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You never really know what the future holds, so there is really no need to worry since none of us can really tell what will happen next. Unless, you are one of the creators of Inspector Gadget, The Simpsons, Family Guy, or Futurama. Because if that's the case, you know exactly what will happen next, and you probably can't wait to illustrate it and put in on your show. This list compiled by Bored Panda, shares all of the times the creators of these iconic shows have accidentally predicted how the future will look like, and some are surprisingly accurate.

#1

Donald Trump's Presidency

Donald Trump's Presidency

In 2000, 16 years before the actual announcement, The Simpsons had already predicted that Donald Trump will run for president and they even managed to predict that he will win. We still have time to see if Lisa's words hold true once Trump's presidency is over.

The Simpsons Report

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Tessa
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4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

That´s because he was speculating about running for president already back then.

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#2

Faulty Voting Machine

Faulty Voting Machine

This one surprised many as The Simpsons managed to almost identically predict the future. Back in 2008, Homer was illustrated voting for Obama during the election but the vote automatically changing for Mitt Romney. 4 years later, the exact same thing happened in Pennsylvania where a faulty machine had to be removed because of changing people's votes for Mitt Romney.

The Simpsons Report

#3

The Prediction Of Higgs Boson Or "God Particle"

The Prediction Of Higgs Boson Or "God Particle"

Back in 2012, physicists confirmed the existence of the Higgs Boson also known as the "God particle". This scientific breakthrough helped explain how everything in the universe has mass. The discovery itself is amazing but what is even better is the fact that 14 years before this happened, Homer was illustrated in front of a blackboard with an equation that actually predicted the mass of the yet-to-be-discovered particle which basically means Homer was the first scientist to share any info on Higgs Boson.

The Simpsons Report

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Dilly Millandry
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4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Apparently a lot of writers on the show are mathmeticians and there is meant to be a lot of this kind of thing sneaked in. This isn't the actual equation, it's close though.

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#4

Three-Eyed Fish

Three-Eyed Fish

The iconic three-eyed fish was a symbol throughout The Simpsons of the massive pollution the town was facing and how badly it affects nature. Funnily (or sadly) enough, a similar fish was found in Argentina near a nuclear power plant.

The Simpsons Report

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#5

Disney Buying 20th Century Fox

Disney Buying 20th Century Fox

Back in 1998, the creators of The Simpsons showed Homer creating the script. This script was produced by 20th Century Fox but in the episode, you can notice that there's a sign in front of the studio's headquarters that says "a division of Walt Disney Co." In fact, Disney did actually purchase 20th Century Fox for $52.4 billion 19 years later.

The Simpsons Report

#6

Nobel Prize Winner

Nobel Prize Winner

In one of their episodes, The Simpsons showed Milhouse betting on MIT professor Bengt Holmström to win the Nobel Prize. Surprisingly, he did win after 6 years.

The Simpsons Report

#7

White Tiger Attack

White Tiger Attack

Back in 1993, The Simpsons mocked Siegfried & Roy by showing them getting mauled by their white tiger. The same thing happened in real life 10 years later.

The Simpsons Report

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NotMe
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4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I guess this wasn't as hard to predict. Working with wild animals for entertainment has to go wrong at some point...

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#8

Got Season 8 Plot Twist

Got Season 8 Plot Twist

Many were surprised that the unimaginable Game of Thrones Season 8 plot twist was actually already predicted by The Simpsons. I guess we should thank The Simpsons for the spoiler or you can thank us if you still didn't watch the last season and came to read this list.

The Simpsons Report

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#9

Caitlyn Jenner's Transition

Caitlyn Jenner's Transition

Many years before the actual transition, Family Guy already illustrated Bruce Jenner in a rather feminine manner. In one of the series, Stewie describes Bruce as a "beautiful Dutch woman". In another episode, the yet-to-transition Bruce is illustrated dancing on stage for men in the navy. When these episodes were released, nobody thought they would soon call him Caitlyn. Creators of the show denied any further comment on why they decided to portray Bruce the way they did.

Family Guy Report

#10

Smartwatches

Smartwatches

Back in 1995, The Simpsons showed one of their characters wearing a watch that you can also use as a phone. It took 20 years for the actual Apple Watch to be released.

The Simpsons Report

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Daria B
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4 years ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Didn't Inspector Gadget and James Bond Jr. have a "smart watch" technology as well?

