19 Simpsons Predictions That Didn’t Come True (& Some That Did)

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Learn about The Simpsons’ predictions for 2025 and beyond
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Calling all Simpsons fans! It’s well known that The Simpsons has the gift of prophecy and an uncanny knack for predicting the future—but what about all those silly predictions that haven’t come true yet? As it turns out, there are plenty of predictions for the future that still aren’t a reality—with some more likely than others to eventually come true. In this article, we’ll explore The Simpsons’ long history of making predictions and explain everything you need to know about the ones that haven’t come true (and some that have).

Top Simpsons Predictions That Haven’t Happened

  • Bigfoot discovered: A season 13 episode predicts Bigfoot’s discovery after Bart sees the cryptid near a bus stop.
  • Colonizing Mars: “The Marge-ian Chronicles” predicts colonies developing on Mars as Lisa and Marge embark on a journey there.
  • Holograms: Multiple Simpsons episodes predict the development of hologram technology, including hologram mail!
  • Hover cars: Another futuristic Simpsons episode predicted the invention of hover cars, which have yet to be invented in real life.
  • “Smell you later”: In one episode, Bart reveals that “goodbye” has been replaced with the phrase “Smell you later” instead.
Section 1 of 3:

Simpsons Predictions That Haven’t Happened (Yet)

