People think Simpsons predicted latest crisis facing UK

In the 2013 episode 'A Test Before Trying', Mr Burns is about to announce a rise in energy prices.

In the scene, he says: “To decide how much your electricity bills will rise, I’ve assembled a team of distinguished economists and placed plausible rate hike percentages on their bikes. 

“Bow we will use unfettered free market principles to arrive at a number.”

At this point, as ever, Burns releases the hounds who chase the economists before finally catching one - who is wearing a 17 percent pinned to his back.

Burns goes on: “And there you have it, folks, rates will rise a healthy 17 percent.” 

So far, so classic Simpsons, right? Except one fan has pointed out that back in October last year, the UK’s consumer electricity prices rose by the same amount. 

Yep, coincidentally, or not if you happen to believe that The Simpsons is somehow actually predicting our futures, a tweet from the Office of National Statistics from February this year explains: “After the energy price cap rose in Oct 2021, consumer prices for gas and electricity rose by 17.1 percent and 8.7 percent respectively. 

“12-month inflation rates for gas and electricity are at their highest level since early 2009, with gas at 28.1 percent and electricity at 18.8 percent.”

The coincidence is the latest in a long line of accurate ‘predictions’ the long-running cartoon has made and fans are as baffled as ever. 

Responding to the clip, one person wrote: “What’s happening. How is The Simpsons been so right!”

Another said: “The Simpsons predictions boggles my brain. More than anything else in this life! it's the only question I have. How do they do it?”

While someone else commented: “It’s not even funny anymore.”

Of course since then, things have got a lot worse for Brits when it comes to energy prices, which The Simpsons did not warn us about.

The energy cap was lifted in February with bills rising a whopping 54 percent and it’s not over yet, last month money saving expert Martin Lewis warned that ‘the energy price cap's predicted to rise 64 percent in Oct taking a typical bill to £3,244/yr; & rise again in Jan’.

This somehow makes Mr Burns look pretty reasonable, eh?