On Thursday, OceanGate Expeditions shared the sad news that a catastrophic implosion likely led to the death of five passengers onboard a submersible vessel that was seeking to visit the remains of the Titanic shipwreck in the Atlantic Ocean.
Portions of the storyline that have captured the hearts and attention of people around the world related to the Titanic trip may have been predicted by a previous episode of “The Simpsons.”
What Happened: On Sunday afternoon, OceanGate reported its Titan submersible vessel as missing. The submersible was part of a dive to the Titanic wreckage site with five members on board.
The crew included OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush, British billionaire Hamish Harding, Paul-Henri Nargeolet of RMS Titanic, Pakistani businessman Shahzada Dawood and his son Suleman Dawood.
On Thursday, OceanGate announced the five passengers are presumed dead, due to a catastrophic implosion. The announcement came after debris was found from the Titan near the Titanic wreckage site.
A portion of the tragic story may have been earlier predicted by “The Simpsons,” an animated comedy that has aired on Fox Corporation FOXFOXA since 1989.
“Homer’s Paternity Coot,” aired on Jan. 8, 2006, as the 10th episode of season 17 and the 366th overall episode of the franchise.
In the episode, Homer Simpson searches for his long-lost biological father, who is revealed to be Mason Fairbanks. Simpson and Fairbanks take a dive underwater in submarines searching for lost treasure.
After they find a shipwreck and lost treasure, Simpson is separated from Mason and gets stuck in coral. While stuck in the coral, Simpson sees flashing signals that his oxygen is running low. It is later revealed that Mason comes back to rescue Simpson and the labels on DNA samples were switched leaving Abe Simpson as the biological father of Homer Simpson.
The episode began spreading on social media Wednesday with users pointing to the similarities the episode shares with the OceanGate Titan dive, including the oxygen warning, the vessel getting separated and stuck and the father and son elements.
Another perhaps eerie coincidence is the former showrunner and the producer of the 2006 episode was Mike Reiss, who has taken several recent trips on Titan and shared details in an interview.
“I know the logistics of it and I know how vast the ocean is and how very tiny this craft is,” Reiss told BBC Breakfast, as reported by Deadline.
Reiss previously went on three dives with OceanGate Expeditions and said the company “almost always lost communication.”
“I got on the sub and at the back of my mind was ‘Well, I may never get off this thing,’ that’s always with you.”
Reiss added the Titan is well designed, but features new technology, comparing it to the early days of space exploration or aviation when “a lot of mistakes on the way” are made.
Related Link: Tesla Cybertruck Featured Ono The Simpsons Episode Ahead Of The EV's 2023 Release
Why It’s Important: Over the years, "The Simpsons" has been credited with predicting several real-life events including the launch of FaceTime, a bailout of Greece, the merger of Fox and Walt Disney Co DIS, autocorrect, corruption in FIFA, the U.S. Men’s curling team winning a gold medal and even Donald Trump becoming president.
Benzinga shared recently that an episode of “The Simpsons” may have predicted the banking crisis of Silicon Valley Bank. The bank saw what could be called a “bank run,” which happens when funds are withdrawn at an increasing rate. When people discuss a bank running out of money, panic ensues.
“What do you mean the bank is out of money,” Bart Simpson says at a banking location in the episode.
Simpson is also heard saying the bank is “insolvent” and only has enough cash for the next three customers. The comments prompt fights and a riot.
The episode from 1995 called “The PTA Disbands” likely pays tribute to the 1946 classic movie “It’s A Wonderful Life,” which features a similar scene.
An episode that featured Elon Musk voicing himself may have also predicted the billionaire’s buyout of the social media platform Twitter. A 2015 episode called “The Musk Who Fell To Earth” featured Musk gifting the Simpson family with a birdhouse featuring the words “Home Tweet Home” to end the episode.
Whether they are mere coincidences or predictions, the similarities of several items on “The Simpsons” in past episodes have seen viewers saying the show is eerily predictable in some cases.
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Photo: Image from "The Simpsons," 10th episode of season 17, via IMDb.
© 2024 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.
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