The Rise of 3D Printing (Episode: "The Itchy & Scratchy & Poochie Show", 1997)

The Simpsons has earned quite the reputation for seemingly predicting the future. It’s actually a bit of a meme at this point, with fans pointing out how many things in the real world appear to have been "predicted" by the show, sometimes years in advance. While some of these predictions are purely coincidental or the result of broad satire, others do seem oddly prescient.

The Rise of 3D Printing (Episode: "The Itchy & Scratchy & Poochie Show", 1997)

• What happened: In this episode, Homer, among other characters, uses a 3D printer to create an object, which seemed like something that would belong to the distant future.
• Reality: 3D printing became widely available in the 2010s, with a variety of industries adopting it for prototyping, manufacturing, and even food production.