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  1. Step 1 Bigfoot - “The Bart Wants What It Wants” (Season 13, Ep. 11)
    The Simpsons has plenty of references to Bigfoot, with Homer being mistaken for the legendary cryptid in the season 1 episode “The Call of the Simpsons.” However, in season 13, Bart actually spots Bigfoot from a bus in Canada![1]
    • No “Bigfoot” creature has ever been found. Nonetheless, many people have searched for Bigfoot over the years, and The Simpsons is apparently rooting for them.
  2. Step 2 CNNBCBS - “Lisa’s Wedding” (Season 6, Ep. 19)
    Mergers between networks and streaming platforms have become more common lately—and The Simpsons predicted a hilariously big one way back in 1995. In the episode, which flashes forward to Lisa’s wedding day, it’s revealed that ABC owns “CNNBCBS,” presumably the merged networks of CNN, NBC, and CBS.
    • In the episode, Marge also says, “You know, Fox turned into a hardcore sex channel so gradually, I didn’t even notice.”
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  3. Step 3 Colonizing Mars - “The Marge-ian Chronicles” (Season 27, Ep. 16)
    In “The Marge-ian Chronicles,” Lisa opts to go on a one-way trip to Mars sponsored by a company planning to colonize the planet within 10 years—and naturally, the rest of the family tags along. Even though the takeoff fails, Marge and Lisa manage to arrive on Mars in 2051 (although Lisa immediately decides to move to Venus).
    • In the real world, Elon Musk’s SpaceX company lists the colonization of Mars among its objectives, though whether that will become a reality has yet to be seen.
  4. Step 4 Cryogenics - “Holidays of Future Passed” (Season 23, Ep. 9)
    This touching Christmas episode is set decades after Lisa, Bart, and Maggie become adults and predicts that humans will figure out how to cryogenically freeze themselves to extend their lives. In the episode, Abe “Grampa” Simpson (Homer’s father) can join the festivities because he’s been cryogenically frozen.[2]
    • Cryogenic freezing isn’t a reality yet, but it’s something many movies and TV shows have speculated on (including Alien, Avatar, Interstellar, and 2001: A Space Odyssey).
  5. Step 5 Digital Big Ben - “Lisa’s Wedding” (Season 6, Ep. 19)
    “Lisa’s Wedding” explores a future in which Lisa gets engaged to a British man and goes to meet his parents in England. While there, she gets to see the iconic Big Ben clock tower, which is revealed to have a digital display. Big Ben famously has an analog face, so the idea that it’ll one day be given a digital one is definitely interesting.
    • Seventeen seasons later, Big Ben’s futuristic digital face is shown again in the “Holidays of Future Passed” episode.
  6. Step 6 Environmental catastrophe - The Simpsons Movie (2007)
    Could an environmental disaster lead to a city being encased in a glass dome as part of a massive government cover-up? That’s the question asked in the feature-length film The Simpsons Movie, as Springfield is trapped in a gigantic dome after Homer pollutes the town’s water supply (thankfully, he eventually saves the town from using a bomb and a motorcycle).[3]
    • The underlying concept of this prediction is environmental pollution causing large-scale problems, which doesn’t sound so improbable. In fact, contaminated water has been a problem in real life many times already.
    • The movie’s plot also loosely parodies Stephen King’s Under the Dome.
  7. Step 7 Hologram technology - “It’s a Blunderful Life” (Season 35, Ep. 7)
    In this episode, flash-forwards reveal that Homer can project his consciousness into a hologram—essentially predicting the development of holograms so sophisticated they have human qualities and capabilities. The episode also pokes fun at technology in popular sci-fi franchises like Star Wars, so it may not be a super serious prediction.
    • The Simpsons also shows Bart getting hologram mail in a different episode, “Bart to the Future.”
  8. Step 8 Hover cars - “Itchy & Scratchy: The Movie” (Season 4, Ep. 6)
    Hover cars don’t exist yet, but The Simpsons is betting they might someday! In “Itchy & Scratchy: The Movie,” viewers glimpse Bart’s future after he spends most of the episode trying to watch a movie, only to be stopped by Homer. As future Bart and Homer stroll to the movies, you can see hover cars in the background.
    • In another 2005 episode, Bart and Lisa view the future through a machine built by Professor Frink and see Homer driving around in a prototype hover car that he blew all his savings on.
  9. Step 9 Ivanka Trump for President - “Treehouse of Horror XXVII” (Season 28, Ep. 4)
    Season 28’s Halloween episode predicts Ivanka Trump (daughter of Donald Trump) running for President, with Homer wearing an “Ivanka 2018” pin (since the episode premiered in 2016). This was intended to be a parody, although Ivanka Trump's running for president is within the realm of possibility today (if unlikely).
    • The Simpsons went on to throw shade at the Trumps in 2017 by airing an episode with Ivanka replacing Ruth Bader Ginsburg on the Supreme Court.
  10. Step 10 Mexico vs. Portugal - “The Cartridge Family” (Season 9, Ep. 5)
