The Houston Chronicle announced Thursday that they had retracted eight stories after an internal investigation found they relied heavily on sources who seemingly did not exist.
“The relationship between a newspaper and its readers is one of trust,” said Chronicle executive editor Nancy Barnes in a piece explaining the decision. “This investigation points to an egregious breach of that trust that is an offense to readers and journalists alike. We apologize to our readers, and to the Houston community.”
“We will be correcting or retracting all of the affected stories in order to set the record straight to the best of our ability, as I promised when this was first brought to my attention,” she added.
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In September, the Texas daily was rocked by scandal after questions were raised about the reporting of Austin bureau chief Mike Ward. A lengthy investigation was unable to identity a number of sources Ward quoted on the record for his stories. He ultimately resigned from the paper after being confronted by Barnes.
The Chronicle then began an extensive effort to investigate all of Ward’s reporting to identify if there were any other instances of phony sourcing during his career there. The paper brought in Pulitzer Prize winner David Wood to lead the effort. The results of his investigation led to the the paper’s decision to retract the stories.
“Of the 275 people quoted, 122, or 44 percent, could not be found. Those 122 people appeared in 72 stories,” said Wood. “It’s impossible to prove that these people do not exist, only that with extensive research and digging, the team could not find them. And in this age of online records, including property ownership and court filings, almost everyone can be found quickly.”
In addition to the eight retractions, Wood said the paper would also amend a number of stories which relied heavily on sources which could not be independently verified.
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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>.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>.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>.