If there's one thing we know for sure about, "The Simpsons," it's that the popular animated TV series is spot on with its predictions of the future. Now the show is grabbing headlines again for making another accurate prediction about the year 2020, which has already been dubbed as the "worst year in the history of mankind."
Not only did "The Simpsons" predict the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, it also somehow knew about the murder hornet invasion in the United States.
Murder hornets, coronavirus outbreak predicted in same episode
As pointed out by CNET, the 1993 episode, titled "Marge in Chains" (Season 4, episode 21), shows a deadly virus from Asia making its way to the town of Springfield. The disease is shown to have originated in Japan after a sick factory employee sneezes into numerous packages containing juicers that everyone from Homer Simpson to Principal Skinner orders.
Weeks later, when the residents of Springfield open their packages from Japan, they receive their appliances, along with a slide of germs. The contagious disease is dubbed the "Osaka Flu" in the episode and spreads like wildfire in the small town and just like the coronavirus, there's no cure for it.
Since the flu is incurable, the public health officer tells a protesting crowd that the only thing he can offer is a placebo. "Where can we get these placebos?" questions one of them.
When they knock over a truck thinking it contains a cure, a crate labeled "Killer Bees" crashes to the ground, opening and unleashing a large swarm of the deadly insects into the horrified crowd. Although the killer insects aren't the same as the Asian giant hornets or "murder hornets" that have been spotted for the first time in the US, they are eerily close to reality.
Other accurate 'Simpsons' predictions
Maybe we should all start paying closer attention to the animated series for more clues on how 2020 will eventually pan out. After all, "The Simpsons" has had a good track record with its predictions over its three-decade-long run.
The American sitcom has been on the mark with its projections of real-life happenings. These include the election of Donald Trump as President of the United States, the invention of smart watches, auto-correct, the US beating Sweden to win a curling competition in the Olympics, Disney's purchase of 20th Century Fox and at least three Super Bowls.
