The Simpsons have predicted AGAIN! Newsreader Kent Brockman eerily parallels coronavirus crisis as he presents from home during episode which aired in 1998
They have become renowned for accurately predicting real life events, including Donald Trump being elected the president of the U.S.
And it seems like the Simpsons have done it again, after an eagle-eyed viewer noticed that an 1998 episode drew parallels with the coronavirus pandemic.
In the episode newsreader Kent Brockman is forced to present the news from home after the characters are told they must obey new curfew rules.
Not again! An eagle-eyed Simpsons viewer noticed that an 1998 episode drew parallels with the coronavirus pandemic
During the segment, he says: 'This is Kent Brockman reporting from my own home in accordance with the new curfew for anyone under 70.'
It comes after Prime Minister Boris Johnson forced the closure of all non-essential shops, clubs and bars and told the country to stay indoors to limit the spread of the coronavirus pandemic.
It an strikingly similar situation, Channel 4 newsreader Krishnan Guru-Murthy had to present from home last week as he went into self-isolation.
A twitter user who first noticed the similarities, took to the social media site to share pictures of Kent and Krishman beside each other with the caption:
Good evening from my home! It an strikingly similar situation, Channel 4 newsreader Krishnan Guru-Murthy had to present from home last week as he went into self-isolation
Eerie! A twitter user who first noticed the similarities, took to the social media site to share pictures of Kent and Krishman beside each other with the caption
'I hate to say it, I really do, but The Simpsons has... I can't actually', as he appeared to refused to admit that the Simpsons had yet again predicted the future.
Fans also recently suggested that the show previously 'predicted' the coronavirus itself - with 1993 episode Marge In Chains featuring a far-eastern virus sweeping the planet and infecting the residents of Springfield.
In Marge In Chains, a virus called Osaka Flu spreads through Springfield after residents order juicers from Japan.
Scenes show the juicers being packed into boxes as sick workers cough all over them - sending the virus to America.
Another day, another prediction: Fans also recently suggested that the show previously 'predicted' the coronavirus itself - with 1993 episode Marge In Chains featuring a far-eastern virus sweeping the planet and infecting the residents of Springfield
Life imitating art: In an episode from 1993 a virus called Osaka Flu spreads through Springfield after residents order juicers from Japan
Fans of the show took to Twitter to discuss the similarities - despite the fact the virus on The Simpsons came from Japan while the current coronavirus outbreak originated in Wuhan in China.
Some are so convinced they even took the time to edit 'Osaka flu' to 'Coronavirus' in Kent Brockman's news report.
And it didn't take long for one eagle-eyed fan to spot it either.
So it looks like Kent and The Simpsons knew it all along… Fans also noticed that before this episode in 1999, a 1993 episode actually foresaw the outbreak.
Seem familiar? Scenes show the juicers being packed into boxes as sick workers cough all over them - sending the virus to America
Headline news: Springfield is warned of the arrival of the disease. One person on Twitter even edited 'Osaka flu' to 'Coronavirus' in Kent Brockman's news report from the episode
Marge In Chains saw Springfield struck down with the 'Osaka Flu', after a sick factory worker in Japan coughs into boxes used to ship a juicer ordered by many Springfield residents, including Homer Simpson.
A cloud is seen emerging from every box, with the town coming down with the flu over the coming weeks. Coincidence?
It comes just weeks after fans of The Simpsons revealed they believe that the show predicted actor Tom Hanks would be struck with the coronavirus.
They've done it again: Fans of The Simpsons believe that the show predicted actor Tom Hanks would be struck with the coronavirus
Fans now believe the writers foretold that actor Hanks, 63, would have to self-isolate one day, as news broke that the Hollywood star and his wife, Rita Wilson, caught COVID-19 while filming Baz Luhrmann's Elvis Presley biopic on location in Australia.
In 2007's The Simpsons Movie - the show's big screen version of the show - Hanks makes a cameo appearance, advertising a 'new Grand Canyon' because the main one has 'gotten boring'.
