'The Simpsons' Predicted Coronavirus — and the Murder Hornets

BY Matt BobkinPublished May 6, 2020

Is it even a surprise anymore to discover that, no matter how absurd life gets, The Simpsons did it first? Weeks after Disney+ leaned into the show's supernatural powers by launching a playlist of some of its eeriest predictions come true, another prescient clip has surfaced that bears a shocking resemblance to present-day happenings.

This latest clip, posted to Twitter by comedian Eddie Dougrou, comes from 1993 episode "Marge in Chains," where the citizens of Springfield fall ill following an outbreak of a flu from Japan. The townsfolk riot outside a doctor's office where they are informed that the best way to combat the flu is to stay home, at which point they knock over a truck and unleash a swarm of killer bees.

Not only are there plenty of parallels between the events of the episode and the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, but this clip surfaces mere days after a New York Times article about the Asian giant hornet — a.k.a. "murder hornets" — that have recently been spotted for the first time in North America.

Watch the spooky clip below. What Simpsons episode will manifest IRL next?
 

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