    The Simpsons has had luck predicting Super Bowls, but this particular FIFA World Cup Final has yet to come to fruition. In the episode, a commercial advertises a World Cup match between Mexico and Portugal. However, those two countries have never faced off in the World Cup Final before—though it could happen one day!
    • The closest this prediction came to reality was in 2017 when Mexico and Portugal played each other in the third-place play-off at the FIFA Confederations Cup.
  11. Step 11 Musical mind control - “New Kids on the Blecch” (Season 12, Ep. 14)
    This 2001 episode of The Simpsons gets pretty wild. It predicts a downright dystopian future in which the Navy develops a psyops project capable of sending children subliminal messages through music, including in a song called “Drop Da Bomb.” Musical brainwashing is a pretty scary concept, so here’s hoping it remains a mere prediction!
    • In the episode, Lisa also discovers that the phrase “Yvan Eht Nioj” (“Join the Navy” backwards) is a subliminal message compelling people to join the Navy—another version of mind control.
  12. Step 12 President Arnold Schwarzenegger - The Simpsons Movie (2007)
    The movie makes one more prediction—the idea of a foreign-born US President (Arnold Schwarzenegger, who complains that “nobody opens with a joke” after being told to handle an emergency). The United States Constitution states that only natural-born citizens of the United States are eligible, but The Simpsons seems to imply that could change.[4]
  13. Step 13 Robots vs. humans - “Itchy & Scratchy Land” (Season 6, Ep. 4)
    When the Simpson family visits a theme park run by robots, those robots decide to launch a coup and annihilate all humans. While their attempt is thwarted, the show’s prediction that robots could surpass humanity isn’t totally unheard of.​​[5]
    • For example, Jürgen Schmidhuber, known as the “father of artificial intelligence,” is confident that computers could become smarter than humans in less than 30 years.
  14. Step 14 Antarctic cities - “A Totally Fun Thing Bart Will Never Do Again” (Season 23, Ep. 19)
    In this episode, Bart and the rest of the family get marooned in Antarctica (temporarily, of course). And as this happens, the show also makes an interesting prediction: that humanity will someday establish permanent settlements as big as cities in Antarctica.
    • The episode itself is designed to parody John Carpenter’s The Thing (meaning it’s probably not a genuine prediction on the show’s part).
  15. Step 15 “Smell you later” - “Bart to the Future” (Season 11, Ep. 17)
    “Bart to the Future” (a play on “Back to the Future”) offers a look at Bart’s future life as a 40-year-old—and makes the prediction that the word “goodbye” will become obsolete! In the episode, Bart mentions that “goodbye” has been replaced with the phrase “Smell you later,” after Nelson says it in a hologram message.
    • Is there a world where we say “Smell you later” instead of “goodbye”? It may not sound likely, but it’s definitely a hilarious idea.
  16. Step 16 Solar energy sabotage - “Paths of Glory” (Season 27, Ep. 8)
    The Duff beer company becomes the enemy in this episode! Lisa invents a solar-powered car for the Alternative Energy Derby, but the Duff blimp blocks out the sun to sabotage her. While the plot is niche, the prediction of a large corporation sabotaging sustainable, green energy for its own interests is definitely an ominous one.
  17. Step 17 Time travel - “Future-Drama” (Season 16, Ep. 15)
    The Simpsons predicted time travel by setting up a goofy plot involving multiple timelines, an astrology-based time machine invented by Professor Frink, and Bart and Lisa’s lives as teenagers. The episode itself falls squarely in the sci-fi genre, with references to Futurama (another show created by The Simpsons creator Matt Groening).
    • The episode doesn’t actually predict a date for time travel technology to be invented (and, of course, nothing like that is possible nowadays).
  18. Step 18 Virtual reality food - “Bart to the Future” (Season 11, Ep. 17)
    The Simpsons has predicted that food will go VR (virtual reality) one day. In “Bart to the Future,” Homer and Marge are shown dining on VR food as a joke about VR products replacing real life. And, with more VR creations in recent years, who’s to say this prediction won’t come true? It wouldn’t be the first technology predicted by The Simpsons.[6]
  19. Step 19 Zombie apocalypse - “Treehouse of Horror XX” (Season 21, Ep. 4)
    Here’s another prediction that is, thankfully, a parody rather than something serious. One “Treehouse of Horror XX” short story centers on a zombie apocalypse caused by tainted cow meat—specifically, cow meat from cattle-fed cattle. Krusty the Clown introduces the burger on TV, and Kent Brockman takes a bite…then turns into a zombie.
    • This mini-story also pokes fun at popular zombie movies, including Zombieland and 28 Days Later.
    • Funny enough, the episode may be more of a prediction about popular television! It aired in 2009—and AMC’s The Walking Dead TV series became a smash hit in 2010.
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Section 2 of 3:

