%2F05%2Ffans-claim-the-simpsons-predicted-coronavirus-in-1993-1202848816%2F" data-mce-href="https://twitter.com/thatbilloakley/status/1258121128905543682?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1258121128905543682&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fdeadline.com%2F2020%2F05%2Ffans-claim-the-simpsons-predicted-coronavirus-in-1993-1202848816%2F">noticed</a> by former "Simpsons" writer Bill Oakley.<strong>Ted Cruz's Cancun Trip </strong>In the 1993 episode "Marge in Chains," Springfield Mayor Joe Quimby gives a press conference announcing there's a pandemic happening -- and letting residents know he didn't escape to the Bahamas during the disaster. It's later revealed that Quimby is just wearing a suit from the waist up and is actually broadcasting from a beach in swim shorts. <a href="https://twitter.com/jesse_brenneman/status/1362467127857324033" data-mce-href="https://twitter.com/jesse_brenneman/status/1362467127857324033">Fans were quick to point out</a> it's an almost identical situation to Texas Sen. Ted Cruz's recent <a href="http://www.thewrap.com/ted-cruz-uses-his-daughters-as-scapegoats-for-controversial-cancun-trip/" data-mce-href="http://www.thewrap.com/ted-cruz-uses-his-daughters-as-scapegoats-for-controversial-cancun-trip/">escape attempt to Cancun</a>.Fox
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<span id="__caret">_</span><span id="__caret">_</span>"The Simpsons" has an eerie knack for predicting the future, from Donald Trump's presidency to the U.S. Winning an Olympic Gold Medal in Curling. Here are 14 times the long-running comedic series got it right.<strong><a href="http://www.thewrap.com/tag/lady_gaga/" data-mce-href="http://www.thewrap.com/tag/lady_gaga/">Lady Gaga</a></strong>On the episode "Lisa Goes Gaga," <a href="http://www.thewrap.com/tag/lady_gaga/" data-mce-href="http://www.thewrap.com/tag/lady_gaga/">Lady Gaga</a> is shown suspended by cables flying over the audience at a concert. Well surprise, surprise because at the Super Bowl LI's halftime show, Gaga descended from the stadium's roof with suspension cables wearing pretty much the same outfit on her episode.<strong>2016 Nobel Prize Winner</strong>In a 2010 episode, Milhouse predicted that Bengt R. Holmstrom would win the Nobel Prize in Economics and sure enough, in<a href="https://twitter.com/MIT/status/785551840205307904?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-mce-href="https://twitter.com/MIT/status/785551840205307904?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"> 2016 Holmstrom and Oliver Hart</a> were announced as joint winners of the prize.<strong>Donald Trump Presidency</strong>17 years ago in an episode titled "Bart to the Future" shows Lisa as president after Donald Trump apparently ruined the economy.<strong>Arnold Palmer</strong>On the 28th season premiere, the satirical series made an Arnold Palmer Joke ... on the day that golfer Arnold Palmer died.Homer Simpson tells his wife Marge that he plans to "Arnold Palmer" his pal Lenny."Arnold Palmer Lenny?" Marge responds. "You're going to Arnold Palmer Lenny?"He was of course referring to the lemonade and iced tea drink mixture -- which was named after the golfer.<strong>Siegfried and Roy Tiger Attack</strong>In 1993, an episode titled "$pringfield (Or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Legalised Gambling)," the show imitated a Siegfried and Roy where the magicians got attacked by their trustworthy tiger.Well, in 2003 Roy was attacked by one of their white tigers during a live performance. He sustained injuries, but lived.<strong>Faulty Voting Machine</strong>During the 2012 elections, a voting machine proved faulty when <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/us-election/9659694/US-election-2012-voting-machine-changes-vote-for-Barack-Obama-to-Mitt-Romney.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-mce-href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/us-election/9659694/US-election-2012-voting-machine-changes-vote-for-Barack-Obama-to-Mitt-Romney.html">votes cast</a> for Barack Obama went to Mitt Romney instead.In a 2008 episode, Homer Simpson went to the voting booths to cast a vote for Obama, but ... his vote went to McCain instead.<strong>Higgs Boson</strong>In a 1998 episode, "The Wizard of Evergreen Terrace," Homer Simpson writes out an equation on a chalkboard which if solved "you get the mass of a Higgs boson that's only a bit larger than the nano-mass of a Higgs boson actually is," <a href="http://time.com/3731370/homer-simpson-higgs-boson/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-mce-href="http://time.com/3731370/homer-simpson-higgs-boson/">says Simon Singh</a>, science author.<strong>Horse Meat Scandal</strong>In 1994 an episode titled "Sweet Seymour Skinner's Baadasssss Song," the lunch lady was seen reaching into a barrel labeled "assorted horse parts" and putting the meat into the school's lunch pot.In 2013, it was reported that traces of <a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-21631961" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-mce-href="http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-21631961">horse DNA</a> was found in beef products across the UK.<strong>Guitar Hero</strong>The now basically extinct but once popular video game Guitar Hero was first released in 2005.But in a 2002 Simpsons episode, <a href="http://www.thewrap.com/tag/mick_jagger/" data-mce-href="http://www.thewrap.com/tag/mick_jagger/">Mick Jagger</a> and Keith Richards give Homer a jacket that has "guitar hero" printed on the back of it.<strong>Farmville</strong>The virtual reality game, Farmville, was all the craze in 2009 with people rushing home from work or school to tend to their farm.In a 1998 episode, "The Simpsons" shows a scene were kids are excited to play in a yard work simulator.<strong>Old Beatles Letters</strong>In Season 2's episode 18, "Brush With Greatness," Ringo Starr from the Beatles is shown responding to fan letters while saying: "They took the time to write me, and I don't care if it takes me another 20 years. I'm going to answer every one of them."Well, two women in England received a reply to their fan mail form Sir Paul McCartney <a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-essex-24318839" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-mce-href="http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-essex-24318839">50 years later.</a><strong>Smart Watches</strong>Sorry Apple, but The Simpsons had smart watches first.In a 1995 episode, where the show is set in the future, Lisa's husband is shown speaking to a phone on his wrist.The first smart watch wasn't created until 2013.<strong>Disney Owns Fox </strong>Back in 1998, a quick scene in "The Simpsons" showed 20th Century Fox as "a Division of Walt Disney Co." And in March 2019, Disney completed its $71.3 billion acquisition of 21st Century Fox's film and TV assets.<strong>U.S. Wins an Olympic Gold Medal in Curling</strong>In 2010, Homer and Marge beat Sweden and took home Olympic gold for Team U.S.A. in Mixed Match Curling. As the animated sportscaster said, "Open your history books, tear out the pages and put this indelible Olympic moment in."<strong>Murder Hornets and Coronavirus</strong>In a 1993 episode, a Japanese factory worker accidentally spreads the contagious "Osaka Flu" to Springfield, and in the town peoples' rush to find a cure, they accidentally knock over a van with killer bees inside. The spread of "murder hornets" in America has coincided with the coronavirus in 2020. The coincidence was first <a href="https://twitter.com/thatbilloakley/status/1258121128905543682?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1258121128905543682&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fdeadline.com%2F2020%2F05%2Ffans-claim-the-simpsons-predicted-coronavirus-in-1993-1202848816%2F" data-mce-href="https://twitter.com/thatbilloakley/status/1258121128905543682?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1258121128905543682&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fdeadline.com%2F2020%2F05%2Ffans-claim-the-simpsons-predicted-coronavirus-in-1993-1202848816%2F">noticed</a> by former "Simpsons" writer Bill Oakley.<strong>Ted Cruz's Cancun Trip </strong>In the 1993 episode "Marge in Chains," Springfield Mayor Joe Quimby gives a press conference announcing there's a pandemic happening -- and letting residents know he didn't escape to the Bahamas during the disaster. It's later revealed that Quimby is just wearing a suit from the waist up and is actually broadcasting from a beach in swim shorts. <a href="https://twitter.com/jesse_brenneman/status/1362467127857324033" data-mce-href="https://twitter.com/jesse_brenneman/status/1362467127857324033">Fans were quick to point out</a> it's an almost identical situation to Texas Sen. Ted Cruz's recent <a href="http://www.thewrap.com/ted-cruz-uses-his-daughters-as-scapegoats-for-controversial-cancun-trip/" data-mce-href="http://www.thewrap.com/ted-cruz-uses-his-daughters-as-scapegoats-for-controversial-cancun-trip/">escape attempt to Cancun</a>.Fox
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<span id="__caret">_</span><span id="__caret">_</span>"The Simpsons" has an eerie knack for predicting the future, from Donald Trump's presidency to the U.S. Winning an Olympic Gold Medal in Curling. Here are 14 times the long-running comedic series got it right.<strong><a href="http://www.thewrap.com/tag/lady_gaga/" data-mce-href="http://www.thewrap.com/tag/lady_gaga/">Lady Gaga</a></strong>On the episode "Lisa Goes Gaga," <a href="http://www.thewrap.com/tag/lady_gaga/" data-mce-href="http://www.thewrap.com/tag/lady_gaga/">Lady Gaga</a> is shown suspended by cables flying over the audience at a concert. Well surprise, surprise because at the Super Bowl LI's halftime show, Gaga descended from the stadium's roof with suspension cables wearing pretty much the same outfit on her episode.<strong>2016 Nobel Prize Winner</strong>In a 2010 episode, Milhouse predicted that Bengt R. Holmstrom would win the Nobel Prize in Economics and sure enough, in<a href="https://twitter.com/MIT/status/785551840205307904?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-mce-href="https://twitter.com/MIT/status/785551840205307904?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"> 2016 Holmstrom and Oliver Hart</a> were announced as joint winners of the prize.<strong>Donald Trump Presidency</strong>17 years ago in an episode titled "Bart to the Future" shows Lisa as president after Donald Trump apparently ruined the economy.<strong>Arnold Palmer</strong>On the 28th season premiere, the satirical series made an Arnold Palmer Joke ... on the day that golfer Arnold Palmer died.Homer Simpson tells his wife Marge that he plans to "Arnold Palmer" his pal Lenny."Arnold Palmer Lenny?" Marge responds. "You're going to Arnold Palmer Lenny?"He was of course referring to the lemonade and iced tea drink mixture -- which was named after the golfer.<strong>Siegfried and Roy Tiger Attack</strong>In 1993, an episode titled "$pringfield (Or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Legalised Gambling)," the show imitated a Siegfried and Roy where the magicians got attacked by their trustworthy tiger.Well, in 2003 Roy was attacked by one of their white tigers during a live performance. He sustained injuries, but lived.<strong>Faulty Voting Machine</strong>During the 2012 elections, a voting machine proved faulty when <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/us-election/9659694/US-election-2012-voting-machine-changes-vote-for-Barack-Obama-to-Mitt-Romney.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-mce-href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/us-election/9659694/US-election-2012-voting-machine-changes-vote-for-Barack-Obama-to-Mitt-Romney.html">votes cast</a> for Barack Obama went to Mitt Romney instead.In a 2008 episode, Homer Simpson went to the voting booths to cast a vote for Obama, but ... his vote went to McCain instead.<strong>Higgs Boson</strong>In a 1998 episode, "The Wizard of Evergreen Terrace," Homer Simpson writes out an equation on a chalkboard which if solved "you get the mass of a Higgs boson that's only a bit larger than the nano-mass of a Higgs boson actually is," <a href="http://time.com/3731370/homer-simpson-higgs-boson/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-mce-href="http://time.com/3731370/homer-simpson-higgs-boson/">says Simon Singh</a>, science author.