We have a cool episode tonight. This is an episode about Simpsons predictions, so the animated show, the cool one. The Simpsons, if you haven’t heard of it. I don’t know what to do, you’ve never watched TV. As we do on this show, we like to go over the history of something and then we talk about what’s going on with it. So let’s just jump in.

The animated sitcom created by Matt Groening first debuted as a series of shorts on the Tracey Ullman show in 1987. Never heard of that, that was before I was born. If you go back you can see the weird animation of The Simpsons, and it’s very basic. It’s also late 80s, like really good, very basic thing. They developed it into a half hour 30 minute prime time show for 20th Century Fox. It premiered December 17th 1989. I was two months old. We’re not that old. So I was six, you were six, you were eight.

Everybody knows the Simpsons, right? How many episodes are there? How the hell should I know that? A couple hundred. We’re going to go over the statistics. A cool little fun fact, by the way, the voice of Bart Simpson is one of my customers. Nancy Cartwright. A little plug for our real job. If you’re in need of marketing services, there you go.

So it premiered in 1989 and since then it has become the longest running American animated show ever, literally in history. As of this year The Simpsons have done 750 episodes across 35 seasons. And a movie, a couple, I think two movies. And then they’re also just constantly being replayed, nonstop. You thought friends was getting paid, dude, it’s nonstop.

So The Simpsons began with a simple concept, a satirical portrayal of a working class American family. The family was Homer, the bumbling yet lovable father, drunk, fat with like three hairs, the three hair comb over. Marge the patient and caring mother. Bart the mischievous 10 year old son, and Lisa the intelligent and socially conscious 8 year old daughter, and Maggie the generally silent baby who just sucks, also gets in weird situations. The show’s humor and biting social commentary quickly resonated with audiences and it became one of the most famous shows ever in the history of television.

Do you ever go back now and watch it now? I don’t have time. I’ve watched a few because I was trying to show my daughter some, like I go back and show her old school cartoons. Does she like it? Nah, she hated it, she probably doesn’t get the humor. My boys are a little older, they’re teenagers and they kind of like it.

The series was initially a risky venture as prime time animated shows had not been successful. However The Simpsons broke the mold, becoming a hit almost immediately. Its early success can be attributed to its unique blend of humor, satire, and heartfelt moments. Do you remember the Christmas special where they get the dog? Santa’s Little Helper, it was the dog. You guys got to go with the old ones, so good.

The whole point of this episode that we’re doing now is they have predicted, I’m not even joking, it’s weirdly accurate. I had to hone down 50 to 10. There’s so many that they have gotten right where they do an episode and then 10 years later it happens, exact same thing. It’s like advanced time travel troll.

Throughout its run The Simpsons had a profound impact on popular culture. Everybody knows the phrases, like d’oh, or eat my shorts, or don’t have a cow man. They even have it at Universal Studios, they have a whole little city section. And it’s influenced all the animation thereafter, South Park, Family Guy, Futurama. It hits so home for so many people that they’re like, oh my god this is my life, this has just happened to me. So it’s super real for people.

Who’s your favorite character? My all time favorite is Mr Burns. My favorite Smithers. I love Smithers, like Homer. The origin of d’oh, Homer’s catchphrase, was that Dan Castellaneta, the voice of Homer, came up with the sound as a shorter version of the phrase damn it. It worked out.

The Simpsons has received critical acclaim, numerous awards including 34 prime time Emmy awards. That’s insane. An Emmy is like an Academy Award but for TV. They’ve been on the air for 35 years. Most people don’t know this but you have to pay money to be considered. That’s what keeps their award running. The Walk of Fame, you had to pay for that. You have to be good enough to receive it but you still have to pay for it. It’s like 105 grand. So sometimes you see celebrities like, you didn’t have a Walk of Fame till now. You have to actually pay to be nominated.

Because you also can only submit x amount if you’re one of the production studios. Say all three of us did a film and we’re all best actor and we’re all in the same studio, you can’t necessarily submit all three of us, because the studio is like, we’re going to get an Oscar this year. One of our good friends has been in the Screen Actors Guild forever and every once in a while you get randomly chosen to be part of the votes, and so you get sent movies that aren’t even out yet. You get to literally watch these movies that haven’t been released in theaters yet, because they’re going to be up for bid.

I’ve also seen things where you’re not sure if they’re a supporting actor or not, and so they put you in a different category and it’s gone wrong. How do you define supporting actor, anything that’s not the main actor. How do you define comedy compared to drama, it’s so loose. One example, you remember Silence of the Lambs. Anthony Hopkins was not the lead role. Jodie Foster was. He was only in the movie for like 14 minutes and he won, but they put him in the category of best actor. The German dude from Inglourious Basterds, he’s the greatest supporting actor in history, he just wins every time because he’s so good. He’s literally the best actor in the movie but he’s always not the main character, which is weird.

