Let’s count some of the greatest hits. There’s the 1998 episode where they’re using a tablet computer called “Mypad.” Then there’s the 2010 episode featuring a dystopian video-chat company way before Zoom became our boss. And who could forget the 2014 episode where Marge gets a facial-recognition app? That one feels a little too close to home, doesn’t it?
How The Simpsons Predicted the Future AGAIN Mind-Blowing Insights and
But here’s my favorite: a 1992 episode has a character holding a wallet with a thumbprint scanner. That’s exactly what most phones use now for payments. You’re telling me someone in 1992 thought, “Yeah, people will use their thumbs to buy stuff”? That’s not luck. That’s genius—or a wizard.
But Wait, They Also Got It Wrong
For every hit, there are a ton of misses. Remember the 1995 episode where Homer invents a tongue-controlled robotic arm? Yeah, that’s not a thing yet (thankfully). Or the 1998 episode where the future has flying cars? We’re still stuck in traffic, people. So, the show isn’t a Nostradamus. It’s more like a lucky gambler who sometimes hits the jackpot.
The trick is that our brains love patterns. We forget the 99 misses and celebrate the 1 hit. It’s called confirmation bias. But honestly, who cares? It’s way more fun to say, “Look! They predicted the pandemic mask shortage!” (They did—in 2017. I’m not joking.)