<strong>Horse Meat Scandal</strong>In 1994 an episode titled "Sweet Seymour Skinner's Baadasssss Song," the lunch lady was seen reaching into a barrel labeled "assorted horse parts" and putting the meat into the school's lunch pot.In 2013, it was reported that traces of <a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-21631961" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-mce-href="http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-21631961">horse DNA</a> was found in beef products across the UK.<strong>Guitar Hero</strong>The now basically extinct but once popular video game Guitar Hero was first released in 2005.But in a 2002 Simpsons episode, <a href="http://www.thewrap.com/tag/mick_jagger/" data-mce-href="http://www.thewrap.com/tag/mick_jagger/">Mick Jagger</a> and Keith Richards give Homer a jacket that has "guitar hero" printed on the back of it.<strong>Farmville</strong>The virtual reality game, Farmville, was all the craze in 2009 with people rushing home from work or school to tend to their farm.In a 1998 episode, "The Simpsons" shows a scene were kids are excited to play in a yard work simulator.<strong>Old Beatles Letters</strong>In Season 2's episode 18, "Brush With Greatness," Ringo Starr from the Beatles is shown responding to fan letters while saying: "They took the time to write me, and I don't care if it takes me another 20 years. I'm going to answer every one of them."Well, two women in England received a reply to their fan mail form Sir Paul McCartney <a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-essex-24318839" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-mce-href="http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-essex-24318839">50 years later.</a><strong>Smart Watches</strong>Sorry Apple, but The Simpsons had smart watches first.In a 1995 episode, where the show is set in the future, Lisa's husband is shown speaking to a phone on his wrist.The first smart watch wasn't created until 2013.<strong>Disney Owns Fox </strong>Back in 1998, a quick scene in "The Simpsons" showed 20th Century Fox as "a Division of Walt Disney Co." And in March 2019, Disney completed its $71.3 billion acquisition of 21st Century Fox's film and TV assets.<strong>U.S. Wins an Olympic Gold Medal in Curling</strong>In 2010, Homer and Marge beat Sweden and took home Olympic gold for Team U.S.A. in Mixed Match Curling. As the animated sportscaster said, "Open your history books, tear out the pages and put this indelible Olympic moment in."<strong>Murder Hornets and Coronavirus</strong>In a 1993 episode, a Japanese factory worker accidentally spreads the contagious "Osaka Flu" to Springfield, and in the town peoples' rush to find a cure, they accidentally knock over a van with killer bees inside. The spread of "murder hornets" in America has coincided with the coronavirus in 2020. The coincidence was first <a href="https://twitter.com/thatbilloakley/status/1258121128905543682?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1258121128905543682&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fdeadline.com%2F2020%2F05%2Ffans-claim-the-simpsons-predicted-coronavirus-in-1993-1202848816%2F" data-mce-href="https://twitter.com/thatbilloakley/status/1258121128905543682?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1258121128905543682&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fdeadline.com%2F2020%2F05%2Ffans-claim-the-simpsons-predicted-coronavirus-in-1993-1202848816%2F">noticed</a> by former "Simpsons" writer Bill Oakley.<strong>Ted Cruz's Cancun Trip </strong>In the 1993 episode "Marge in Chains," Springfield Mayor Joe Quimby gives a press conference announcing there's a pandemic happening -- and letting residents know he didn't escape to the Bahamas during the disaster. It's later revealed that Quimby is just wearing a suit from the waist up and is actually broadcasting from a beach in swim shorts. <a href="https://twitter.com/jesse_brenneman/status/1362467127857324033" data-mce-href="https://twitter.com/jesse_brenneman/status/1362467127857324033">Fans were quick to point out</a> it's an almost identical situation to Texas Sen. Ted Cruz's recent <a href="http://www.thewrap.com/ted-cruz-uses-his-daughters-as-scapegoats-for-controversial-cancun-trip/" data-mce-href="http://www.thewrap.com/ted-cruz-uses-his-daughters-as-scapegoats-for-controversial-cancun-trip/">escape attempt to Cancun</a>.Fox
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<span id="__caret">_</span><span id="__caret">_</span>"The Simpsons" has an eerie knack for predicting the future, from Donald Trump's presidency to the U.S. Winning an Olympic Gold Medal in Curling. Here are 14 times the long-running comedic series got it right.<strong><a href="http://www.thewrap.com/tag/lady_gaga/" data-mce-href="http://www.thewrap.com/tag/lady_gaga/">Lady Gaga</a></strong>On the episode "Lisa Goes Gaga," <a href="http://www.thewrap.com/tag/lady_gaga/" data-mce-href="http://www.thewrap.com/tag/lady_gaga/">Lady Gaga</a> is shown suspended by cables flying over the audience at a concert. Well surprise, surprise because at the Super Bowl LI's halftime show, Gaga descended from the stadium's roof with suspension cables wearing pretty much the same outfit on her episode.<strong>2016 Nobel Prize Winner</strong>In a 2010 episode, Milhouse predicted that Bengt R. Holmstrom would win the Nobel Prize in Economics and sure enough, in<a href="https://twitter.com/MIT/status/785551840205307904?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-mce-href="https://twitter.com/MIT/status/785551840205307904?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"> 2016 Holmstrom and Oliver Hart</a> were announced as joint winners of the prize.<strong>Donald Trump Presidency</strong>17 years ago in an episode titled "Bart to the Future" shows Lisa as president after Donald Trump apparently ruined the economy.<strong>Arnold Palmer</strong>On the 28th season premiere, the satirical series made an Arnold Palmer Joke ... on the day that golfer Arnold Palmer died.Homer Simpson tells his wife Marge that he plans to "Arnold Palmer" his pal Lenny."Arnold Palmer Lenny?" Marge responds. "You're going to Arnold Palmer Lenny?"He was of course referring to the lemonade and iced tea drink mixture -- which was named after the golfer.<strong>Siegfried and Roy Tiger Attack</strong>In 1993, an episode titled "$pringfield (Or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Legalised Gambling)," the show imitated a Siegfried and Roy where the magicians got attacked by their trustworthy tiger.Well, in 2003 Roy was attacked by one of their white tigers during a live performance. He sustained injuries, but lived.<strong>Faulty Voting Machine</strong>During the 2012 elections, a voting machine proved faulty when <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/us-election/9659694/US-election-2012-voting-machine-changes-vote-for-Barack-Obama-to-Mitt-Romney.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-mce-href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/us-election/9659694/US-election-2012-voting-machine-changes-vote-for-Barack-Obama-to-Mitt-Romney.html">votes cast</a> for Barack Obama went to Mitt Romney instead.In a 2008 episode, Homer Simpson went to the voting booths to cast a vote for Obama, but ... his vote went to McCain instead.<strong>Higgs Boson</strong>In a 1998 episode, "The Wizard of Evergreen Terrace," Homer Simpson writes out an equation on a chalkboard which if solved "you get the mass of a Higgs boson that's only a bit larger than the nano-mass of a Higgs boson actually is," <a href="http://time.com/3731370/homer-simpson-higgs-boson/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-mce-href="http://time.com/3731370/homer-simpson-higgs-boson/">says Simon Singh</a>, science author.<strong>Horse Meat Scandal</strong>In 1994 an episode titled "Sweet Seymour Skinner's Baadasssss Song," the lunch lady was seen reaching into a barrel labeled "assorted horse parts" and putting the meat into the school's lunch pot.In 2013, it was reported that traces of <a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-21631961" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-mce-href="http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-21631961">horse DNA</a> was found in beef products across the UK.<strong>Guitar Hero</strong>The now basically extinct but once popular video game Guitar Hero was first released in 2005.But in a 2002 Simpsons episode, <a href="http://www.thewrap.com/tag/mick_jagger/" data-mce-href="http://www.thewrap.com/tag/mick_jagger/">Mick Jagger</a> and Keith Richards give Homer a jacket that has "guitar hero" printed on the back of it.<strong>Farmville</strong>The virtual reality game, Farmville, was all the craze in 2009 with people rushing home from work or school to tend to their farm.In a 1998 episode, "The Simpsons" shows a scene were kids are excited to play in a yard work simulator.<strong>Old Beatles Letters</strong>In Season 2's episode 18, "Brush With Greatness," Ringo Starr from the Beatles is shown responding to fan letters while saying: "They took the time to write me, and I don't care if it takes me another 20 years. I'm going to answer every one of them."Well, two women in England received a reply to their fan mail form Sir Paul McCartney <a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-essex-24318839" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-mce-href="http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-essex-24318839">50 years later.</a><strong>Smart Watches</strong>Sorry Apple, but The Simpsons had smart watches first.In a 1995 episode, where the show is set in the future, Lisa's husband is shown speaking to a phone on his wrist.The first smart watch wasn't created until 2013.<strong>Disney Owns Fox </strong>Back in 1998, a quick scene in "The Simpsons" showed 20th Century Fox as "a Division of Walt Disney Co." And in March 2019, Disney completed its $71.3 billion acquisition of 21st Century Fox's film and TV assets.<strong>U.S. Wins an Olympic Gold Medal in Curling</strong>In 2010, Homer and Marge beat Sweden and took home Olympic gold for Team U.S.A. in Mixed Match Curling. As the animated sportscaster said, "Open your history books, tear out the pages and put this indelible Olympic moment in."<strong>Murder Hornets and Coronavirus</strong>In a 1993 episode, a Japanese factory worker accidentally spreads the contagious "Osaka Flu" to Springfield, and in the town peoples' rush to find a cure, they accidentally knock over a van with killer bees inside. The spread of "murder hornets" in America has coincided with the coronavirus in 2020. The coincidence was first <a href="https://twitter.com/thatbilloakley/status/1258121128905543682?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1258121128905543682&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fdeadline.com%2F2020%2F05%2Ffans-claim-the-simpsons-predicted-coronavirus-in-1993-1202848816%2F" data-mce-href="https://twitter.com/thatbilloakley/status/1258121128905543682?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1258121128905543682&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fdeadline.com%2F2020%2F05%2Ffans-claim-the-simpsons-predicted-coronavirus-in-1993-1202848816%2F">noticed</a> by former "Simpsons" writer Bill Oakley.<strong>Ted Cruz's Cancun Trip </strong>In the 1993 episode "Marge in Chains," Springfield Mayor Joe Quimby gives a press conference announcing there's a pandemic happening -- and letting residents know he didn't escape to the Bahamas during the disaster. It's later revealed that Quimby is just wearing a suit from the waist up and is actually broadcasting from a beach in swim shorts. <a href="https://twitter.com/jesse_brenneman/status/1362467127857324033" data-mce-href="https://twitter.com/jesse_brenneman/status/1362467127857324033">Fans were quick to point out</a> it's an almost identical situation to Texas Sen. Ted Cruz's recent <a href="http://www.thewrap.com/ted-cruz-uses-his-daughters-as-scapegoats-for-controversial-cancun-trip/" data-mce-href="http://www.thewrap.com/ted-cruz-uses-his-daughters-as-scapegoats-for-controversial-cancun-trip/">escape attempt to Cancun</a>.Fox