After appearing in an ad for the canyon - in which he claims 'the US government has lost its credibility so its borrowing some of mine' - the Apollo 13 actor then says: 'This is Tom Hanks saying if you see me in person, please, leave me be.'
While the theory is somewhat of a stretch, hardcore fans of the show are happily adding this to the ever-growing list of Simpsons predictions.
Prediction: Fans now believe the writers foretold that actor Hanks, 63, would have to self-isolate one day, as news broke that the Hollywood star and his wife, Rita Wilson, caught COVID-19 while filming on location in Australia
Who'd've thought it? In 2007's The Simpsons Movie, Hanks makes a cameo appearance, and says - 'This is Tom Hanks saying if you see me in person, please, leave me be'
One person Tweeted: 'The Simpsons are from the future. They have predicted everything that has happened to us. Like trump becoming pres, Kobe's death and now the coronavirus. What's next?! The world ending?'
Someone else penned: 'The Simpsons scares me. This episode aired 27 years ago in 1993!'
Other examples of The Simpsons fortune-telling skills include 2000's episode Bart To The Future, in which Lisa is the president of the United States, having succeeded Donald Trump.
This episode aired 16 years before even the idea of Trump taking over The White House was a possibility.
10 TIMES THE SIMPSONS CORRECTLY PREDICTED THE FUTURE
The iconic animated TV show has been known to foresee major world events - from Donald Trump's presidency to the discovery of a three-eyed mutant fish to the erection of London skyscraper The Shard.
Here are some of the original predictions from across the four-decade-long run of The Simpsons - and the real-life events that transpired years later...
Mystic Marge... Maggie, Homer, Lisa and Bart: The iconic animated TV show has been known to foresee major world events
1: FAULTY VOTING
PREDICTED IN: Treehouse of Horror XIX - 2008
CAME TRUE IN: Pennsylvania, USA - 2012
In 2008, Homer was seen attempting to vote for Barack Obama in the US general election, only for the machine to keep switching his vote to Republican John McCain.
Four years later, a voting machine in Pennsylvania was discovered to be changing people's votes from Obama, who was running for a second term, to Republican rival Mitt Romney.
Rigged? Homer could not vote for Obama in 2008
2: OSAKA FLU AKA CORONAVIRUS
PREDICTED IN: Marge In Chains - 1993
CAME TRUE IN: Wuhan, China - 2019
The episode featured a far-eastern virus called the Osaka Flu being transported across the globe and infecting the residents of Springfield, who were ordering Japanese juicing machines that had been coughed all over by infected factory workers.
COVID-19 was first reported in China in December 2019. By March 2020 it was declared a global pandemic.
Aye Corona! The show foreshadowed coronavirus with its fictitious Osaka Flu
3: TOM HANKS HAS TO SELF-ISOLATE
PREDICTED IN: The Simpsons Movie - 2007
CAME TRUE IN: Gold Coast, Australia - 2020
The Hollywood actor and his wife, Rita Wilson, caught COVID-19 while filming Baz Luhrmann's Elvis Presley biopic on location in Australia in March 2020.
As a result, he and Rita had to go into isolation.
In 2007's The Simpsons Movie - the big screen version of the TV show - Hanks makes a cameo appearance, in which he says: 'This is Tom Hanks saying if you see me in person, please, leave me be.'
(Out)Cast Away: Tom Hanks warned viewers to 'leave me be' in 2007
4: THE ERECTION OF THE SHARD
PREDICTED IN: Lisa's Wedding - 1995
CAME TRUE IN: London, UK - 2009
When Lisa visited a fortune teller, she foresaw that she would one day marry a British man.
In the episode, she flies to London - where the skyline features a tall, pointed building.
Fans have branded this a prediction that The Shard would one day be a fixture of London's architecture - eventually being built in 2009 and opening in 2013.
