5 times the Simpsons predicted the future of technology
Is there anything they didn't see coming? Here are five technological advances the Simpson's accidentally predicated
It’s that time of year when all we want to do is binge watch telly. And, one of those shows that I can just watch over and over again is The Simpsons. The great news is that you can watch all seasons of the show on Disney+ which I hadn’t realised has all my favourite library shows including The Simpsons, Grey's Anatomy, Modern Family and more.
As well as just being proper funny, The Simpsons, which first aired back in 1989, has a spooky knack of predicting the future. From the horsemeat scandal to three-eyed fish and even The Shard in London, I’ve lost count of the number of times the show has accidentally predicted real-life events.
But did you know that this 33-year-running long sitcom has featured lots of gadgets which bear a striking resemblance to ones we use all the time today? I don’t know how they keep doing it, but here are just five of the times that The Simpsons predicted the future of technology.
Smart speakers
In season 13, aired in 2001, Marge upgrades the house to Ultrahouse 3000, a smart house with built-in AI. Featuring celeb cameos including Matthew Perry and Pierce Brosnan, the smarthouse does all the house work for the Simpsons before soon falling in love with Marge and then plotting to kill Homer. It eventually fails and, as punishment, the house is sent to live out its days with Patty and Selma.
More than 20 years later, smart speakers are everywhere, with many of us having a few stashed around the house. From telling us the weather, to organising our calendar, making shopping lists, playing music and telling us jokes, there’s so much we rely on our smart speakers for. Let’s just hope The Simpsons were wrong about them turning on us…
Smartwatches
In 1993, an episode called Lisa’s Wedding transports us into Lisa’s future and features quite a few futuristic gadgets, many of which look pretty similar to ones that now exist. In this story, she heads off to a prestigious English university, meets a seemingly charming Englishman called Hugh Parkfield and decides to get married. In his proposal to Lisa, Hugh Parkfield uses what appears to be a very retro-looking smartwatch to help him out when things don’t quite go to plan.
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Apple released its first smartwatch in 2005, a decade after the episode aired, and there’s since been a boom in this wearable technology. They’ve changed the way many of us live our lives, allowing us to track our activity, pay for things and even answer calls … oh yeah, and tell the time.
Video calling
Also in the Lisa’s Wedding episode, we saw some of the characters video chatting. After Lisa agrees to marry Hugh Parkfield, she breaks the news to Marge of her engagement using a 'picture phone'.
The show didn’t quite nail the look of modern video chat, though. Lisa has to spin the numbers to dial like on one of those old school phones and the picture display is on a very thick screen, but the general idea is there.
Today, whether it's work meetings on Zoom, Teams or Hangouts, calling your mates on Facetime or WhatsApp, video calling is a huge part of life. And, unlike The Simpsons' prediction, it's much more compact.
3D printing
In another jump ahead to the future, the episode Future Drama from 2005 sees Lisa and Bart get a glimpse into their teenage years after finding a machine in Professor Frink’s basement. Before Lisa and Bart head to their school prom, Marge takes a photo of them which turns into a cake with the photo printed on top.
This idea of turning something digital into an object reminds us of a 3D printer, tech which has totally transformed many industries. While 3D printed food isn’t widely available just yet, it does exist. It’s most commonly used for things like chocolate and cheese, but 3D printed cakes are a thing, and there’s even 3D printed meat. Also known as ‘meat bioprinting’, this lab grown meat is thought to be a more sustainable alternative to traditional cattle farming. Maybe one day, someone will work out how to turn a photo into a cake. I’m ready and waiting.
Hands-free cameras
In season 5, Homer takes part in a secret investigation of gone-off food at the Kwik-E-Mart. In the episode, we see Homer using a hands-free camera in the hope of getting some incriminating footage of Apu.
While the actual versions are a little more slick, Homer’s camera is ‘so tiny’ that can fit inside an oversized novelty cowboy hat. Best-known hands-free cameras, Go Pros, weren’t invented until 2002, a good eight years after this episode aired. They’re now used for extreme sports, by cyclists and as dashboard cams by many. Personally, we’d like more novelty hat versions.
What’s next?
With their huge track record, The Simpsons might already have accidentally predicted the next big thing. And with so many episodes on Disney+, including the latest season, you can sit and binge watch to your heart’s content. And, if you’re a budding inventor, can you take a look at that 3D printed cake thing please?
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Featured Image Credit: © 2023 Disney & its related entitiesTopics: Film and TV, Technology, The Simpsons
The UNILAD Team