TREEHOUSE OF ERROR

The Simpsons Predicts The Past

Here’s an intriguing headline from Vox:

The Simpsons predicted Russia's current economic downturn back in 1999

And here’s an excerpt from the actual story:

Of course it was not actually “predicting” today’s Russian economic downturn, but rather riffing off the earlier downturn, of which there have been several.

So, basically, the show didn’t predict it at all and your headline is a blatant lie. That’s some good reportin’ there, Lou.

Wait a minute… this was all a ploy to get us to learn about the Russian economy, wasn’t it?!

Learning? Russia? Let’s get out of here!