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<span id="__caret">_</span><span id="__caret">_</span>"The Simpsons" has an eerie knack for predicting the future, from Donald Trump's presidency to the U.S. Winning an Olympic Gold Medal in Curling. Here are 14 times the long-running comedic series got it right.<strong><a href="http://www.thewrap.com/tag/lady_gaga/" data-mce-href="http://www.thewrap.com/tag/lady_gaga/">Lady Gaga</a></strong>On the episode "Lisa Goes Gaga," <a href="http://www.thewrap.com/tag/lady_gaga/" data-mce-href="http://www.thewrap.com/tag/lady_gaga/">Lady Gaga</a> is shown suspended by cables flying over the audience at a concert. Well surprise, surprise because at the Super Bowl LI's halftime show, Gaga descended from the stadium's roof with suspension cables wearing pretty much the same outfit on her episode.<strong>2016 Nobel Prize Winner</strong>In a 2010 episode, Milhouse predicted that Bengt R. Holmstrom would win the Nobel Prize in Economics and sure enough, in<a href="https://twitter.com/MIT/status/785551840205307904?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-mce-href="https://twitter.com/MIT/status/785551840205307904?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"> 2016 Holmstrom and Oliver Hart</a> were announced as joint winners of the prize.<strong>Donald Trump Presidency</strong>17 years ago in an episode titled "Bart to the Future" shows Lisa as president after Donald Trump apparently ruined the economy.<strong>Arnold Palmer</strong>On the 28th season premiere, the satirical series made an Arnold Palmer Joke ... on the day that golfer Arnold Palmer died.Homer Simpson tells his wife Marge that he plans to "Arnold Palmer" his pal Lenny."Arnold Palmer Lenny?" Marge responds. "You're going to Arnold Palmer Lenny?"He was of course referring to the lemonade and iced tea drink mixture -- which was named after the golfer.<strong>Siegfried and Roy Tiger Attack</strong>In 1993, an episode titled "$pringfield (Or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Legalised Gambling)," the show imitated a Siegfried and Roy where the magicians got attacked by their trustworthy tiger.Well, in 2003 Roy was attacked by one of their white tigers during a live performance. He sustained injuries, but lived.<strong>Faulty Voting Machine</strong>During the 2012 elections, a voting machine proved faulty when <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/us-election/9659694/US-election-2012-voting-machine-changes-vote-for-Barack-Obama-to-Mitt-Romney.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-mce-href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/us-election/9659694/US-election-2012-voting-machine-changes-vote-for-Barack-Obama-to-Mitt-Romney.html">votes cast</a> for Barack Obama went to Mitt Romney instead.In a 2008 episode, Homer Simpson went to the voting booths to cast a vote for Obama, but ... his vote went to McCain instead.<strong>Higgs Boson</strong>In a 1998 episode, "The Wizard of Evergreen Terrace," Homer Simpson writes out an equation on a chalkboard which if solved "you get the mass of a Higgs boson that's only a bit larger than the nano-mass of a Higgs boson actually is," <a href="http://time.com/3731370/homer-simpson-higgs-boson/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-mce-href="http://time.com/3731370/homer-simpson-higgs-boson/">says Simon Singh</a>, science author.<strong>Horse Meat Scandal</strong>In 1994 an episode titled "Sweet Seymour Skinner's Baadasssss Song," the lunch lady was seen reaching into a barrel labeled "assorted horse parts" and putting the meat into the school's lunch pot.In 2013, it was reported that traces of <a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-21631961" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-mce-href="http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-21631961">horse DNA</a> was found in beef products across the UK.<strong>Guitar Hero</strong>The now basically extinct but once popular video game Guitar Hero was first released in 2005.But in a 2002 Simpsons episode, <a href="http://www.thewrap.com/tag/mick_jagger/" data-mce-href="http://www.thewrap.com/tag/mick_jagger/">Mick Jagger</a> and Keith Richards give Homer a jacket that has "guitar hero" printed on the back of it.<strong>Farmville</strong>The virtual reality game, Farmville, was all the craze in 2009 with people rushing home from work or school to tend to their farm.In a 1998 episode, "The Simpsons" shows a scene were kids are excited to play in a yard work simulator.<strong>Old Beatles Letters</strong>In Season 2's episode 18, "Brush With Greatness," Ringo Starr from the Beatles is shown responding to fan letters while saying: "They took the time to write me, and I don't care if it takes me another 20 years. I'm going to answer every one of them."Well, two women in England received a reply to their fan mail form Sir Paul McCartney <a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-essex-24318839" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-mce-href="http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-essex-24318839">50 years later.</a><strong>Smart Watches</strong>Sorry Apple, but The Simpsons had smart watches first.In a 1995 episode, where the show is set in the future, Lisa's husband is shown speaking to a phone on his wrist.The first smart watch wasn't created until 2013.<strong>Disney Owns Fox </strong>Back in 1998, a quick scene in "The Simpsons" showed 20th Century Fox as "a Division of Walt Disney Co." And in March 2019, Disney completed its $71.3 billion acquisition of 21st Century Fox's film and TV assets.<strong>U.S. Wins an Olympic Gold Medal in Curling</strong>In 2010, Homer and Marge beat Sweden and took home Olympic gold for Team U.S.A. in Mixed Match Curling. As the animated sportscaster said, "Open your history books, tear out the pages and put this indelible Olympic moment in."<strong>Murder Hornets and Coronavirus</strong>In a 1993 episode, a Japanese factory worker accidentally spreads the contagious "Osaka Flu" to Springfield, and in the town peoples' rush to find a cure, they accidentally knock over a van with killer bees inside. The spread of "murder hornets" in America has coincided with the coronavirus in 2020. The coincidence was first <a href="https://twitter.com/thatbilloakley/status/1258121128905543682?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1258121128905543682&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fdeadline.com%2F2020%2F05%2Ffans-claim-the-simpsons-predicted-coronavirus-in-1993-1202848816%2F" data-mce-href="https://twitter.com/thatbilloakley/status/1258121128905543682?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1258121128905543682&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fdeadline.com%2F2020%2F05%2Ffans-claim-the-simpsons-predicted-coronavirus-in-1993-1202848816%2F">noticed</a> by former "Simpsons" writer Bill Oakley.<strong>Ted Cruz's Cancun Trip </strong>In the 1993 episode "Marge in Chains," Springfield Mayor Joe Quimby gives a press conference announcing there's a pandemic happening -- and letting residents know he didn't escape to the Bahamas during the disaster. It's later revealed that Quimby is just wearing a suit from the waist up and is actually broadcasting from a beach in swim shorts. <a href="https://twitter.com/jesse_brenneman/status/1362467127857324033" data-mce-href="https://twitter.com/jesse_brenneman/status/1362467127857324033">Fans were quick to point out</a> it's an almost identical situation to Texas Sen. Ted Cruz's recent <a href="http://www.thewrap.com/ted-cruz-uses-his-daughters-as-scapegoats-for-controversial-cancun-trip/" data-mce-href="http://www.thewrap.com/ted-cruz-uses-his-daughters-as-scapegoats-for-controversial-cancun-trip/">escape attempt to Cancun</a>.Fox
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<span id="__caret">_</span><span id="__caret">_</span>"The Simpsons" has an eerie knack for predicting the future, from Donald Trump's presidency to the U.S. Winning an Olympic Gold Medal in Curling. Here are 14 times the long-running comedic series got it right.<strong><a href="http://www.thewrap.com/tag/lady_gaga/" data-mce-href="http://www.thewrap.com/tag/lady_gaga/">Lady Gaga</a></strong>On the episode "Lisa Goes Gaga," <a href="http://www.thewrap.com/tag/lady_gaga/" data-mce-href="http://www.thewrap.com/tag/lady_gaga/">Lady Gaga</a> is shown suspended by cables flying over the audience at a concert. Well surprise, surprise because at the Super Bowl LI's halftime show, Gaga descended from the stadium's roof with suspension cables wearing pretty much the same outfit on her episode.<strong>2016 Nobel Prize Winner</strong>In a 2010 episode, Milhouse predicted that Bengt R. Holmstrom would win the Nobel Prize in Economics and sure enough, in<a href="https://twitter.com/MIT/status/785551840205307904?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-mce-href="https://twitter.com/MIT/status/785551840205307904?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"> 2016 Holmstrom and Oliver Hart</a> were announced as joint winners of the prize.<strong>Donald Trump Presidency</strong>17 years ago in an episode titled "Bart to the Future" shows Lisa as president after Donald Trump apparently ruined the economy.<strong>Arnold Palmer</strong>On the 28th season premiere, the satirical series made an Arnold Palmer Joke ... on the day that golfer Arnold Palmer died.Homer Simpson tells his wife Marge that he plans to "Arnold Palmer" his pal Lenny."Arnold Palmer Lenny?" Marge responds. "You're going to Arnold Palmer Lenny?"He was of course referring to the lemonade and iced tea drink mixture -- which was named after the golfer.<strong>Siegfried and Roy Tiger Attack</strong>In 1993, an episode titled "$pringfield (Or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Legalised Gambling)," the show imitated a Siegfried and Roy where the magicians got attacked by their trustworthy tiger.Well, in 2003 Roy was attacked by one of their white tigers during a live performance. He sustained injuries, but lived.<strong>Faulty Voting Machine</strong>During the 2012 elections, a voting machine proved faulty when <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/us-election/9659694/US-election-2012-voting-machine-changes-vote-for-Barack-Obama-to-Mitt-Romney.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-mce-href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/us-election/9659694/US-election-2012-voting-machine-changes-vote-for-Barack-Obama-to-Mitt-Romney.html">votes cast</a> for Barack Obama went to Mitt Romney instead.In a 2008 episode, Homer Simpson went to the voting booths to cast a vote for Obama, but ... his vote went to McCain instead.<strong>Higgs Boson</strong>In a 1998 episode, "The Wizard of Evergreen Terrace," Homer Simpson writes out an equation on a chalkboard which if solved "you get the mass of a Higgs boson that's only a bit larger than the nano-mass of a Higgs boson actually is," <a href="http://time.com/3731370/homer-simpson-higgs-boson/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-mce-href="http://time.com/3731370/homer-simpson-higgs-boson/">says Simon Singh</a>, science author.<strong>Horse Meat Scandal</strong>In 1994 an episode titled "Sweet Seymour Skinner's Baadasssss Song," the lunch lady was seen reaching into a barrel labeled "assorted horse parts" and putting the meat into the school's lunch pot.In 2013, it was reported that traces of <a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-21631961" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-mce-href="http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-21631961">horse DNA</a> was found in beef products across the UK.<strong>Guitar Hero</strong>The now basically extinct but once popular video game Guitar Hero was first released in 2005.But in a 2002 Simpsons episode, <a href="http://www.thewrap.com/tag/mick_jagger/" data-mce-href="http://www.thewrap.com/tag/mick_jagger/">Mick Jagger</a> and Keith Richards give Homer a jacket that has "guitar hero" printed on the back of it.<strong>Farmville</strong>The virtual reality game, Farmville, was all the craze in 2009 with people rushing home from work or school to tend to their farm.In a 1998 episode, "The Simpsons" shows a scene were kids are excited to play in a yard work simulator.