10 Moments In Pop Culture That Predicted The Coronavirus

With the 2019-20 Coronavirus Pandemic still ongoing, nearly 1,201,963 cases and 64,727 deaths worldwide have occurred so far (as of April 4th, 2020, the day that this article was submitted in).

Without any doubt, the coronavirus pandemic will go down in history as an event that affected everyone and everything in the world and how life changed drastically for a temporary period of time. Some people, such as Bill Gates and notable disease and flu experts, have predicted for years that a pandemic (like what we are going through right now with the Coronavirus outbreak) was coming.

As we are currently going through the Coronavirus Pandemic, it turns out that Pop Culture has also predicted that The Coronavirus outbreak would be happening as well. Moments in Pop Culture that prophesied the Coronavirus include books, films, TV Shows, and cartoons, to name a few. 

Now, with all of that being said, let’s take a look at these 10 Moments In Pop Culture That Predicted The Coronavirus Pandemic:  

1. The Simpsons Part 1:

The writers of the iconic animated sitcom The Simpsons have a knack of foreshadowing actual events. Over the years, The Simpsons have gained notoriety for jokes that eventually became reality. Some of the most notable events that the show predicted include Donald Trump becoming President of The United States, Disney buying 20th Century Fox, The FIFA Corruption Scandal, and smartwatches, to name a few. Another event to add to the list of things that The Simpsons predicted would happen include The 2019-20 Coronavirus Pandemic!

Fans of the show were quick to notice that one episode predicted the Coronavirus Pandemic. With regards to the coronavirus, the season 4 episode “Marge in Chains” depicted a global pandemic, but a fictional one called the ‘Osaka Flu’, which originate in the Japanese City of the same name and is over 1200 miles away from Wuhan, China, where the coronavirus started. 

2. The Simpsons Part 2:

“Marge in Chains” wasn’t the only episode of The Simpsons that foreshadowed the Coronavirus Pandemic! Fans have also claimed that the season 10 episode “Wild Barts Can’t Be Broken” predicted coronavirus self isolation.

In the episode, Kent reports the news from his own living room, telling the residents of Springfield: “This is Kent Brockman reporting from my own home in accordance with the new curfew for anyone under 70.” In today’s reality, Anyone testing positive for the Coronavirus has to self-quarantine for 14 days. People who have come in close contact with someone testing positive for the Coronavirus have to follow the same self-quarantine guidelines too in order to prevent spreading the disease. Furthermore, whenever we watch the news, we have seen several anchors doing the broadcasts live from their homes.

3. The Big Bang Theory:

In an episode of The Big Bang Theory, a paranoid Sheldon tries to avoid getting infected by a “deadly disease”. However, he ends up getting the disease and put in the hospital, resulting in a two-week quarantine. 

4. The Eyes of Darkness:

The 1981 novel by Dean Koontz revolves around a grieving mother investigating the mysterious circumstances of her son’s death. The book mentions a deadly virus known as “Wuhan-400”. The 2019-20 Coronavirus Pandemic originated in the city of Wuhan, China. A character in the book calls the virus “the perfect weapon” for biological warfare.

5. My Secret Terrius:

The tenth episode of The South Korean TV Series featured a plot in which the coronavirus was used as a weapon. In one scene, a doctor is heard saying, “The coronavirus attacks the respiratory system,” adding: “What’s more serious is that the coronavirus has an incubation period of two to 14 days.”

6. Contagion:

The 2011 film received renewed popularity as today’s coronavirus outbreak bears some resemblance to the pandemic depicted in the film. In Contagion, doctors race against time to develop a vaccine to halt the spread of a deadly virus that affected the respiratory system. Medical experts state that they believe bats are a possible source of the coronavirus. 

7. End of Days: Predictions and Prophecies About the End of the World:

Besides Dean Koontz’s The Eyes of Darkness, another novel that received a surge in popularity for predicting the coronavirus is Sylvia Browne’s 2008 book End of Days: Predictions and Prophecies About the End of the World.

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A passage of Browne’s book states, “In around 2020, a severe pneumonia-like illness will spread throughout the globe, attacking the lungs and bronchial tubes and resisting all known treatments.” Browne’s book gained significant attention on social media after Kim Kardashian posted a photo of the passage on Twitter. In her tweet (see below), Kardashian said that her sister “Kourtney just sent this on our group chat.”

8. Asterix and the Chariot Race:

Asterix and the Chariot Race, the 37th book of the Asterix Comics Series, received significant attention during the Coronavirus Pandemic for two reasons. The first reason was due to the death of Asterix Co-creator Albert Uderzo (Note that the cause of death was a heart attack, not the coronavirus) on March 24th, 2020. Uderzo was 92-years-old. The second reason that Asterix and the Chariot Race received so much media attention was due to the fact the story featured a vicious Roman Villain named Coronavirus! Italy is currently one of the top countries profoundly affected by the coronavirus outbreak. 

9. Tangled:

I know it sounds crazy to say that a Disney Princess film predicted the coronavirus pandemic. However, if you look at the plot of the 2010 film Tangled, you will join a huge number of Disney fans who noticed the spooky coincidences. 

In the film, Rapunzel, who was kidnapped as a baby by a wicked enchantress named Gothel, spends her days locked away in a tower away from the nearby kingdom and the rest of the world, as Gothel raised her to believe that the world was dangerous. What was the name of that nearby kingdom that Rapunzel is the lost princess of (a fact she doesn’t discover until the film’s climax)? Corona. 

10. Space Jam:

While the plot of Space Jam didn’t predict the actual Coronavirus Pandemic, the film did include a plot point where the NBA Season was suspended after players like Charles Barkley and Patrick Ewing appeared to be infected with a mysterious illness that robbed them of their talent. 

The current NBA Season was suspended indefinitely on March 11 after Utah Jazz Player Rudy Gobert became the first player to test positive for the coronavirus. 

From all of the Pop Culture moments listed above that predicted the coronavirus, which one left you in shock the most? Be sure to let us know which Pop Culture Moment down below in the comments section!

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