Simpsons Predictions That Actually Came True

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  1. Step 1 Albuquerque Isotopes - “Hungry, Hungry Homer” (Season 12, Ep. 15)
    As it turns out, The Simpsons can even predict baseball teams! In the episode, Homer goes on a hunger strike because his hometown baseball team, the Springfield Isotopes, moves to Albuquerque. Roughly a year after it aired, the minor league Calgary Cannons moved to New Mexico—and were renamed the Albuquerque Isotopes.[7]
  2. Step 2 Cooking grease for cash - “Lard of the Dance” (Season 10, Ep. 1)
    In “Lard of the Dance,” Homer comes up with a get-rich-quick scheme and starts stealing grease from businesses around Springfield so he can sell it for profit. In the show, the grease ends up exploding all over a school dance—but in real life, New York City thieves actually started stealing grease from restaurants to sell it in 2013.[8]
  3. Step 3 Cypress Hill & London Symphony - “Homerpalooza” (Season 7, Ep. 24)
    In this 1996 episode, Homer tours with a parody of the Lollapalooza music festival. At one event, a producer asks who requested the London Symphony Orchestra and looks at Cypress Hill (a hip-hop group). Cypress Hill deliberates, then decides to accept—and in 2024, Cypress Hill really did do a show with the London Symphony at England’s Royal Albert Hall![9]
  4. Step 4 Disney acquiring Fox - “When You Dish Upon a Star” (Season 10, Ep. 5)
    The episode begins with Homer befriending Alec Baldwin and Kim Basinger. He pitches them a screenplay, which Ron Howard later brings to his producing partner at 20th Century Fox—and a sign in front of the Fox studio declares it a division of Walt Disney Co. This later came true in 2019, when Disney bought Fox (and The Simpsons along with it).
  5. Step 5 Donald Trump’s election - “Bart to the Future” (Season 11, Ep. 17)
    Trump’s 2016 victory seemed entirely unexpected—but The Simpsons actually predicted it in a 2000 episode. As mentioned above, Lisa’s future in the episode involves becoming president, and it’s revealed that she inherited a budget shortfall from the previous president, Donald Trump.
  6. Step 6 Economics Nobel Prize - “Elementary School Musical” (Season 22, Ep. 1)
    In a 2010 episode, The Simpsons demonstrated its ability to predict future politicians and, seemingly, prize winners. Milhouse bets on Bengt R. Holmström to win the Nobel Prize in Economics—and in 2016, Finnish economist Bengt R. Holmström was indeed given the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences (along with Oliver Hart).[10]
  7. Step 7 Higgs boson particle - “The Wizard of Evergreen Terrace” (Season 10, Ep. 2)
    The Higgs boson particle, or “God particle,” was discovered in 2012. After its discovery, it was revealed that the particle’s mass was very similar to a random equation that Homer wrote on a chalkboard in “The Wizard of Evergreen Terrace,” an episode that aired in 1998. Go figure!
  8. Step 8 Lady Gaga at the Super Bowl - “Lisa Goes Gaga” (Season 23, Ep. 22)
    As the title suggests, Lisa becomes a major Lady Gaga fan in this episode. During a show (in the episode), Lady Gaga flies around onstage with cables while wearing a flaming bra and silver leotard outfit. About 5 years later, at the 2017 Super Bowl’s halftime show, Lady Gaga performed wearing a similar-looking silver outfit—and was lowered onstage with cables, making it look like she was flying.
  9. Step 9 Non-astronauts in space - “Deep Space Homer” (Season 5, Ep. 15)
    “Deep Space Homer” is lauded as a hilarious 1994 Simpsons episode in which Homer is chosen to go to space in hopes of making space exploration interesting to other “average joes.” The real-life parallel was a 2013 contest in the United Kingdom to send an ordinary person into space![11]
  10. Step 10 Smartwatches and video calls - “Lisa’s Wedding” (Season 6, Ep. 19)
    We’ve mentioned predictions in “Lisa’s Wedding” that haven’t come true—but what about the ones that have? In the episode, Lisa can also be seen making a video call to Maggie via phone, and her fiance, Hugh, speaks into a smartwatch while proposing. Smartphones and video calls became popular in the 2010s, but the episode aired in 1995!
  11. Step 11 The ending of Game of Thrones - “The Serfsons” (Season 29, Ep. 1)
    Yes, The Simpsons actually managed to predict a portion of the infamous and controversial ending to the Game of Thrones TV series. In “The Serfsons,” Homer saves a dragon and later sees it on a rampage, burning down a town—mirroring the GoT episode “The Bells,” in which Daenerys and Drogon burn down much of King’s Landing.
  12. Step 12 Three-eyed fish - “Two Cars in Every Garage and Three Eyes on Every Fish” (Season 2, Ep. 4)
    Can nuclear radiation in water cause mutated three-eyed fish? The Simpsons predicted this in a 1990 episode wherein Bart finds a three-eyed fish near Mr. Burns’ nuclear power plant and names it Blinky. In real life, a three-eyed wolf fish was caught in Córdoba, Argentina, in 2023.[12]
  13. Step 13 The Titan Disaster - “Homer’s Paternity Coot” (Season 17, Ep. 10)
    In 2023, the OceanGate submersible Titan tragically imploded on a journey to view the wreckage of the Titanic. Strangely, an episode of The Simpsons may have predicted the event (or something similar), as Homer goes on an ocean expedition in a submersible to look for treasure and becomes trapped.
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Section 3 of 3:

How does The Simpsons predict the future?

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  1. It doesn’t; Simpsons writers just pay attention to society. While it might seem like The Simpsons has some sort of crystal ball in its writer’s room, the truth is that they’re just observant. The Simpsons is a satirical commentary on society, human behavior, and the often ridiculous patterns that crop up again and again. In other words, The Simpsons’ brand of satire makes coincidences feel like predictions![13]
    • For example, The Simpsons’ political predictions are entirely based on past political trends.
    • Yes, the show “predicted” Donald Trump’s presidency, but that joke from the show was based on the fact that Trump had tried becoming the leader of the Reform Party so he could run for president as early as 1999!
    • Technology can also be predictable. Some people credit The Simpsons with predicting video calls and smartwatches, but plenty of other fictional franchises envisioned futuristic technology before its time. For example, Back to the Future has a video telephone, and Get Smart depicts a wrist communicator similar to a smartwatch.
    • All this to say: The Simpsons isn’t psychic. Rather, it’s staffed with shrewd, insightful writers who keep a finger on the pulse of society. That’s all it takes!

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References

  1. ↑ https://simpsons.fandom.com/wiki/Bigfoot
  2. ↑ https://simpsons.fandom.com/wiki/Holidays_of_Future_Passed
  3. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RkfOiajHpY8
  4. ↑ https://simpsonswiki.com/wiki/Arnold_Schwarzenegger
  5. ↑ https://simpsons.fandom.com/wiki/Itchy_&_Scratchy_robots
  6. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OQw1F3avkIA
  7. ↑ https://www.milb.com/video/ken-levine-interview-c29550709
  8. ↑ https://nypost.com/2013/03/25/huh-thieves-stealing-used-cooking-grease-to-turn-into-quick-cash/
  9. ↑ https://www.lso.co.uk/whats-on/cypress-hill-london-symphony-orchestra/
  1. ↑ https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/economic-sciences/2016/press-release/
  2. ↑ https://metro.co.uk/2013/12/09/british-average-joe-is-off-to-space-after-winning-competition-4223115/
  3. ↑ https://www.zmescience.com/science/biology/three-eyed-fish-argentina-28102011/
  4. ↑ https://www.nme.com/news/tv/the-simpsons-al-jean-predictions-911-3096871

About This Article

Glenn Carreau
Co-authored by:
Glenn Carreau
wikiHow Staff Writer
This article was co-authored by wikiHow staff writer, Glenn Carreau. Glenn Carreau is a wikiHow Staff Writer, currently based in Los Angeles. With over four years of experience writing for several online publications, she has covered topics ranging from world history to the entertainment industry. Glenn graduated with honors from Columbia College Chicago, earning a B.A. in Interactive Arts and Media and a minor in Professional Writing. Today, Glenn continues to feed her lifelong love of learning while serving wikiHow's many readers. This article has been viewed 1,539 times.
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Updated: June 16, 2025
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