<strong>Old Beatles Letters</strong>In Season 2's episode 18, "Brush With Greatness," Ringo Starr from the Beatles is shown responding to fan letters while saying: "They took the time to write me, and I don't care if it takes me another 20 years. I'm going to answer every one of them."Well, two women in England received a reply to their fan mail form Sir Paul McCartney <a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-essex-24318839" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-mce-href="http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-essex-24318839">50 years later.</a><strong>Smart Watches</strong>Sorry Apple, but The Simpsons had smart watches first.In a 1995 episode, where the show is set in the future, Lisa's husband is shown speaking to a phone on his wrist.The first smart watch wasn't created until 2013.<strong>Disney Owns Fox </strong>Back in 1998, a quick scene in "The Simpsons" showed 20th Century Fox as "a Division of Walt Disney Co." And in March 2019, Disney completed its $71.3 billion acquisition of 21st Century Fox's film and TV assets.<strong>U.S. Wins an Olympic Gold Medal in Curling</strong>In 2010, Homer and Marge beat Sweden and took home Olympic gold for Team U.S.A. in Mixed Match Curling. As the animated sportscaster said, "Open your history books, tear out the pages and put this indelible Olympic moment in."<strong>Murder Hornets and Coronavirus</strong>In a 1993 episode, a Japanese factory worker accidentally spreads the contagious "Osaka Flu" to Springfield, and in the town peoples' rush to find a cure, they accidentally knock over a van with killer bees inside. The spread of "murder hornets" in America has coincided with the coronavirus in 2020. The coincidence was first <a href="https://twitter.com/thatbilloakley/status/1258121128905543682?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1258121128905543682&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fdeadline.com%2F2020%2F05%2Ffans-claim-the-simpsons-predicted-coronavirus-in-1993-1202848816%2F" data-mce-href="https://twitter.com/thatbilloakley/status/1258121128905543682?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1258121128905543682&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fdeadline.com%2F2020%2F05%2Ffans-claim-the-simpsons-predicted-coronavirus-in-1993-1202848816%2F">noticed</a> by former "Simpsons" writer Bill Oakley.<strong>Ted Cruz's Cancun Trip </strong>In the 1993 episode "Marge in Chains," Springfield Mayor Joe Quimby gives a press conference announcing there's a pandemic happening -- and letting residents know he didn't escape to the Bahamas during the disaster. It's later revealed that Quimby is just wearing a suit from the waist up and is actually broadcasting from a beach in swim shorts. <a href="https://twitter.com/jesse_brenneman/status/1362467127857324033" data-mce-href="https://twitter.com/jesse_brenneman/status/1362467127857324033">Fans were quick to point out</a> it's an almost identical situation to Texas Sen. Ted Cruz's recent <a href="http://www.thewrap.com/ted-cruz-uses-his-daughters-as-scapegoats-for-controversial-cancun-trip/" data-mce-href="http://www.thewrap.com/ted-cruz-uses-his-daughters-as-scapegoats-for-controversial-cancun-trip/">escape attempt to Cancun</a>.Fox
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<span id="__caret">_</span><span id="__caret">_</span>"The Simpsons" has an eerie knack for predicting the future, from Donald Trump's presidency to the U.S. Winning an Olympic Gold Medal in Curling. Here are 14 times the long-running comedic series got it right.<strong><a href="http://www.thewrap.com/tag/lady_gaga/" data-mce-href="http://www.thewrap.com/tag/lady_gaga/">Lady Gaga</a></strong>On the episode "Lisa Goes Gaga," <a href="http://www.thewrap.com/tag/lady_gaga/" data-mce-href="http://www.thewrap.com/tag/lady_gaga/">Lady Gaga</a> is shown suspended by cables flying over the audience at a concert. Well surprise, surprise because at the Super Bowl LI's halftime show, Gaga descended from the stadium's roof with suspension cables wearing pretty much the same outfit on her episode.<strong>2016 Nobel Prize Winner</strong>In a 2010 episode, Milhouse predicted that Bengt R. Holmstrom would win the Nobel Prize in Economics and sure enough, in<a href="https://twitter.com/MIT/status/785551840205307904?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-mce-href="https://twitter.com/MIT/status/785551840205307904?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"> 2016 Holmstrom and Oliver Hart</a> were announced as joint winners of the prize.<strong>Donald Trump Presidency</strong>17 years ago in an episode titled "Bart to the Future" shows Lisa as president after Donald Trump apparently ruined the economy.<strong>Arnold Palmer</strong>On the 28th season premiere, the satirical series made an Arnold Palmer Joke ... on the day that golfer Arnold Palmer died.Homer Simpson tells his wife Marge that he plans to "Arnold Palmer" his pal Lenny."Arnold Palmer Lenny?" Marge responds. "You're going to Arnold Palmer Lenny?"He was of course referring to the lemonade and iced tea drink mixture -- which was named after the golfer.<strong>Siegfried and Roy Tiger Attack</strong>In 1993, an episode titled "$pringfield (Or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Legalised Gambling)," the show imitated a Siegfried and Roy where the magicians got attacked by their trustworthy tiger.Well, in 2003 Roy was attacked by one of their white tigers during a live performance. He sustained injuries, but lived.<strong>Faulty Voting Machine</strong>During the 2012 elections, a voting machine proved faulty when <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/us-election/9659694/US-election-2012-voting-machine-changes-vote-for-Barack-Obama-to-Mitt-Romney.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-mce-href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/us-election/9659694/US-election-2012-voting-machine-changes-vote-for-Barack-Obama-to-Mitt-Romney.html">votes cast</a> for Barack Obama went to Mitt Romney instead.In a 2008 episode, Homer Simpson went to the voting booths to cast a vote for Obama, but ... his vote went to McCain instead.<strong>Higgs Boson</strong>In a 1998 episode, "The Wizard of Evergreen Terrace," Homer Simpson writes out an equation on a chalkboard which if solved "you get the mass of a Higgs boson that's only a bit larger than the nano-mass of a Higgs boson actually is," <a href="http://time.com/3731370/homer-simpson-higgs-boson/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-mce-href="http://time.com/3731370/homer-simpson-higgs-boson/">says Simon Singh</a>, science author.<strong>Horse Meat Scandal</strong>In 1994 an episode titled "Sweet Seymour Skinner's Baadasssss Song," the lunch lady was seen reaching into a barrel labeled "assorted horse parts" and putting the meat into the school's lunch pot.In 2013, it was reported that traces of <a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-21631961" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-mce-href="http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-21631961">horse DNA</a> was found in beef products across the UK.<strong>Guitar Hero</strong>The now basically extinct but once popular video game Guitar Hero was first released in 2005.But in a 2002 Simpsons episode, <a href="http://www.thewrap.com/tag/mick_jagger/" data-mce-href="http://www.thewrap.com/tag/mick_jagger/">Mick Jagger</a> and Keith Richards give Homer a jacket that has "guitar hero" printed on the back of it.<strong>Farmville</strong>The virtual reality game, Farmville, was all the craze in 2009 with people rushing home from work or school to tend to their farm.In a 1998 episode, "The Simpsons" shows a scene were kids are excited to play in a yard work simulator.<strong>Old Beatles Letters</strong>In Season 2's episode 18, "Brush With Greatness," Ringo Starr from the Beatles is shown responding to fan letters while saying: "They took the time to write me, and I don't care if it takes me another 20 years. I'm going to answer every one of them."Well, two women in England received a reply to their fan mail form Sir Paul McCartney <a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-essex-24318839" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-mce-href="http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-essex-24318839">50 years later.</a><strong>Smart Watches</strong>Sorry Apple, but The Simpsons had smart watches first.In a 1995 episode, where the show is set in the future, Lisa's husband is shown speaking to a phone on his wrist.The first smart watch wasn't created until 2013.<strong>Disney Owns Fox </strong>Back in 1998, a quick scene in "The Simpsons" showed 20th Century Fox as "a Division of Walt Disney Co." And in March 2019, Disney completed its $71.3 billion acquisition of 21st Century Fox's film and TV assets.<strong>U.S. Wins an Olympic Gold Medal in Curling</strong>In 2010, Homer and Marge beat Sweden and took home Olympic gold for Team U.S.A. in Mixed Match Curling. As the animated sportscaster said, "Open your history books, tear out the pages and put this indelible Olympic moment in."<strong>Murder Hornets and Coronavirus</strong>In a 1993 episode, a Japanese factory worker accidentally spreads the contagious "Osaka Flu" to Springfield, and in the town peoples' rush to find a cure, they accidentally knock over a van with killer bees inside. The spread of "murder hornets" in America has coincided with the coronavirus in 2020. The coincidence was first <a href="https://twitter.com/thatbilloakley/status/1258121128905543682?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1258121128905543682&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fdeadline.com%2F2020%2F05%2Ffans-claim-the-simpsons-predicted-coronavirus-in-1993-1202848816%2F" data-mce-href="https://twitter.com/thatbilloakley/status/1258121128905543682?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1258121128905543682&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fdeadline.com%2F2020%2F05%2Ffans-claim-the-simpsons-predicted-coronavirus-in-1993-1202848816%2F">noticed</a> by former "Simpsons" writer Bill Oakley.<strong>Ted Cruz's Cancun Trip </strong>In the 1993 episode "Marge in Chains," Springfield Mayor Joe Quimby gives a press conference announcing there's a pandemic happening -- and letting residents know he didn't escape to the Bahamas during the disaster. It's later revealed that Quimby is just wearing a suit from the waist up and is actually broadcasting from a beach in swim shorts. <a href="https://twitter.com/jesse_brenneman/status/1362467127857324033" data-mce-href="https://twitter.com/jesse_brenneman/status/1362467127857324033">Fans were quick to point out</a> it's an almost identical situation to Texas Sen. Ted Cruz's recent <a href="http://www.thewrap.com/ted-cruz-uses-his-daughters-as-scapegoats-for-controversial-cancun-trip/" data-mce-href="http://www.thewrap.com/ted-cruz-uses-his-daughters-as-scapegoats-for-controversial-cancun-trip/">escape attempt to Cancun</a>.Fox