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#11

The Censorship Of Michelangelo's David

 The Censorship Of Michelangelo's David

Residents of St. Petersburg were very unhappy when a replica of Michelangelo's David was placed in St. Anne’s Lutheran Church in central St. Petersburg. One woman has even written a letter asking for the sculpture to be censored. “How could you put this bloke without any trousers in the center of St Petersburg next to a school and church?” the woman wrote in a letter. In order to turn something negative into a positive, local authorities then started an initiative called "Dress David" where people voted on how the replica could be censored. There was an option "leave it as it is" and since this story happened back in 2016 and nobody talked about it ever since, there is a big chance that the sculpture remained uncensored although during the voting period, David was just covered in black tape. How rude!

The Simpsons Report

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Zenozenobee
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4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Well, in fact these kind of censorship is not new :) in 1564, The Last Judgment (Michel Angelo again) was censored in the Sistine Chapel. The Pope got all the genitalia covered...

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#12

Virtual Reality

Virtual Reality

Although many tried to illustrate what our future entertainment would look like, Futurama's creators were the ones who perfectly predicted how virtual reality would look and what we will use it for.

Futurama Report

#13

Lady Gaga's Performance At The Super Bowl

Lady Gaga's Performance At The Super Bowl

The iconic Lady Gaga's Super Bowl performance was actually first performed 5 years earlier in Springfield where Lady Gaga, just like in the Super Bowl, was flying through the air while singing.

The Simpsons Report

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Niffler_13
Community Member
4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

But Lady Gaga played herself in the episode, so does this really count as a prediction?

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#14

Horse Meat Scandal

Horse Meat Scandal

In the 1994 episode of the "Simpsons", the lunch lady known as Doris was using "assorted horse parts" while preparing meals for high school students of Springfield Elementary. Then nine years after the episode aired, a huge scandal happened when Ireland's Food Safety Authority found horse DNA in over one-third of the beefburger samples from supermarkets and ready meals, and pork in 85% of them.

The Simpsons Report

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Cassie
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4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

There had been issues with horse meat before that. The joke was based on current events.

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#15

Miss Universe Mix Up

Miss Universe Mix Up

It is known to most of us that the hilarious and tragic Miss Universe mix up that happened in 2015 was a surprise to everybody watching the show. Well, apparently, the creators of Futuruma already knew this might happen as they illustrated the exact same situation in their show back in 1999. While comparing the images, most of us can definitely notice the striking similarities.

Futurama Report

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Billy DeVoe
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4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

How heart-breaking would that be, all the joy of thinking you've won, and it all gets taken away from you..... *sniff* .... I have something in my eye ....

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#16

First Laptop

First Laptop

Inspector Gadget already has a reputation for predicting the future of technology and some of the devices they used in the show are unbelievably similar to what major companies created many years later. For example, one of the characters from the show named Penny was using her "computer book" that looks strikingly similar to the first Toshiba laptop that was released a couple of years after the show.

Inspector Gadget Report

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C.S.
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4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Isn't it really more some one had a cartoon drawing of an idea, and then someone who watched it grew up to make it a reality?

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#17

Drone Cameras

Drone Cameras

In this particular image, we can see floating cameras that we now know as drone cameras.Something that is now often used in media and movies was only a vague idea illustrated by Futurama back in 2000.

Futurama Report

#18

The First Digital Camera

The First Digital Camera

Inspector Gadget took a a dive into the future and in the episode "The Infiltration", the show's character Penny Gadget was holding a device that clearly resembles a digital camera. The device was attached to her computer-book and it was used to snap photographs. Of course it failed to predict the usage of internal memory or memory cards, but it's still an impressive prediction that gained public attention. The design of the camera, of course, looks old-fashioned mainly because of the vanity of the cameras in that period. 

Inspector Gadget Report

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Cassie
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4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Actually, it resembles the Kodak Elektra which was kind of a big deal because of it's compact size and simple function (point and shoot) compared to the SLR cameras of the time, plus digital cameras were in development, just not yet available.

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#19

A Self-Parking And Self-Driving Car

A Self-Parking And Self-Driving Car

Now, almost every luxurious car has self-parking and sometimes even self-driving abilities that were absolutely unimaginable back in the '80s. It's safe to say that Inspector Gadget was definitely a technology prophet as his car had all of those abilities many years before any company managed to actually create them.

Inspector Gadget Report

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Pamela24
Community Member
4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Well...I mean it's not like it's that much of an out of the box idea to think - "Wow, it would be great if there was something in my car to help me with parking/driving." I don't see the sensation here, really.

