Futurama's eerie 'suicide pod' prediction comes true 20 years later

Content warning: This article contains references to suicide.

Now, we all know it's nothing new that popular TV shows have seemingly been able to 'predict' real-life events that take place years - even decades - after hitting our screens.

However, it's clear there are some uncanny 'prophecies' which are darker than others after viewers reckon Futurama's eerie 'suicide pod' prediction has come true 20 years later.

The likes of The Simpsons and Futurama have long-since been credited with foreseeing what the future holds, with the latest revolving around the use of assisted suicide pods scattered about on street corners on the cartoon series.

Fox

In the show, the booths were dotted about the city on nearly every street in the year 3000 and cost users 25 cents per use, along with a choice in options on how they would die including 'quick and painless' and 'slow and horrible' settings.

The suicide booths were pivotal for the entire plot of the series as that is where characters Philip J. Fry and Bender Bending Rodriguez first met.

Fry, who was from the 20th century, had walked in thinking it was a phone booth while Bender went in with the intention of ending his life.

The episode, Space Pilot 3000, which debuted on Fox back in 1999, saw the pair eventually walk out unharmed after the 'slow and horrible' option failed to end their lives.

Fox

Since then, some 20 years later, the suicide booths appear to have become somewhat of an actuality.

Known as the 'Sarco', the pods have been designed for use in assisted suicide and passed an independent legal review back in 2021.

The portable capsules, which are made with 3D-printing technology by Exit International, would take approximately 10 minutes to confirm a death.

The death is caused by the pods being filled with nitrogen which subsequently causes the rapid reduction of oxygen levels leaving the person inside to lose consciousness before eventually dying.

Exit International

After hearing about the pods, thousands of people rushed to social media to share the parallels with the Futurama episode.

One X user penned: "Suicide booths seemed like the only genuinely implausible part of Futurama when I was a kid but it turned out to be the only thing with any predictive power."

"Futurama, much like The Simpsons, was ahead of its time," quipped a second.

A third chimed in: "Futurama predicted it first!!!"

"Ahead of schedule (Futurama, year 3000)," added a final user.

While it was reported back in 2021 that the 'suicide pods' had been approved by the Swiss government, USA Today later reportedly found that no such approval was ever given.

Newsweek reports that an independent legal review came to the conclusion that the pods could be operated legally in Switzerland - but that's not to say they will be.

And obviously, the idea of assisted suicide raises a whole host of ethical quandaries, and the practice remains illegal in many countries, the UK included.

If you’ve been affected by any of these issues and want to speak to someone in confidence, please don’t suffer alone. Call Samaritans for free on their anonymous 24-hour phone line on 116 123.