So the series not only entertained us but it also provided commentary on societal issues. Episodes have addressed topics like environmentalism, political corruption, and the American education system, often with sharp wit and a clear message. They had the ability to take something that was serious and remain humorous, kind of like what we do here, but you still address the issue. You’re still enlightening about the issue but then you’re like, don’t get all depressed about it. It’s like edutainment, a little bit of education.

Over the decades The Simpsons have evolved to try to stay relevant in the everchanging landscape. They came out of the 80s, then went through the 90s, then streaming, then movie theaters. They came out with a movie, it’s called The Simpsons movie, released in 2007, 500 million dollars gross worldwide. That’s amazing. You remember they’re in a bubble. After paying all the voice actors it probably cost legitimately like 75 million, 80 million. It also includes the franchise then expanded to comic books, video games, theme park, a fighting game, merch all the way.

As of today they have 750 episodes, 35 seasons. And what’s wild is how many celebrities they’ve had as guest stars on their show. Michael Jackson. They had the Beatles on there, they had Elon Musk on there, they had the guy from Law and Order, they had Trump on there. Any celebrity that you can think of, because when you hear the concept, of course they’ll do it. It keeps adding on to the whole culture of it.

So I also made some notes about how much money these folks were making. So early in the season, the main folks, Homer, Marge, Bart and Maggie and Lisa. Maggie doesn’t say anything, she got paid also. Moe, the actor’s super famous, Hank Azaria does that. In the early seasons they were making modest amounts, a very small amount, it’s a new thing. 1998, only eight years later, 25,000 dollars per episode for the main folks. Why don’t I go into voice acting, make what I make a year with one episode.

So in 2004 they renegotiated, quarter million per episode. You’re buying a house after one episode, like a mansion, an eight bedroom house every episode. How many episodes would they put out in a year? They’ve done 35 seasons, so 20 a year, give or take. 2008, for 30 years, they renegotiated again, the number is 400,000 per episode. Well it’s also inflation. 2011 they went down for the better of everybody, they dropped down to 300,000. From 2015 to now it’s between three and 400,000 per episode and they just keep pumping it.

So you can do an average, let’s say around 200k, 200k times 750. That’s 150 million. For one person, 200 grand per episode, 750 episodes. So you’re saying each of those guys made 100 million give or take. That’s crazy, voice acting. Now Nancy Cartwright voices multiple characters, so she can double that. Hank Azaria does more than one too. That’s their whole talent. Can you imagine getting sick and you’re like, my throat, something happens. Imagine being that rich, I’d be like fix it, how much is it going to cost. I would have a little person just rubbing Vicks Vapor Rub on me.

Over its three decade long run The Simpsons have not only entertained millions but they’ve also earned a reputation for an uncanny ability to predict the future. From political outcomes to technological advances. While many of these instances can be attributed to coincidence or the show’s insightful social commentary, the accuracy and range of its predictions are nothing short of remarkable. Be different if it was just one or two, or if it’s just in one category.

So here’s what we’re going to do. I looked up and watched all these videos and there are about 50, and I was like 50 is too much. So I figured out about 10 or 11 of the top ones. And this is chronological order, so it’s not an order of significance. It’s usually 10 years after, so it would be when they predicted it.

The first one, Siegfried and Roy were attacked, killed by the tiger. So in season five episode 10 called Springfield, or how I learned to stop worrying and love legalized gambling. What an epic name, the best title I’ve ever heard. It originally aired December 16th 1993 and the prediction was this. In that episode magicians resembling Siegfried and Roy are attacked by a white tiger on stage. So in 2003, 10 years later, Roy Horn of the real life duo of Siegfried and Roy in Las Vegas was attacked by one of the tigers during a live performance. They were the sequin super, like Elton John twins, and they would do these live performances with live tigers, and they were like their babies. But you have to think, that beast, it’s only a matter of time. Isn’t that the whole point of their show, that they control the tigers. It was 800 pounds with talons.

The next one is censorship of Michelangelo’s David. So in season 2 episode 9, an episode called Itchy and Scratchy and Marge, it aired in 1991, and it predicted in that episode residents of Springfield protested against Michelangelo’s David being displayed due to the nudity. So his dick was out, which is really weird because now if it’s Pride you can just walk around naked in the streets and no one cares. This one’s a little looser. But in 2016, so this is 20 years later, in Russia activists there called for a similar ban on the same statue. Like a duplicate, there was one. The real event in 2016 happened in Russia where the same statue, they said is his dick showing, and then they had to put the leaves over it. He’s actually more naked now that the leaf is there.

