Fans are often stunned by the Simpsons’ eerie ability predict the future. Many events that were aired on Simpsons have been mirrored in real-life.
The iconic television show foresaw major events around the world over the years, including Donald Trump’s election and the discovery of a mutant fish with three eyes. It also helped to erect the Shard in London.
And 2021 is no different, with the Matt Groening’s creation predicting big moments including Richard Branson’s space flight and Kamala Harris’ inauguration outfit.
Eerie: The Simpsons regularly stuns fans with its eerie ability to predict the future, with many events aired on the show panning out in real life
MailOnline takes a look back over some of The Simpsons’ key prophecies during the past year as we draw to a close.
RICHARD BRANSON’S SPACE FLIGHT
Pictures of Sir Richard Branson spaceflighting in an episode from 2014 went viral after Branson (a businessman aged 71) launched himself toward the stars.
After he traveled to the edge on a Virgin Galactic flight and earned his astronaut wings, the entrepreneur became the first founder of a spaceflight.
Eerie: Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic Spaceflight was correctly predicted by the Simpsons in an episode from 2014, just before Branson, now 71, took to the skies in July.
The future is back: Virgin Galactic footage looked strangely like a scene from The Simpsons’ 2014 episode, The War of Art. This episode was the 25th of The Simpsons’ series.
The magnate experienced weightlessness, floated about the ship’s cabin and was captured on video.
The footage was strangely similar to a scene in a 2014 episode of The Simpsons called The War of Art, the 15th episode of the show’s 25th series.
The animated program features Klaus Ziegler, an art forger who tells Lisa that his “forgeries bring pleasure to people around the world” before art lovers from different locations look at it.
Richard, who is seen relaxing with his hands behind him as he floates in his spaceship and looks at art on the wall from the other side of the room, seems to be enjoying the faux art.
JOE BIDDEN IS SUSPENDING DONALD TRUMP AS THE PRESIDENT
On January 20, 2021, Joe Biden, 79, was sworn in as the 46th president of the United States, taking over from predecessor Donald Trump.
The Simpsons did not explicitly state that Mr Biden would become president during a 2000 episode called ‘Bart to the Future.’ However, the show predicted that Trump would eventually be President and that his successor would have to live with the debt. In the episode, a mature Lisa assumed the presidency.
Sworn in: On January 20, 2021, Joe Biden, 79, was sworn in as the 46th president of the United States, taking over from predecessor Donald Trump
In fact, an episode of the show shows her sitting in the Oval Office meeting, and she states: “We inherited quite a budget crunch from Donald Trump.”
And when she asks Secretary Van Houten exactly how bad things are, he responds: ‘ ‘We’re broke’.
Wow: And while The Simpson’s didn’t directly state that Mr Biden would be president, it did predict that Trump would be, and leave his successor with debt – with a grown-up Lisa taking on the role of president in the episode
Uncanny: In the episode, Lisa is president and refers to her predecessor, Trump — another surprising real-life event the show predicted
When Trump was elected 16 years later, writer Dan Greaney told the Hollywood Reporter: ‘It was a warning to America. It seemed the right last step before reaching bottom. This was because it fit the American vision of America becoming insane.
And creator Matt Groening told The Guardian: ‘We predicted that he would be president back in 2000 — but [Trump]This was the most bizarre placeholder name we could come up with at the time. It is absurd.
KAMALA HARRIS INAUGURATION OUTFIT
The Simpsons were also featured in that episode. predict Kamala Harris’s vice presidency, that’s to Lisa’s choice of outfit.
The 57-year-old attended the inauguration in a bright purple outfit by American designers Christopher John Rogers and Sergio Hudson, which she accessorised with a custom pearl necklace by Puerto Rican designer Wilfredo Rosado.
The ensemble bore a striking resemblance to one worn by Lisa Simpson the 2000 episode of the cartoon — in which a grown-up Lisa is President of the United States.
Big moment: Social media users were left convinced that The Simpsons predicted Kamala Harris’s vice presidency in January
Matchy-matchy : VP Harris wore purple with pearls for the Inauguration, much like Lisa Simpson did in the 2000 episode.
TOM HANKS HOSTING INUGURATION SPECIAL
In sticking with the inauguration at the beginning of the year, the event was scaled back in the wake of concerns about the Capitol riots a few week prior and the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
A TV special, hosted by Tom Hanks (65), was added to the low-key ceremony.
You can see it: Joe Biden’s low-key inauguration was enhanced by an HBO special hosted host Tom Hanks (65) and featuring Hanks giving a smiley address.
Strangely, Tom made a surprise appearance in 2007’s The Simpson’s Movie. He gave an identical address to Springfield residents who were being quarantined beneath a glass dome.
In a TV advert for a new Grand Canyon, he said: ‘The US government has lost its credibility, so it’s borrowing some of mine.’
CAPITOL U.S. RIOTS
Strange: Similarly, the long-running programme may have also predicted the U.S. Capitol Riots which occurred in January this year when a mob of Donald Trump supporters caused chaos
Similarly, the long-running programme may have also predicted the U.S. Capitol Riots which occurred in January this year when a mob of Donald Trump supporters caused chaos as they sought to overturn his defeat in the 2020 presidential elections.
Eerily, In the Treehouse of Horror XXXI episode, Homer sleeps through election day and doesn’t get to place his vote.
He later awakes to complete and utter chaos and mayhem on the streets in a strange prediction for the future, with Homer later seen on Inauguration Day in homemade body armour sitting on the roof of his house as Springfield burns around him.
Similarities: Eerily, Homer falls asleep during election day in Treehouse of Horror XXXI. Homer doesn’t even get to vote. Later, Homer wakes up in complete chaos and mayhem and has a strange prediction for his future.
Drama: Homer later seen on Inauguration Day in homemade body armour sitting on the roof of his house as Springfield burns around him
THE OMNICRON VARIANT
While it’s well known that the cartoon saw the global pandemic in the future thanks to the 1993 episode titled Marge In Chains about the Osaka Flu, could they have predicted the latest strain of the virus?
Omicron has been rapidly growing in the UK. As of Wednesday, there were 210,122 Omicron cases.
And suggestions that Matt Groening and co predicted this began after a fan pulled together a mix of news montages and a scene from Matt’s other show Futurama, in which an alien declares he is from the planet Omicron Persei 8.
Sharing the coincidence, one Twitter user posted alongside a clip from the episode: ‘Did anyone else think of this when they heard about the new ‘Omricon’ varient?
Huh? It’s possible that Matt Groening or co. predicted it after a fan gathered a mixture of news montages as well as a scene from Matt’s other show Futurama in which an alien claims he was from Omicron Persei 8.