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<span id="__caret">_</span><span id="__caret">_</span>"The Simpsons" has an eerie knack for predicting the future, from Donald Trump's presidency to the U.S. Winning an Olympic Gold Medal in Curling. Here are 14 times the long-running comedic series got it right.<strong><a href="http://www.thewrap.com/tag/lady_gaga/" data-mce-href="http://www.thewrap.com/tag/lady_gaga/">Lady Gaga</a></strong>On the episode "Lisa Goes Gaga," <a href="http://www.thewrap.com/tag/lady_gaga/" data-mce-href="http://www.thewrap.com/tag/lady_gaga/">Lady Gaga</a> is shown suspended by cables flying over the audience at a concert. Well surprise, surprise because at the Super Bowl LI's halftime show, Gaga descended from the stadium's roof with suspension cables wearing pretty much the same outfit on her episode.<strong>2016 Nobel Prize Winner</strong>In a 2010 episode, Milhouse predicted that Bengt R. Holmstrom would win the Nobel Prize in Economics and sure enough, in<a href="https://twitter.com/MIT/status/785551840205307904?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-mce-href="https://twitter.com/MIT/status/785551840205307904?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"> 2016 Holmstrom and Oliver Hart</a> were announced as joint winners of the prize.<strong>Donald Trump Presidency</strong>17 years ago in an episode titled "Bart to the Future" shows Lisa as president after Donald Trump apparently ruined the economy.<strong>Arnold Palmer</strong>On the 28th season premiere, the satirical series made an Arnold Palmer Joke ... on the day that golfer Arnold Palmer died.Homer Simpson tells his wife Marge that he plans to "Arnold Palmer" his pal Lenny."Arnold Palmer Lenny?" Marge responds. "You're going to Arnold Palmer Lenny?"He was of course referring to the lemonade and iced tea drink mixture -- which was named after the golfer.<strong>Siegfried and Roy Tiger Attack</strong>In 1993, an episode titled "$pringfield (Or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Legalised Gambling)," the show imitated a Siegfried and Roy where the magicians got attacked by their trustworthy tiger.Well, in 2003 Roy was attacked by one of their white tigers during a live performance. He sustained injuries, but lived.<strong>Faulty Voting Machine</strong>During the 2012 elections, a voting machine proved faulty when <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/us-election/9659694/US-election-2012-voting-machine-changes-vote-for-Barack-Obama-to-Mitt-Romney.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-mce-href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/us-election/9659694/US-election-2012-voting-machine-changes-vote-for-Barack-Obama-to-Mitt-Romney.html">votes cast</a> for Barack Obama went to Mitt Romney instead.In a 2008 episode, Homer Simpson went to the voting booths to cast a vote for Obama, but ... his vote went to McCain instead.<strong>Higgs Boson</strong>In a 1998 episode, "The Wizard of Evergreen Terrace," Homer Simpson writes out an equation on a chalkboard which if solved "you get the mass of a Higgs boson that's only a bit larger than the nano-mass of a Higgs boson actually is," <a href="http://time.com/3731370/homer-simpson-higgs-boson/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-mce-href="http://time.com/3731370/homer-simpson-higgs-boson/">says Simon Singh</a>, science author.<strong>Horse Meat Scandal</strong>In 1994 an episode titled "Sweet Seymour Skinner's Baadasssss Song," the lunch lady was seen reaching into a barrel labeled "assorted horse parts" and putting the meat into the school's lunch pot.In 2013, it was reported that traces of <a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-21631961" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-mce-href="http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-21631961">horse DNA</a> was found in beef products across the UK.<strong>Guitar Hero</strong>The now basically extinct but once popular video game Guitar Hero was first released in 2005.But in a 2002 Simpsons episode, <a href="http://www.thewrap.com/tag/mick_jagger/" data-mce-href="http://www.thewrap.com/tag/mick_jagger/">Mick Jagger</a> and Keith Richards give Homer a jacket that has "guitar hero" printed on the back of it.<strong>Farmville</strong>The virtual reality game, Farmville, was all the craze in 2009 with people rushing home from work or school to tend to their farm.In a 1998 episode, "The Simpsons" shows a scene were kids are excited to play in a yard work simulator.<strong>Old Beatles Letters</strong>In Season 2's episode 18, "Brush With Greatness," Ringo Starr from the Beatles is shown responding to fan letters while saying: "They took the time to write me, and I don't care if it takes me another 20 years. I'm going to answer every one of them."Well, two women in England received a reply to their fan mail form Sir Paul McCartney <a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-essex-24318839" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-mce-href="http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-essex-24318839">50 years later.</a><strong>Smart Watches</strong>Sorry Apple, but The Simpsons had smart watches first.In a 1995 episode, where the show is set in the future, Lisa's husband is shown speaking to a phone on his wrist.The first smart watch wasn't created until 2013.<strong>Disney Owns Fox </strong>Back in 1998, a quick scene in "The Simpsons" showed 20th Century Fox as "a Division of Walt Disney Co." And in March 2019, Disney completed its $71.3 billion acquisition of 21st Century Fox's film and TV assets.<strong>U.S. Wins an Olympic Gold Medal in Curling</strong>In 2010, Homer and Marge beat Sweden and took home Olympic gold for Team U.S.A. in Mixed Match Curling. As the animated sportscaster said, "Open your history books, tear out the pages and put this indelible Olympic moment in."<strong>Murder Hornets and Coronavirus</strong>In a 1993 episode, a Japanese factory worker accidentally spreads the contagious "Osaka Flu" to Springfield, and in the town peoples' rush to find a cure, they accidentally knock over a van with killer bees inside. The spread of "murder hornets" in America has coincided with the coronavirus in 2020. The coincidence was first <a href="https://twitter.com/thatbilloakley/status/1258121128905543682?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1258121128905543682&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fdeadline.com%2F2020%2F05%2Ffans-claim-the-simpsons-predicted-coronavirus-in-1993-1202848816%2F" data-mce-href="https://twitter.com/thatbilloakley/status/1258121128905543682?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1258121128905543682&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fdeadline.com%2F2020%2F05%2Ffans-claim-the-simpsons-predicted-coronavirus-in-1993-1202848816%2F">noticed</a> by former "Simpsons" writer Bill Oakley.<strong>Ted Cruz's Cancun Trip </strong>In the 1993 episode "Marge in Chains," Springfield Mayor Joe Quimby gives a press conference announcing there's a pandemic happening -- and letting residents know he didn't escape to the Bahamas during the disaster. It's later revealed that Quimby is just wearing a suit from the waist up and is actually broadcasting from a beach in swim shorts. <a href="https://twitter.com/jesse_brenneman/status/1362467127857324033" data-mce-href="https://twitter.com/jesse_brenneman/status/1362467127857324033">Fans were quick to point out</a> it's an almost identical situation to Texas Sen. Ted Cruz's recent <a href="http://www.thewrap.com/ted-cruz-uses-his-daughters-as-scapegoats-for-controversial-cancun-trip/" data-mce-href="http://www.thewrap.com/ted-cruz-uses-his-daughters-as-scapegoats-for-controversial-cancun-trip/">escape attempt to Cancun</a>.Fox
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<span id="__caret">_</span><span id="__caret">_</span>"The Simpsons" has an eerie knack for predicting the future, from Donald Trump's presidency to the U.S. Winning an Olympic Gold Medal in Curling. Here are 14 times the long-running comedic series got it right.<strong><a href="http://www.thewrap.com/tag/lady_gaga/" data-mce-href="http://www.thewrap.com/tag/lady_gaga/">Lady Gaga</a></strong>On the episode "Lisa Goes Gaga," <a href="http://www.thewrap.com/tag/lady_gaga/" data-mce-href="http://www.thewrap.com/tag/lady_gaga/">Lady Gaga</a> is shown suspended by cables flying over the audience at a concert. Well surprise, surprise because at the Super Bowl LI's halftime show, Gaga descended from the stadium's roof with suspension cables wearing pretty much the same outfit on her episode.<strong>2016 Nobel Prize Winner</strong>In a 2010 episode, Milhouse predicted that Bengt R. Holmstrom would win the Nobel Prize in Economics and sure enough, in<a href="https://twitter.com/MIT/status/785551840205307904?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-mce-href="https://twitter.com/MIT/status/785551840205307904?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"> 2016 Holmstrom and Oliver Hart</a> were announced as joint winners of the prize.<strong>Donald Trump Presidency</strong>17 years ago in an episode titled "Bart to the Future" shows Lisa as president after Donald Trump apparently ruined the economy.<strong>Arnold Palmer</strong>On the 28th season premiere, the satirical series made an Arnold Palmer Joke ... on the day that golfer Arnold Palmer died.Homer Simpson tells his wife Marge that he plans to "Arnold Palmer" his pal Lenny."Arnold Palmer Lenny?" Marge responds. "You're going to Arnold Palmer Lenny?"He was of course referring to the lemonade and iced tea drink mixture -- which was named after the golfer.<strong>Siegfried and Roy Tiger Attack</strong>In 1993, an episode titled "$pringfield (Or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Legalised Gambling)," the show imitated a Siegfried and Roy where the magicians got attacked by their trustworthy tiger.Well, in 2003 Roy was attacked by one of their white tigers during a live performance. He sustained injuries, but lived.<strong>Faulty Voting Machine</strong>During the 2012 elections, a voting machine proved faulty when <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/us-election/9659694/US-election-2012-voting-machine-changes-vote-for-Barack-Obama-to-Mitt-Romney.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-mce-href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/us-election/9659694/US-election-2012-voting-machine-changes-vote-for-Barack-Obama-to-Mitt-Romney.html">votes cast</a> for Barack Obama went to Mitt Romney instead.In a 2008 episode, Homer Simpson went to the voting booths to cast a vote for Obama, but ... his vote went to McCain instead.<strong>Higgs Boson</strong>In a 1998 episode, "The Wizard of Evergreen Terrace," Homer Simpson writes out an equation on a chalkboard which if solved "you get the mass of a Higgs boson that's only a bit larger than the nano-mass of a Higgs boson actually is," <a href="http://time.com/3731370/homer-simpson-higgs-boson/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-mce-href="http://time.com/3731370/homer-simpson-higgs-boson/">says Simon Singh</a>, science author.<strong>Horse Meat Scandal</strong>In 1994 an episode titled "Sweet Seymour Skinner's Baadasssss Song," the lunch lady was seen reaching into a barrel labeled "assorted horse parts" and putting the meat into the school's lunch pot.In 2013, it was reported that traces of <a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-21631961" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-mce-href="http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-21631961">horse DNA</a> was found in beef products across the UK.<strong>Guitar Hero</strong>The now basically extinct but once popular video game Guitar Hero was first released in 2005.But in a 2002 Simpsons episode, <a href="http://www.thewrap.com/tag/mick_jagger/" data-mce-href="http://www.thewrap.com/tag/mick_jagger/">Mick Jagger</a> and Keith Richards give Homer a jacket that has "guitar hero" printed on the back of it.<strong>Farmville</strong>The virtual reality game, Farmville, was all the craze in 2009 with people rushing home from work or school to tend to their farm.In a 1998 episode, "The Simpsons" shows a scene were kids are excited to play in a yard work simulator.<strong>Old Beatles Letters</strong>In Season 2's episode 18, "Brush With Greatness," Ringo Starr from the Beatles is shown responding to fan letters while saying: "They took the time to write me, and I don't care if it takes me another 20 years. I'm going to answer every one of them."Well, two women in England received a reply to their fan mail form Sir Paul McCartney <a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-essex-24318839" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-mce-href="http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-essex-24318839">50 years later.</a><strong>Smart Watches</strong>Sorry Apple, but The Simpsons had smart watches first.In a 1995 episode, where the show is set in the future, Lisa's husband is shown speaking to a phone on his wrist.The first smart watch wasn't created until 2013.<strong>Disney Owns Fox </strong>Back in 1998, a quick scene in "The Simpsons" showed 20th Century Fox as "a Division of Walt Disney Co." And in March 2019, Disney completed its $71.3 billion acquisition of 21st Century Fox's film and TV assets.<strong>U.S. Wins an Olympic Gold Medal in Curling</strong>In 2010, Homer and Marge beat Sweden and took home Olympic gold for Team U.S.A. in Mixed Match Curling. As the animated sportscaster said, "Open your history books, tear out the pages and put this indelible Olympic moment in."<strong>Murder Hornets and Coronavirus</strong>In a 1993 episode, a Japanese factory worker accidentally spreads the contagious "Osaka Flu" to Springfield, and in the town peoples' rush to find a cure, they accidentally knock over a van with killer bees inside. The spread of "murder hornets" in America has coincided with the coronavirus in 2020. The coincidence was first <a href="https://twitter.com/thatbilloakley/status/1258121128905543682?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1258121128905543682&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fdeadline.com%2F2020%2F05%2Ffans-claim-the-simpsons-predicted-coronavirus-in-1993-1202848816%2F" data-mce-href="https://twitter.com/thatbilloakley/status/1258121128905543682?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1258121128905543682&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fdeadline.com%2F2020%2F05%2Ffans-claim-the-simpsons-predicted-coronavirus-in-1993-1202848816%2F">noticed</a> by former "Simpsons" writer Bill Oakley.<strong>Ted Cruz's Cancun Trip </strong>In the 1993 episode "Marge in Chains," Springfield Mayor Joe Quimby gives a press conference announcing there's a pandemic happening -- and letting residents know he didn't escape to the Bahamas during the disaster. It's later revealed that Quimby is just wearing a suit from the waist up and is actually broadcasting from a beach in swim shorts. <a href="https://twitter.com/jesse_brenneman/status/1362467127857324033" data-mce-href="https://twitter.com/jesse_brenneman/status/1362467127857324033">Fans were quick to point out</a> it's an almost identical situation to Texas Sen. Ted Cruz's recent <a href="http://www.thewrap.com/ted-cruz-uses-his-daughters-as-scapegoats-for-controversial-cancun-trip/" data-mce-href="http://www.thewrap.com/ted-cruz-uses-his-daughters-as-scapegoats-for-controversial-cancun-trip/">escape attempt to Cancun</a>.Fox