So season 6 episode 19, Lisa’s Wedding, and it was about smart watches. So this is 95, and in that episode set in the future characters use a wristwatch like device to make phone calls. This is 95 where we’re still on razors. We didn’t, we’re like flipping it. Razor is a flip phone, they came out in like 99. It’s even earlier, this is car phones only. I remember because I sold these phones back in the day. I actually did knock doors and sold, when you sell security systems, I would have to check your credit. This was 2000s. The theory is that they predicted somebody talking to somebody on their watch. That one is cool but you could have guessed that. Didn’t Inspector Gadget also have some of that, a little bit.

The next one’s legit. In March of 2000, season 11 episode 17, it’s called Bart to the Future, and this is the prediction. The show predicted a future where Donald Trump was the president of the United States, and the specific thing is they have him coming down the elevator at Trump Tower, and they literally have him wearing the exact same outfit. Although he always wears the same suit and white shirt. But the fact that he became president, who would have ever back in 2000, you would never have thought that. I didn’t think he was going to win at all, that was a joke. He was going against Hillary, and Hillary was slated to literally land slide victory. In the episode Lisa becomes president after Trump was exiting, so he was the predecessor of Lisa becoming president. That’s in 2000 and he became president in 2016, so that’s pretty good. Especially the whole coming down the stairs scene and how it really matched up.

So in November of 98 there was an episode, season 10 episode 5, it’s When You Dish Upon a Star, and the prediction was that 20th Century Fox was owned and purchased by Walt Disney, which it was. In 2017 Disney announced its acquisition of 21st Century Fox, the parent company of 20th Century. To be able years later, why would that make them think to predict it. Maybe they have the inside track where they see that Disney’s one of the three media conglomerates, they’re going to start absorbing. All the writers are in Hollywood. But there is a theory, which is that if you’re constantly in the social realm and you’re doing social commentary, if you’re pretty good and intelligent, eventually it will be right. 750 episodes, how many darts you had to throw to hit it.

The next one is season 23 episode 10, which is 2012, and the episode was called Politically Inept with Homer Simpson. A news ticker reports that Europe has put Greece on eBay, or best offer. It’s pretty funny because obviously Greece at a certain point, do you remember the whole country went bankrupt. Most of the EU went bankrupt. Greece, their currency went to hell and they had no, the money was worth nothing.

In 2012 there was an episode called Lisa Goes Gaga, season 23 episode 22. In that episode Lady Gaga performs at a concert flying over the audience, and this was a foreshadow that in 2017 she flew over the audience at the Super Bowl. She might have just taken that from The Simpsons. So it’s possible that they’re influencing the future by giving them ideas, and so she’s like yeah I’m going to do it.

Next one, in season 25 episode 16, it’s called You Don’t Have to Live Like a Referee, and it was about a corrupt FIFA executive who was arrested and Germany won the World Cup the following year. Several FIFA officials were arrested for corruption in the FIFA organization and Germany won the World Cup. They were really good, Germany was super good, they were amazing. The corruption, that was sketch.

In season 22 episode 1 called Elementary School Musical, this was in 2010, the prediction in that was Milhouse predicted that MIT Professor Bengt Holmstrom would win the Nobel prize in economics. Six years later he won that prize. That’s good, I can’t logic my way around that one. That one’s weird.

Then there was another one that I threw in that happened recently, it’s a bonus, it’s out of chronological order. Season 17 episode 10, Homer’s Paternity Coot. In this episode Homer believes a man named Mason Fairbanks to be his long lost father. The two embark on an underwater adventure in individual submersibles to try and find treasure in a sunken ship, but Homer gets stuck in coral and his oxygen levels keep dipping. He loses consciousness and wakes up 3 days later in the hospital. In June of 2023 the Titanic submersible happened. It was so stupid. I have my own theories about that, I’m pretty sure this is a way for that billionaire dude to make out with all his money and disappear, because there’s no way a billionaire is going to get in a thing that doesn’t even have view holes, it’s just screens. We get to see this Titanic on a screen underwater, why don’t you just look at it on the TV. Rich people don’t do super uncomfortable things where you can’t see, they’ll climb Everest but you see it.

So those are the top ones, those are the predictions. And like you said there’s so many more, and most of them are a little bit looser. My favorite one is the Trump one, 100%. It’s just 20 years out, because at that time he was not even involved in politics, the dude had nothing to do with anything. Making an episode about Eminem going to be the president, nobody was going to think that. The economist one, he was still an economist, so there’s a chance since he’s in that field. It’s like picking a random scientist and being like he wins the Nobel Prize.