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#20

The Ebola Virus

The Ebola Virus

17 years before the actual outbreak of the Ebola virus, Marge was already illustrated by The Simpsons' creators giving a book to Bart. The title of the book reads "Curious George and the Ebola Virus".

The Simpsons Report

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Ben Smith
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4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

What? Ebola was around in 1976. It was featured in movies like Outbreak which was released in 1995. Ebola has been known long before the simpsons

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#21

The Shard Building In London

The Shard Building In London

Another episode of the Simpsons, "Lisa's Wedding", predicted the iconic Shard Building in London 14 years before it was built. Looking back at the episode now, it's fascinating to see that not just the shape and look of the Shard is incredibly similar but also the location is the same.

The Simpsons Report

#22

The Fall Of The World Trade Center

The Fall Of The World Trade Center

In a 2001 episode, "Chain Gang Johnny", the creators of Johnny Bravo managed to predict the tragic events of 9/11 and the fall of the Twin Towers. Given the fact that the episode aired just a few months before the actual disaster, many conspiracy theorists wonder: could it have been a subliminal message or a not-so-subtle warning? Well, it did say, "Coming soon", but we'll never know.
The Simpsons predicted the disaster way back in 1997 when the family plans a trip to New York. It's all fun until we notice the cover of the magazine that Lisa holds up as it eerily shows the Twin Towers next to a big number 9. Again, subliminal message? Honest prediction of 9/11? We'll leave it to the conspiracy theorists.

The Simpsons Report

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Brad Williams
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4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

The poster is actually a knock-off of Irwin Allen's The Towering Inferno

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#23

Financial Crisis In Greece

Financial Crisis In Greece

In a 2012 episode, "Politically Inept With Homer Simpson", Homer appears as a guest on a news show. A headline flashes at the bottom of the screen: 'Europe puts Greece on eBay'. Even though Europe didn't actually sell a whole country online, three years later in 2015, Greece became the first developed country to enter a large scale debt crisis.

The Simpsons Report

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DC
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4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

The greek crisis was merely happening from 2011 on... The Simpsons are far less predicting than they're often shown ... overrated series anyway...

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#24

The Birth Of Autocorrect

The Birth Of Autocorrect

In a 1994 episode, "Lisa on Ice", Dolph uses an Apple Newton - a digital assistant. When he tries to write ''Beat up Martin'', the machine changes it to "Eat up Martha" which could mark the very beginning of the now infamous autocorrect fails. With the official launch of autocorrect in 2005, it's been reported that the original employees fondly referred to this episode of The Simpsons when creating the actual product.

The Simpsons Report

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Thomas Helms
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4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Not quite. The Apple Newton's failure was that it tried digitizing handwriting, but it's interpretation was terrible. It wasn't autocorrect as much as bad implementation.

#25

The Rise And Fall Of Miley Cyrus

The Rise And Fall Of Miley Cyrus

South Park has been spot on with pop culture as well. An episode from 2008, ''Britney's New Look'', accurately prophesied that ''Miley Cyrus, though only 15 years old, is already on her way to becoming a major superstar'' and would be the next star after Britney to have a meltdown. The cartoon wasn't far off at all. 

South Park Report

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Stevie B
Community Member
4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

A child star ending up having substance abuse/mental health problems is not a new concept. Many end up with these issues.

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#26

The Death Of Osama Bin Laden

The Death Of Osama Bin Laden

The Simpsons wasn't the only cartoon to predict major political events. In an episode that aired on October 13, 2010, South Park showed Osama Bin Laden, the leader of Al-Qaeda, being shot in the head and killed by special forces. Only eight months later, the real Osama was killed by Navy SEALs in a very similar fashion.

South Park Report

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Ryo Bakura
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4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

South Park depicting Navy SEALs doing their job, and then real-life Navy SEALs doing the same job is not a prediction.

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#27

Ebola Outbreak

Ebola Outbreak

''Gluten Free Ebola'', an episode of South Park was released a few days prior to the virus outbreak that started sweeping through USA.

South Park Report

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Magpie
Community Member
4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

According to the W.H.O ( world health org) there was a total of 8 people infected in the usa. hardly a " sweeping through the USA.

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#28

First Generation Ipod

First Generation Ipod

Five years before Apple announced the first iPod, The Simpsons already had an idea of what the invention would be like. Seen in an episode from 1996, the device closely resembles the first generation iPod not only in design but also in the purpose of communicating messages and music.

The Simpsons Report

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Thomas Helms
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4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

The device you're showing from the episode is an intercom, not a music player.

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