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<span id="__caret">_</span><span id="__caret">_</span>"The Simpsons" has an eerie knack for predicting the future, from Donald Trump's presidency to the U.S. Winning an Olympic Gold Medal in Curling. Here are 14 times the long-running comedic series got it right.<strong><a href="http://www.thewrap.com/tag/lady_gaga/" data-mce-href="http://www.thewrap.com/tag/lady_gaga/">Lady Gaga</a></strong>On the episode "Lisa Goes Gaga," <a href="http://www.thewrap.com/tag/lady_gaga/" data-mce-href="http://www.thewrap.com/tag/lady_gaga/">Lady Gaga</a> is shown suspended by cables flying over the audience at a concert. Well surprise, surprise because at the Super Bowl LI's halftime show, Gaga descended from the stadium's roof with suspension cables wearing pretty much the same outfit on her episode.<strong>2016 Nobel Prize Winner</strong>In a 2010 episode, Milhouse predicted that Bengt R. Holmstrom would win the Nobel Prize in Economics and sure enough, in<a href="https://twitter.com/MIT/status/785551840205307904?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-mce-href="https://twitter.com/MIT/status/785551840205307904?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"> 2016 Holmstrom and Oliver Hart</a> were announced as joint winners of the prize.<strong>Donald Trump Presidency</strong>17 years ago in an episode titled "Bart to the Future" shows Lisa as president after Donald Trump apparently ruined the economy.<strong>Arnold Palmer</strong>On the 28th season premiere, the satirical series made an Arnold Palmer Joke ... on the day that golfer Arnold Palmer died.Homer Simpson tells his wife Marge that he plans to "Arnold Palmer" his pal Lenny."Arnold Palmer Lenny?" Marge responds. "You're going to Arnold Palmer Lenny?"He was of course referring to the lemonade and iced tea drink mixture -- which was named after the golfer.<strong>Siegfried and Roy Tiger Attack</strong>In 1993, an episode titled "$pringfield (Or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Legalised Gambling)," the show imitated a Siegfried and Roy where the magicians got attacked by their trustworthy tiger.Well, in 2003 Roy was attacked by one of their white tigers during a live performance. He sustained injuries, but lived.<strong>Faulty Voting Machine</strong>During the 2012 elections, a voting machine proved faulty when <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/us-election/9659694/US-election-2012-voting-machine-changes-vote-for-Barack-Obama-to-Mitt-Romney.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-mce-href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/us-election/9659694/US-election-2012-voting-machine-changes-vote-for-Barack-Obama-to-Mitt-Romney.html">votes cast</a> for Barack Obama went to Mitt Romney instead.In a 2008 episode, Homer Simpson went to the voting booths to cast a vote for Obama, but ... his vote went to McCain instead.<strong>Higgs Boson</strong>In a 1998 episode, "The Wizard of Evergreen Terrace," Homer Simpson writes out an equation on a chalkboard which if solved "you get the mass of a Higgs boson that's only a bit larger than the nano-mass of a Higgs boson actually is," <a href="http://time.com/3731370/homer-simpson-higgs-boson/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-mce-href="http://time.com/3731370/homer-simpson-higgs-boson/">says Simon Singh</a>, science author.<strong>Horse Meat Scandal</strong>In 1994 an episode titled "Sweet Seymour Skinner's Baadasssss Song," the lunch lady was seen reaching into a barrel labeled "assorted horse parts" and putting the meat into the school's lunch pot.In 2013, it was reported that traces of <a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-21631961" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-mce-href="http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-21631961">horse DNA</a> was found in beef products across the UK.<strong>Guitar Hero</strong>The now basically extinct but once popular video game Guitar Hero was first released in 2005.But in a 2002 Simpsons episode, <a href="http://www.thewrap.com/tag/mick_jagger/" data-mce-href="http://www.thewrap.com/tag/mick_jagger/">Mick Jagger</a> and Keith Richards give Homer a jacket that has "guitar hero" printed on the back of it.<strong>Farmville</strong>The virtual reality game, Farmville, was all the craze in 2009 with people rushing home from work or school to tend to their farm.In a 1998 episode, "The Simpsons" shows a scene were kids are excited to play in a yard work simulator.<strong>Old Beatles Letters</strong>In Season 2's episode 18, "Brush With Greatness," Ringo Starr from the Beatles is shown responding to fan letters while saying: "They took the time to write me, and I don't care if it takes me another 20 years. I'm going to answer every one of them."Well, two women in England received a reply to their fan mail form Sir Paul McCartney <a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-essex-24318839" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-mce-href="http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-essex-24318839">50 years later.</a><strong>Smart Watches</strong>Sorry Apple, but The Simpsons had smart watches first.In a 1995 episode, where the show is set in the future, Lisa's husband is shown speaking to a phone on his wrist.The first smart watch wasn't created until 2013.<strong>Disney Owns Fox </strong>Back in 1998, a quick scene in "The Simpsons" showed 20th Century Fox as "a Division of Walt Disney Co." And in March 2019, Disney completed its $71.3 billion acquisition of 21st Century Fox's film and TV assets.<strong>U.S. Wins an Olympic Gold Medal in Curling</strong>In 2010, Homer and Marge beat Sweden and took home Olympic gold for Team U.S.A. in Mixed Match Curling. As the animated sportscaster said, "Open your history books, tear out the pages and put this indelible Olympic moment in."<strong>Murder Hornets and Coronavirus</strong>In a 1993 episode, a Japanese factory worker accidentally spreads the contagious "Osaka Flu" to Springfield, and in the town peoples' rush to find a cure, they accidentally knock over a van with killer bees inside. The spread of "murder hornets" in America has coincided with the coronavirus in 2020. The coincidence was first <a href="https://twitter.com/thatbilloakley/status/1258121128905543682?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1258121128905543682&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fdeadline.com%2F2020%2F05%2Ffans-claim-the-simpsons-predicted-coronavirus-in-1993-1202848816%2F" data-mce-href="https://twitter.com/thatbilloakley/status/1258121128905543682?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1258121128905543682&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fdeadline.com%2F2020%2F05%2Ffans-claim-the-simpsons-predicted-coronavirus-in-1993-1202848816%2F">noticed</a> by former "Simpsons" writer Bill Oakley.<strong>Ted Cruz's Cancun Trip </strong>In the 1993 episode "Marge in Chains," Springfield Mayor Joe Quimby gives a press conference announcing there's a pandemic happening -- and letting residents know he didn't escape to the Bahamas during the disaster. It's later revealed that Quimby is just wearing a suit from the waist up and is actually broadcasting from a beach in swim shorts. <a href="https://twitter.com/jesse_brenneman/status/1362467127857324033" data-mce-href="https://twitter.com/jesse_brenneman/status/1362467127857324033">Fans were quick to point out</a> it's an almost identical situation to Texas Sen. Ted Cruz's recent <a href="http://www.thewrap.com/ted-cruz-uses-his-daughters-as-scapegoats-for-controversial-cancun-trip/" data-mce-href="http://www.thewrap.com/ted-cruz-uses-his-daughters-as-scapegoats-for-controversial-cancun-trip/">escape attempt to Cancun</a>.Fox
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<span id="__caret">_</span><span id="__caret">_</span>"The Simpsons" has an eerie knack for predicting the future, from Donald Trump's presidency to the U.S. Winning an Olympic Gold Medal in Curling. Here are 14 times the long-running comedic series got it right.<strong><a href="http://www.thewrap.com/tag/lady_gaga/" data-mce-href="http://www.thewrap.com/tag/lady_gaga/">Lady Gaga</a></strong>On the episode "Lisa Goes Gaga," <a href="http://www.thewrap.com/tag/lady_gaga/" data-mce-href="http://www.thewrap.com/tag/lady_gaga/">Lady Gaga</a> is shown suspended by cables flying over the audience at a concert. Well surprise, surprise because at the Super Bowl LI's halftime show, Gaga descended from the stadium's roof with suspension cables wearing pretty much the same outfit on her episode.<strong>2016 Nobel Prize Winner</strong>In a 2010 episode, Milhouse predicted that Bengt R. Holmstrom would win the Nobel Prize in Economics and sure enough, in<a href="https://twitter.com/MIT/status/785551840205307904?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-mce-href="https://twitter.com/MIT/status/785551840205307904?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"> 2016 Holmstrom and Oliver Hart</a> were announced as joint winners of the prize.<strong>Donald Trump Presidency</strong>17 years ago in an episode titled "Bart to the Future" shows Lisa as president after Donald Trump apparently ruined the economy.<strong>Arnold Palmer</strong>On the 28th season premiere, the satirical series made an Arnold Palmer Joke ... on the day that golfer Arnold Palmer died.Homer Simpson tells his wife Marge that he plans to "Arnold Palmer" his pal Lenny."Arnold Palmer Lenny?" Marge responds. "You're going to Arnold Palmer Lenny?"He was of course referring to the lemonade and iced tea drink mixture -- which was named after the golfer.<strong>Siegfried and Roy Tiger Attack</strong>In 1993, an episode titled "$pringfield (Or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Legalised Gambling)," the show imitated a Siegfried and Roy where the magicians got attacked by their trustworthy tiger.Well, in 2003 Roy was attacked by one of their white tigers during a live performance. He sustained injuries, but lived.<strong>Faulty Voting Machine</strong>During the 2012 elections, a voting machine proved faulty when <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/us-election/9659694/US-election-2012-voting-machine-changes-vote-for-Barack-Obama-to-Mitt-Romney.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-mce-href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/us-election/9659694/US-election-2012-voting-machine-changes-vote-for-Barack-Obama-to-Mitt-Romney.html">votes cast</a> for Barack Obama went to Mitt Romney instead.In a 2008 episode, Homer Simpson went to the voting booths to cast a vote for Obama, but ... his vote went to McCain instead.