Up The Shard: Did Lisa's premonition foretell the London landmark
5: DONALD TRUMP BECOMES PRESIDENT
PREDICTED IN: Bart To The Future - 2000
CAME TRUE IN: USA - 2016
In another flash-forward episode, Lisa is the president of the United States, having succeeded Donald Trump.
She is seen lamenting the financial slump that Trump has left the country in, following his exit from office.
This episode aired 16 years before even the idea of Trump taking over The White House was a possibility. He was elected as the 45th president of the United States on November 9, 2016.
President Lisa: A flash-forward saw Lisa pick up the slack from an ex-president Trump
6: BLINKY THE THREE-EYED MUTANT FISH
PREDICTED IN: Two Cars in Every Garage and Three Eyes On Every Fish - 1990
CAME TRUE IN: Córdoba, Argentina - 2011
Blinky, the three-eyed fish from The Simpsons first appeared in the second season of the show, when Bart caught it while fishing in the river by Springfield's nuclear power plant.
In 2011, a fisherman in Argentina caught a three-eyed wolf fish, similarly in waters outside a power station.
In both cases, the power plants were blamed for dumping toxic waste into the waters, thus affecting the wildlife.
Perfect catch? Bart caught a fish - and a glimpse of the future
7: KING'S LANDING IS DESTROYED BY DRAGONS
PREDICTED IN: The Serfsons - 2017
CAME TRUE IN: Game Of Thrones - 2019
The Simpsons parodied Game Of Thrones in 2017, with the episode ending with the family watching their village obliterated by fire-breathing dragons.
When the Game Of Thrones penultimate episode aired in 2019, King's Landing suffered the same fate when Daenerys Targaryen ordered Drogon to burn the town to a crisp.
Winter came early: The Simpsons foretold the fate of King's Landing in 2017
8: BABY TRANSLATOR
PREDICTED IN: Brother, Can You Spare Two Dimes? - 1992
CAME TRUE IN: Twain, East Asia - 2015
When Homer is awarded $2,000 in compensation for being exposed to nuclear radiation, making him infertile, his long-lost half-brother Herb shows up, looking for investment in an invention that translates 'baby babble' - using Maggie as a guinea pig.
In 2016, app developers unveiled their Infant Cries Translator, which claimed to be able to decipher what a baby's sobs were trying to convey.
Baby babble: Did Homer's long-lost brother invent the Infant Cries Translator?
9: CENSORING MICHELANGELO'S DAVID
PREDICTED IN: Itchy & Scratchy & Marge - 1990
CAME TRUE IN: Saint Petersburg, Russia - 2016
Marge became outraged by the violence in Bart and Lisa's favourite cartoon, The Itchy & Scratchy Show - and penned a letter of concern to the broadcasting network. This escalated into a full-blown protest which saw the cat and mouse cartoon toned down; instead of blowing each other up, they were seen sharing lemonade in harmony.
When the famous sculpture Michelangelo's David was then due to stop on a tour in Springfield, Marge refused to join in with a local protest led by the likes of pious Maud Flanders, who claimed the statue was gratuitous. She was then accused of being a hypocrite.
The precise same scenario cropped up in Russia 26 years later [minus the Itchy & Scratchy part], when residents of Saint Petersburg protested a replica of the naked sculpture which was due to be erected in the city.
Censored! Marge's Itchy & Scratchy tirade foreshadowed a real-life protest against fine art
10: ALL YOU CAN EAT LAW SUIT
PREDICTED IN: New Kid On The Block - 1992
CAME TRUE IN: Massachusetts, USA - 2017
Homer was kicked out of an All You Can Eat venue for eating too much - causing the restaurant to run dry. He then became obsessed with fighting the case legally.
A real-life case took place at the Golden Corral in 2017, when a man ate 50lbs of food, getting kicked out.
He then sued the eatery for $2 million.
All you can't eat! Homer's fish food binge ended up happening in real-life
