In 1999, an episode of The Simpsonsaired entitled "Viva Ned Flanders," in which Homer Simpsons and his neighbor Ned Flanders take a trip to Las Vegas. Right before the two were shown waking up hungover in a hot tub, the Stanley Cup is shown lying on the floor of their hotel room, making people wonder whether the hit animated series, again, predicted the future.
What's fueling this conspiracy-esque theory? The Las Vegas Golden Knights and the Washington Capitals are currently vying for the Stanley Cup, the championship trophy awarded to the best team in the National Hockey League.
Considering Sin City didn't even have a hockey team until last year, Twitter is abuzz with amazement at what appears to be another example of an accurate future prediction by the creators of The Simpsons.
Granted, there are still up to seven games to go until a final Stanley Cup recipient is determined, however, the fact that the trophy is shown in Vegas, nearly 20 years before the city even had a team, is pretty remarkable.
"In 1999, before "The Hangover" and the Golden Knights, Homer Simpson and Ned Flanders had the Stanley Cup in Vegas."
The obscure nature of the prediction makes it even more intriguing.
This isn't the first time people have noticed the show's uncanny ability to predict future events. One of the more notable instances of occurred in "Bart to the Future." The episode, which aired in 2000, future President Lisa Simpson bemoans a budgetary crisis leftover from the presidency of Donald Trump. "We're broke," Secretary Milhouse van Houten said.
In another episode, a three-eyed fish named Blinky was discovered, having been the victim of mutations caused by waste from Springfield's nuclear power plant. A three-eyed fish was found years later in Argentina, whose mutation was attributed to pollution from a nearby nuclear power plant.
The show also predicted in 1995 that one day people would be talking into their watches (Apple Watch) and that in 2008, voters would have to grapple with faulty voting machines that changed votes for Barack Obama to John McCain.
Do they have a crystal ball or something?