OK, I think it's time we admit it: The Simpsons writers are sorcerers. There's no other explanation as to how a cartoon has predicted so many real-life scenarios. It's not coincidence; it's witch craft. I'm kidding, of course, but the show does have a reputation for making some eerie connections. Their latest? The Simpsons predicted Lady Gaga's Super Bowl show. Not just the fact that it would happen — she belongs on that kind of high-profile stage, so duh — but the performance itself.
In the Season 23 finale, “Lisa Goes Gaga,” Mother Monster (who also lent her voice to the 2012 episode) descends upon the arena while attached to a harness — much like she did when she took the stage at Sunday night's Super Bowl LI. They may not have gotten the songs — or the fire-shooting bra — right, but they were spot on with the entrance and the sparkly silver bodysuit. The internet is shook.
While it's possible that Gaga took inspiration from the animated imagining, she previously said her sister was the one that gave her the idea, and, based on these 12 other times The Simpsons predicted the future, it's fair to say the series has simply proved its psychic prowess yet again.
1Trump's Presidency
In Season 11, a 2000 episode titled "Bart To the Future" included a story line in which Bart was shown his future by a Native American. In one scene, Lisa had become president, and she was shown addressing her inner circle about the budget they inherited from former president Donald Trump.
3Greece's Economic Collapse
Three years before Greece's debt crisis saw it become the first country to default on an IMF loan repayment, a 2012 Simpsons episode riffed on how dire the situation would become with a news ticker that read "Europe puts Greece on eBay."
4The Ebola Outbreak
According to a viral video that made the rounds in 2014, Marge offered Bart a book titled Curious George and the Ebola Virus in a 1997 episode, which YouTuber thecontroversy7 tied to the Ebola outbreak that sprouted up almost a decade later.
5NSA Wiretapping
Six years before Edward Snowden leaked documents about the NSA's surveillance, The Simpsons Movie featured an extended gag about the government spying on American citizens. In it, Marge makes an offhand remark telling Lisa not to be so paranoid about spies while on the run. Her comment sparks an alarm in a building where thousands of workers are listening to private conversations across the country, leading to the family's arrest.
7Videochatting
The "Lisa's Wedding" episode also featured Lisa and Marge using phones outfitted with TV screens to chat.
8FIFA Scandal
A year before several high-ranking FIFA officials were arrested by the FBI on charges of corruption, The Simpsons featured a similar scenario in a 2014 episode. In it, Homer was approached by the executive vice president of the “world football federation” to referee the World Cup, only to be later carted off the field by American authorities on, you guessed it, charges of corruption. The episode even predicted Germany as the winners of that year’s tournament.
9Farmville
Remember when Farmville overtook Facebook? A 1998 Simpsons episode in which kids were obsessed with a yard work simulator beat creators to the punch.
10iPods
A 1996 episode entitled "Bart After Dark" included a high-tech intercom that looked exactly like what would become the first-generation iPod.
11Siegfried And Roy Tiger Attack
A decade before the careers of magician duo Siegfried & Roy were brought to a tragic halt when Roy Horn was mauled by one of their white tigers in 2003, The Simpsons featured a pair of flamboyant German magicians who met a similar demise. Their performance at Mr. Burns' casino was cut short when they were attacked by one of their signature white tigers.
12Miley Cyrus' "Wrecking Ball"
Before Miley Cyrus made swinging from wrecking balls look sexy, Homer made it look, uh, a little less glamorous in 1994 episode "Sideshow Bob Roberts."
See? The Simpsons is magic, you guys. I'm terrified to find out what gags from currently airing episodes will come back to us in a decade or so.