It’s obviously just an exercise in being on the pulse of pop culture. I don’t know about that, I think it’s a lot of luck, and you end up doing stuff that’s hot right now. I don’t think economics has ever been a hot topic, sexy, whereas Trump has always been kind of in the public eye, so making him president would just be great for TV because it’s so ridiculous. I think it’s one of those cases like the saying, a clock is right twice a day. It’s so many episodes that they’re bound to hit some predictions. But I also think that some of these predictions, like Lady Gaga, they’re just people that kind of live out that prediction whenever the time.

So I have two questions. The first one is, in your opinion can people predict the future? Yes. The thing is I would say yes but it’s a guess. A guess is not predicting the future. It is, if it happens. It’s a guess until it happens. Define predicted. I predict that I’m going to win this football game, if I’m right I have successfully predicted. We’re talking about mathematical odds. I’m talking about predicting the future, the mystic man, the medicine man.

Prediction implies that you could be wrong, you’re trying to predict something. But knowing the future, that becomes more like destiny, in the metaphysical realm. Look at what happened in 2008, there were dudes who predicted that would happen, they were looking at the data. Michael Burry, he made The Big Short billions of dollars, it was right there. But does that mean he’s going to be right all the time? No. Or Nostradamus, you predict one out of 10 things, does that mean you can predict the future or you’re just guessing. Predictions based off data, an educated guess, otherwise it’s divination, you’re divining.

How many times do you think that guy Michael is wrong? He’s known for quote unquote predicting. The last five years, if you followed his words, the economy should have crashed many times. But he was the Messiah of that one. You get one right and that one is a big deal, and people forget about all the times you screwed up. So I don’t think there is such a thing as divining the future, but obviously you can predict it based on data.

Do you ever have things where you wish were true but you know they’re not, like you wish someone went back and had the sports almanac like Back to the Future. I wish time travel was real, but it’s so paradoxical. When I watch The Minority Report I’m like I wish this was the future, it’s so cool. Technically time travel is real. You can only time travel in reverse, because you can go back and re-experience. You remember a good high school day, that touchdown, I’m getting the joy. That’s called memory, that’s not time travel.

So me and Jorge were at the BDubs, game seven, the Cavs versus the Knicks, it’s Buffalo Wild Wings. We got wings extra crispy, drums only, and it’s game seven Golden State versus Cavs, this is back when LeBron was cool. There was like 18 people there in the whole place, I don’t know why it wasn’t packed, but they won and we were freaking out, it was such a good game. So we time travel, close your eyes, go back to that. What I’m saying though is you can’t alter anything. If you could time travel but you could only pick one, you can go back or to the future. Back, 100%.

If you go to the future you don’t know anything, and you get to come back to present time. So you come to this moment, this is literally the moment I’ve been waiting for. I’m going to go back in time, buy Texas, come back, I’m a trillionaire. I would go back to the pyramids, and you’d be one of the employees, trying to get your bennies, and then he comes back to president, he’s got lashes on his back, he’s been whipped. The unknown is so excruciating, I want to know so bad.

So one last question on predictions. Let’s say you were the writing staff of The Simpsons and you were doing an episode now. If we were to try, what would the predictions be, 20 years out. I would definitely throw in there something about Bitcoin like taking over worldwide, that is my real prediction, the worldwide currency, some sort of, on the phone. I’m going to go, I was going to say that there’s going to be some version of Skynet where it’s not going to be end of mankind, but there’s going to be an uncontrollable AI system that’s going to start messing up and taking control, doing stuff that we don’t want it to do. Someone’s going to not put some little safeguard in there, or it’s going to figure out how to get around the safeguard.

Because they already do that. There’s an AI that was able to go on Fiverr, hire a person to literally go online and do the captcha to prove you’re not a robot. It hired a person to click the I’m not a robot button so it could go do a thing. So that’s my thing, there’s going to be some sort of uncontrollable AI. Mine’s a little simple and maybe self serving. You know how we’re starting to see more pharmaceuticals and companies regarding weight loss, where you can just take a pill or take a shot. I think in 20 years it’s going to be similar to the breakthrough of the weight loss thing but for hair loss, where you just take a pill or a shot or put a cream on, so you don’t have to go to Turkey.

So what’s our summary on The Simpsons? I think they were smart and they got lucky. 5% of the time they got a room full of intelligent humorous people. I watched something about how comedians are very intelligent, because you have to find the humor, and to literally create a joke is so difficult. I also think that they probably saw one or two of their predictions play out and they were like, oh we kind of got something here, and they started putting that into their script. They’ll just take social situations, what do you think’s going to happen, let’s run it.