<strong>Higgs Boson</strong>In a 1998 episode, "The Wizard of Evergreen Terrace," Homer Simpson writes out an equation on a chalkboard which if solved "you get the mass of a Higgs boson that's only a bit larger than the nano-mass of a Higgs boson actually is," <a href="http://time.com/3731370/homer-simpson-higgs-boson/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-mce-href="http://time.com/3731370/homer-simpson-higgs-boson/">says Simon Singh</a>, science author.<strong>Horse Meat Scandal</strong>In 1994 an episode titled "Sweet Seymour Skinner's Baadasssss Song," the lunch lady was seen reaching into a barrel labeled "assorted horse parts" and putting the meat into the school's lunch pot.In 2013, it was reported that traces of <a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-21631961" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-mce-href="http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-21631961">horse DNA</a> was found in beef products across the UK.<strong>Guitar Hero</strong>The now basically extinct but once popular video game Guitar Hero was first released in 2005.But in a 2002 Simpsons episode, <a href="http://www.thewrap.com/tag/mick_jagger/" data-mce-href="http://www.thewrap.com/tag/mick_jagger/">Mick Jagger</a> and Keith Richards give Homer a jacket that has "guitar hero" printed on the back of it.<strong>Farmville</strong>The virtual reality game, Farmville, was all the craze in 2009 with people rushing home from work or school to tend to their farm.In a 1998 episode, "The Simpsons" shows a scene were kids are excited to play in a yard work simulator.<strong>Old Beatles Letters</strong>In Season 2's episode 18, "Brush With Greatness," Ringo Starr from the Beatles is shown responding to fan letters while saying: "They took the time to write me, and I don't care if it takes me another 20 years. I'm going to answer every one of them."Well, two women in England received a reply to their fan mail form Sir Paul McCartney <a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-essex-24318839" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-mce-href="http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-essex-24318839">50 years later.</a><strong>Smart Watches</strong>Sorry Apple, but The Simpsons had smart watches first.In a 1995 episode, where the show is set in the future, Lisa's husband is shown speaking to a phone on his wrist.The first smart watch wasn't created until 2013.<strong>Disney Owns Fox </strong>Back in 1998, a quick scene in "The Simpsons" showed 20th Century Fox as "a Division of Walt Disney Co." And in March 2019, Disney completed its $71.3 billion acquisition of 21st Century Fox's film and TV assets.<strong>U.S. Wins an Olympic Gold Medal in Curling</strong>In 2010, Homer and Marge beat Sweden and took home Olympic gold for Team U.S.A. in Mixed Match Curling. As the animated sportscaster said, "Open your history books, tear out the pages and put this indelible Olympic moment in."<strong>Murder Hornets and Coronavirus</strong>In a 1993 episode, a Japanese factory worker accidentally spreads the contagious "Osaka Flu" to Springfield, and in the town peoples' rush to find a cure, they accidentally knock over a van with killer bees inside. The spread of "murder hornets" in America has coincided with the coronavirus in 2020. The coincidence was first <a href="https://twitter.com/thatbilloakley/status/1258121128905543682?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1258121128905543682&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fdeadline.com%2F2020%2F05%2Ffans-claim-the-simpsons-predicted-coronavirus-in-1993-1202848816%2F" data-mce-href="https://twitter.com/thatbilloakley/status/1258121128905543682?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1258121128905543682&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fdeadline.com%2F2020%2F05%2Ffans-claim-the-simpsons-predicted-coronavirus-in-1993-1202848816%2F">noticed</a> by former "Simpsons" writer Bill Oakley.<strong>Ted Cruz's Cancun Trip </strong>In the 1993 episode "Marge in Chains," Springfield Mayor Joe Quimby gives a press conference announcing there's a pandemic happening -- and letting residents know he didn't escape to the Bahamas during the disaster. It's later revealed that Quimby is just wearing a suit from the waist up and is actually broadcasting from a beach in swim shorts. <a href="https://twitter.com/jesse_brenneman/status/1362467127857324033" data-mce-href="https://twitter.com/jesse_brenneman/status/1362467127857324033">Fans were quick to point out</a> it's an almost identical situation to Texas Sen. Ted Cruz's recent <a href="http://www.thewrap.com/ted-cruz-uses-his-daughters-as-scapegoats-for-controversial-cancun-trip/" data-mce-href="http://www.thewrap.com/ted-cruz-uses-his-daughters-as-scapegoats-for-controversial-cancun-trip/">escape attempt to Cancun</a>.Fox
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<span id="__caret">_</span><span id="__caret">_</span>"The Simpsons" has an eerie knack for predicting the future, from Donald Trump's presidency to the U.S. Winning an Olympic Gold Medal in Curling. Here are 14 times the long-running comedic series got it right.<strong><a href="http://www.thewrap.com/tag/lady_gaga/" data-mce-href="http://www.thewrap.com/tag/lady_gaga/">Lady Gaga</a></strong>On the episode "Lisa Goes Gaga," <a href="http://www.thewrap.com/tag/lady_gaga/" data-mce-href="http://www.thewrap.com/tag/lady_gaga/">Lady Gaga</a> is shown suspended by cables flying over the audience at a concert. Well surprise, surprise because at the Super Bowl LI's halftime show, Gaga descended from the stadium's roof with suspension cables wearing pretty much the same outfit on her episode.<strong>2016 Nobel Prize Winner</strong>In a 2010 episode, Milhouse predicted that Bengt R. Holmstrom would win the Nobel Prize in Economics and sure enough, in<a href="https://twitter.com/MIT/status/785551840205307904?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-mce-href="https://twitter.com/MIT/status/785551840205307904?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"> 2016 Holmstrom and Oliver Hart</a> were announced as joint winners of the prize.<strong>Donald Trump Presidency</strong>17 years ago in an episode titled "Bart to the Future" shows Lisa as president after Donald Trump apparently ruined the economy.<strong>Arnold Palmer</strong>On the 28th season premiere, the satirical series made an Arnold Palmer Joke ... on the day that golfer Arnold Palmer died.Homer Simpson tells his wife Marge that he plans to "Arnold Palmer" his pal Lenny."Arnold Palmer Lenny?" Marge responds. "You're going to Arnold Palmer Lenny?"He was of course referring to the lemonade and iced tea drink mixture -- which was named after the golfer.<strong>Siegfried and Roy Tiger Attack</strong>In 1993, an episode titled "$pringfield (Or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Legalised Gambling)," the show imitated a Siegfried and Roy where the magicians got attacked by their trustworthy tiger.Well, in 2003 Roy was attacked by one of their white tigers during a live performance. He sustained injuries, but lived.<strong>Faulty Voting Machine</strong>During the 2012 elections, a voting machine proved faulty when <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/us-election/9659694/US-election-2012-voting-machine-changes-vote-for-Barack-Obama-to-Mitt-Romney.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-mce-href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/us-election/9659694/US-election-2012-voting-machine-changes-vote-for-Barack-Obama-to-Mitt-Romney.html">votes cast</a> for Barack Obama went to Mitt Romney instead.In a 2008 episode, Homer Simpson went to the voting booths to cast a vote for Obama, but ... his vote went to McCain instead.<strong>Higgs Boson</strong>In a 1998 episode, "The Wizard of Evergreen Terrace," Homer Simpson writes out an equation on a chalkboard which if solved "you get the mass of a Higgs boson that's only a bit larger than the nano-mass of a Higgs boson actually is," <a href="http://time.com/3731370/homer-simpson-higgs-boson/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-mce-href="http://time.com/3731370/homer-simpson-higgs-boson/">says Simon Singh</a>, science author.<strong>Horse Meat Scandal</strong>In 1994 an episode titled "Sweet Seymour Skinner's Baadasssss Song," the lunch lady was seen reaching into a barrel labeled "assorted horse parts" and putting the meat into the school's lunch pot.In 2013, it was reported that traces of <a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-21631961" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-mce-href="http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-21631961">horse DNA</a> was found in beef products across the UK.<strong>Guitar Hero</strong>The now basically extinct but once popular video game Guitar Hero was first released in 2005.But in a 2002 Simpsons episode, <a href="http://www.thewrap.com/tag/mick_jagger/" data-mce-href="http://www.thewrap.com/tag/mick_jagger/">Mick Jagger</a> and Keith Richards give Homer a jacket that has "guitar hero" printed on the back of it.<strong>Farmville</strong>The virtual reality game, Farmville, was all the craze in 2009 with people rushing home from work or school to tend to their farm.In a 1998 episode, "The Simpsons" shows a scene were kids are excited to play in a yard work simulator.<strong>Old Beatles Letters</strong>In Season 2's episode 18, "Brush With Greatness," Ringo Starr from the Beatles is shown responding to fan letters while saying: "They took the time to write me, and I don't care if it takes me another 20 years. I'm going to answer every one of them."Well, two women in England received a reply to their fan mail form Sir Paul McCartney <a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-essex-24318839" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-mce-href="http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-essex-24318839">50 years later.</a><strong>Smart Watches</strong>Sorry Apple, but The Simpsons had smart watches first.In a 1995 episode, where the show is set in the future, Lisa's husband is shown speaking to a phone on his wrist.The first smart watch wasn't created until 2013.<strong>Disney Owns Fox </strong>Back in 1998, a quick scene in "The Simpsons" showed 20th Century Fox as "a Division of Walt Disney Co." And in March 2019, Disney completed its $71.3 billion acquisition of 21st Century Fox's film and TV assets.<strong>U.S. Wins an Olympic Gold Medal in Curling</strong>In 2010, Homer and Marge beat Sweden and took home Olympic gold for Team U.S.A. in Mixed Match Curling. As the animated sportscaster said, "Open your history books, tear out the pages and put this indelible Olympic moment in."<strong>Murder Hornets and Coronavirus</strong>In a 1993 episode, a Japanese factory worker accidentally spreads the contagious "Osaka Flu" to Springfield, and in the town peoples' rush to find a cure, they accidentally knock over a van with killer bees inside. The spread of "murder hornets" in America has coincided with the coronavirus in 2020. The coincidence was first <a href="https://twitter.com/thatbilloakley/status/1258121128905543682?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1258121128905543682&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fdeadline.com%2F2020%2F05%2Ffans-claim-the-simpsons-predicted-coronavirus-in-1993-1202848816%2F" data-mce-href="https://twitter.com/thatbilloakley/status/1258121128905543682?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1258121128905543682&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fdeadline.com%2F2020%2F05%2Ffans-claim-the-simpsons-predicted-coronavirus-in-1993-1202848816%2F">noticed</a> by former "Simpsons" writer Bill Oakley.<strong>Ted Cruz's Cancun Trip </strong>In the 1993 episode "Marge in Chains," Springfield Mayor Joe Quimby gives a press conference announcing there's a pandemic happening -- and letting residents know he didn't escape to the Bahamas during the disaster. It's later revealed that Quimby is just wearing a suit from the waist up and is actually broadcasting from a beach in swim shorts. <a href="https://twitter.com/jesse_brenneman/status/1362467127857324033" data-mce-href="https://twitter.com/jesse_brenneman/status/1362467127857324033">Fans were quick to point out</a> it's an almost identical situation to Texas Sen. Ted Cruz's recent <a href="http://www.thewrap.com/ted-cruz-uses-his-daughters-as-scapegoats-for-controversial-cancun-trip/" data-mce-href="http://www.thewrap.com/ted-cruz-uses-his-daughters-as-scapegoats-for-controversial-cancun-trip/">escape attempt to Cancun</a>.
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<span id="__caret">_</span><span id="__caret">_</span>"The Simpsons" has an eerie knack for predicting the future, from Donald Trump's presidency to the U.S. Winning an Olympic Gold Medal in Curling. Here are 14 times the long-running comedic series got it right.<strong><a href="http://www.thewrap.com/tag/lady_gaga/" data-mce-href="http://www.thewrap.com/tag/lady_gaga/">Lady Gaga</a></strong>On the episode "Lisa Goes Gaga," <a href="http://www.thewrap.com/tag/lady_gaga/" data-mce-href="http://www.thewrap.com/tag/lady_gaga/">Lady Gaga</a> is shown suspended by cables flying over the audience at a concert. Well surprise, surprise because at the Super Bowl LI's halftime show, Gaga descended from the stadium's roof with suspension cables wearing pretty much the same outfit on her episode.<strong>2016 Nobel Prize Winner</strong>In a 2010 episode, Milhouse predicted that Bengt R. Holmstrom would win the Nobel Prize in Economics and sure enough, in<a href="https://twitter.com/MIT/status/785551840205307904?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-mce-href="https://twitter.com/MIT/status/785551840205307904?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"> 2016 Holmstrom and Oliver Hart</a> were announced as joint winners of the prize.<strong>Donald Trump Presidency</strong>17 years ago in an episode titled "Bart to the Future" shows Lisa as president after Donald Trump apparently ruined the economy.<strong>Arnold Palmer</strong>On the 28th season premiere, the satirical series made an Arnold Palmer Joke ... on the day that golfer Arnold Palmer died.Homer Simpson tells his wife Marge that he plans to "Arnold Palmer" his pal Lenny."Arnold Palmer Lenny?" Marge responds. "You're going to Arnold Palmer Lenny?"He was of course referring to the lemonade and iced tea drink mixture -- which was named after the golfer.<strong>Siegfried and Roy Tiger Attack</strong>In 1993, an episode titled "$pringfield (Or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Legalised Gambling)," the show imitated a Siegfried and Roy where the magicians got attacked by their trustworthy tiger.Well, in 2003 Roy was attacked by one of their white tigers during a live performance. He sustained injuries, but lived.<strong>Faulty Voting Machine</strong>During the 2012 elections, a voting machine proved faulty when <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/us-election/9659694/US-election-2012-voting-machine-changes-vote-for-Barack-Obama-to-Mitt-Romney.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-mce-href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/us-election/9659694/US-election-2012-voting-machine-changes-vote-for-Barack-Obama-to-Mitt-Romney.html">votes cast</a> for Barack Obama went to Mitt Romney instead.In a 2008 episode, Homer Simpson went to the voting booths to cast a vote for Obama, but ... his vote went to McCain instead.<strong>Higgs Boson</strong>In a 1998 episode, "The Wizard of Evergreen Terrace," Homer Simpson writes out an equation on a chalkboard which if solved "you get the mass of a Higgs boson that's only a bit larger than the nano-mass of a Higgs boson actually is," <a href="http://time.com/3731370/homer-simpson-higgs-boson/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-mce-href="http://time.com/3731370/homer-simpson-higgs-boson/">says Simon Singh</a>, science author.<strong>Horse Meat Scandal</strong>In 1994 an episode titled "Sweet Seymour Skinner's Baadasssss Song," the lunch lady was seen reaching into a barrel labeled "assorted horse parts" and putting the meat into the school's lunch pot.In 2013, it was reported that traces of <a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-21631961" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-mce-href="http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-21631961">horse DNA</a> was found in beef products across the UK.<strong>Guitar Hero</strong>The now basically extinct but once popular video game Guitar Hero was first released in 2005.But in a 2002 Simpsons episode, <a href="http://www.thewrap.com/tag/mick_jagger/" data-mce-href="http://www.thewrap.com/tag/mick_jagger/">Mick Jagger</a> and Keith Richards give Homer a jacket that has "guitar hero" printed on the back of it.<strong>Farmville</strong>The virtual reality game, Farmville, was all the craze in 2009 with people rushing home from work or school to tend to their farm.In a 1998 episode, "The Simpsons" shows a scene were kids are excited to play in a yard work simulator.<strong>Old Beatles Letters</strong>In Season 2's episode 18, "Brush With Greatness," Ringo Starr from the Beatles is shown responding to fan letters while saying: "They took the time to write me, and I don't care if it takes me another 20 years. I'm going to answer every one of them."Well, two women in England received a reply to their fan mail form Sir Paul McCartney <a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-essex-24318839" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-mce-href="http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-essex-24318839">50 years later.</a><strong>Smart Watches</strong>Sorry Apple, but The Simpsons had smart watches first.In a 1995 episode, where the show is set in the future, Lisa's husband is shown speaking to a phone on his wrist.The first smart watch wasn't created until 2013.<strong>Disney Owns Fox </strong>Back in 1998, a quick scene in "The Simpsons" showed 20th Century Fox as "a Division of Walt Disney Co." And in March 2019, Disney completed its $71.3 billion acquisition of 21st Century Fox's film and TV assets.<strong>U.S. Wins an Olympic Gold Medal in Curling</strong>In 2010, Homer and Marge beat Sweden and took home Olympic gold for Team U.S.A. in Mixed Match Curling. As the animated sportscaster said, "Open your history books, tear out the pages and put this indelible Olympic moment in."<strong>Murder Hornets and Coronavirus</strong>In a 1993 episode, a Japanese factory worker accidentally spreads the contagious "Osaka Flu" to Springfield, and in the town peoples' rush to find a cure, they accidentally knock over a van with killer bees inside. The spread of "murder hornets" in America has coincided with the coronavirus in 2020. The coincidence was first <a href="https://twitter.com/thatbilloakley/status/1258121128905543682?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1258121128905543682&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fdeadline.com%2F2020%2F05%2Ffans-claim-the-simpsons-predicted-coronavirus-in-1993-1202848816%2F" data-mce-href="https://twitter.com/thatbilloakley/status/1258121128905543682?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1258121128905543682&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fdeadline.com%2F2020%2F05%2Ffans-claim-the-simpsons-predicted-coronavirus-in-1993-1202848816%2F">noticed</a> by former "Simpsons" writer Bill Oakley.<strong>Ted Cruz's Cancun Trip </strong>In the 1993 episode "Marge in Chains," Springfield Mayor Joe Quimby gives a press conference announcing there's a pandemic happening -- and letting residents know he didn't escape to the Bahamas during the disaster. It's later revealed that Quimby is just wearing a suit from the waist up and is actually broadcasting from a beach in swim shorts. <a href="https://twitter.com/jesse_brenneman/status/1362467127857324033" data-mce-href="https://twitter.com/jesse_brenneman/status/1362467127857324033">Fans were quick to point out</a> it's an almost identical situation to Texas Sen. Ted Cruz's recent <a href="http://www.thewrap.com/ted-cruz-uses-his-daughters-as-scapegoats-for-controversial-cancun-trip/" data-mce-href="http://www.thewrap.com/ted-cruz-uses-his-daughters-as-scapegoats-for-controversial-cancun-trip/">escape attempt to Cancun</a>.
1 of 19
<span id="__caret">_</span><span id="__caret">_</span>"The Simpsons" has an eerie knack for predicting the future, from Donald Trump's presidency to the U.S. Winning an Olympic Gold Medal in Curling. Here are 14 times the long-running comedic series got it right.<strong><a href="http://www.thewrap.com/tag/lady_gaga/" data-mce-href="http://www.thewrap.com/tag/lady_gaga/">Lady Gaga</a></strong>On the episode "Lisa Goes Gaga," <a href="http://www.thewrap.com/tag/lady_gaga/" data-mce-href="http://www.thewrap.com/tag/lady_gaga/">Lady Gaga</a> is shown suspended by cables flying over the audience at a concert. Well surprise, surprise because at the Super Bowl LI's halftime show, Gaga descended from the stadium's roof with suspension cables wearing pretty much the same outfit on her episode.<strong>2016 Nobel Prize Winner</strong>In a 2010 episode, Milhouse predicted that Bengt R. Holmstrom would win the Nobel Prize in Economics and sure enough, in<a href="https://twitter.com/MIT/status/785551840205307904?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-mce-href="https://twitter.com/MIT/status/785551840205307904?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"> 2016 Holmstrom and Oliver Hart</a> were announced as joint winners of the prize.<strong>Donald Trump Presidency</strong>17 years ago in an episode titled "Bart to the Future" shows Lisa as president after Donald Trump apparently ruined the economy.<strong>Arnold Palmer</strong>On the 28th season premiere, the satirical series made an Arnold Palmer Joke ... on the day that golfer Arnold Palmer died.Homer Simpson tells his wife Marge that he plans to "Arnold Palmer" his pal Lenny."Arnold Palmer Lenny?" Marge responds. "You're going to Arnold Palmer Lenny?"He was of course referring to the lemonade and iced tea drink mixture -- which was named after the golfer.<strong>Siegfried and Roy Tiger Attack</strong>In 1993, an episode titled "$pringfield (Or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Legalised Gambling)," the show imitated a Siegfried and Roy where the magicians got attacked by their trustworthy tiger.Well, in 2003 Roy was attacked by one of their white tigers during a live performance. He sustained injuries, but lived.<strong>Faulty Voting Machine</strong>During the 2012 elections, a voting machine proved faulty when <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/us-election/9659694/US-election-2012-voting-machine-changes-vote-for-Barack-Obama-to-Mitt-Romney.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-mce-href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/us-election/9659694/US-election-2012-voting-machine-changes-vote-for-Barack-Obama-to-Mitt-Romney.html">votes cast</a> for Barack Obama went to Mitt Romney instead.In a 2008 episode, Homer Simpson went to the voting booths to cast a vote for Obama, but ... his vote went to McCain instead.<strong>Higgs Boson</strong>In a 1998 episode, "The Wizard of Evergreen Terrace," Homer Simpson writes out an equation on a chalkboard which if solved "you get the mass of a Higgs boson that's only a bit larger than the nano-mass of a Higgs boson actually is," <a href="http://time.com/3731370/homer-simpson-higgs-boson/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-mce-href="http://time.com/3731370/homer-simpson-higgs-boson/">says Simon Singh</a>, science author.<strong>Horse Meat Scandal</strong>In 1994 an episode titled "Sweet Seymour Skinner's Baadasssss Song," the lunch lady was seen reaching into a barrel labeled "assorted horse parts" and putting the meat into the school's lunch pot.In 2013, it was reported that traces of <a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-21631961" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-mce-href="http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-21631961">horse DNA</a> was found in beef products across the UK.<strong>Guitar Hero</strong>The now basically extinct but once popular video game Guitar Hero was first released in 2005.But in a 2002 Simpsons episode, <a href="http://www.thewrap.com/tag/mick_jagger/" data-mce-href="http://www.thewrap.com/tag/mick_jagger/">Mick Jagger</a> and Keith Richards give Homer a jacket that has "guitar hero" printed on the back of it.<strong>Farmville</strong>The virtual reality game, Farmville, was all the craze in 2009 with people rushing home from work or school to tend to their farm.In a 1998 episode, "The Simpsons" shows a scene were kids are excited to play in a yard work simulator.<strong>Old Beatles Letters</strong>In Season 2's episode 18, "Brush With Greatness," Ringo Starr from the Beatles is shown responding to fan letters while saying: "They took the time to write me, and I don't care if it takes me another 20 years. I'm going to answer every one of them."Well, two women in England received a reply to their fan mail form Sir Paul McCartney <a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-essex-24318839" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-mce-href="http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-essex-24318839">50 years later.</a><strong>Smart Watches</strong>Sorry Apple, but The Simpsons had smart watches first.In a 1995 episode, where the show is set in the future, Lisa's husband is shown speaking to a phone on his wrist.The first smart watch wasn't created until 2013.<strong>Disney Owns Fox </strong>Back in 1998, a quick scene in "The Simpsons" showed 20th Century Fox as "a Division of Walt Disney Co." And in March 2019, Disney completed its $71.3 billion acquisition of 21st Century Fox's film and TV assets.<strong>U.S. Wins an Olympic Gold Medal in Curling</strong>In 2010, Homer and Marge beat Sweden and took home Olympic gold for Team U.S.A. in Mixed Match Curling. As the animated sportscaster said, "Open your history books, tear out the pages and put this indelible Olympic moment in."<strong>Murder Hornets and Coronavirus</strong>In a 1993 episode, a Japanese factory worker accidentally spreads the contagious "Osaka Flu" to Springfield, and in the town peoples' rush to find a cure, they accidentally knock over a van with killer bees inside. The spread of "murder hornets" in America has coincided with the coronavirus in 2020. The coincidence was first <a href="https://twitter.com/thatbilloakley/status/1258121128905543682?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1258121128905543682&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fdeadline.com%2F2020%2F05%2Ffans-claim-the-simpsons-predicted-coronavirus-in-1993-1202848816%2F" data-mce-href="https://twitter.com/thatbilloakley/status/1258121128905543682?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1258121128905543682&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fdeadline.com%2F2020%2F05%2Ffans-claim-the-simpsons-predicted-coronavirus-in-1993-1202848816%2F">noticed</a> by former "Simpsons" writer Bill Oakley.<strong>Ted Cruz's Cancun Trip </strong>In the 1993 episode "Marge in Chains," Springfield Mayor Joe Quimby gives a press conference announcing there's a pandemic happening -- and letting residents know he didn't escape to the Bahamas during the disaster. It's later revealed that Quimby is just wearing a suit from the waist up and is actually broadcasting from a beach in swim shorts. <a href="https://twitter.com/jesse_brenneman/status/1362467127857324033" data-mce-href="https://twitter.com/jesse_brenneman/status/1362467127857324033">Fans were quick to point out</a> it's an almost identical situation to Texas Sen. Ted Cruz's recent <a href="http://www.thewrap.com/ted-cruz-uses-his-daughters-as-scapegoats-for-controversial-cancun-trip/" data-mce-href="http://www.thewrap.com/ted-cruz-uses-his-daughters-as-scapegoats-for-controversial-cancun-trip/">escape attempt to Cancun</a>.
