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38 Eerie Predictions That Shattered the Crystal Ball

By:: Cracked Writers; Jay L'Ecuyer

November 14, 2023

38 Eerie Predictions That Shattered the Crystal Ball

Right or wrong, we’re honestly just impressed that someone had the cojones (or the ovarios) to publicly make these futuristic claims! Possibly even more impressive were the writers who gave us a glimpse of the not-so-distant future while providing us with some “fictional” entertainment. How did they know?! What aren’t they telling us?! Ahhh!!!

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38

CRACKED.COM A character in Fahrenheit 451 wears AirPods. Back in 1953, when headphones were big, clunky things, Ray Bradbury described wireless earbuds. And in her ears the little Seashells, the thimble radios tamped tight, and an electronic ocean of sound, of music and talk and music and talk coming in, coming in on the shore of her unsleeping mind. — Source

37

CRACKED.COM Brave New World has in vitro fertilization. Aldous Huxley's novel described the process 46 years before Louise Brown, the first test tube baby, was born in 1978. ... ... the eggs ... were BRAVE NEW WORLD inspected for abnormalities, counted and transferred to a porous receptacle this receptacle was immersed in a warm bouillon containing free-swimming spermatozoa... ALDOUS HUXLEY — Source

36

H. G. Wells wrote about air warfare before it was a thing. The War in the Air, written in 1907, anticipated the horror of air bombings. The war comes through the air, bombs drop in the night. Quiet people go out in the morning, and see air-fleets passing overhead- dripping death- dripping death! CRACKED.COM — Source

35

The heat ray from The War of the Worlds is becoming a reality. The U.S. Navy is already using directed energy weapons, like the Martians in H. G. Wells' 1897 novel. CRACKED COM — Source

34

An artist designed the Mars Face-on Earth. In 1947, Isamu Noguchi envisioned a huge earth sculpture intended to be visible from Mars. In 1976, it looked like the Martians had beaten us to the idea. CRACKED.COM — Source

33

A comic book foretold Pearl Harbor. CONSTATION National Comics #18 depicted an air assault on Pearl Harbor. It was released in November 1941-one month before the attack by Japanese airplanes. GRACKED COM — Source

32

38 Eerie Predictions That Shattered the Crystal Ball — Source

31

GRACKED.COM two lesser stars, or satellites, which revolve about Mars..._- Jonathan Swift, describing the Red Planet's moons in his 1726 novel Gulliver's Travels. Phobos and Deimos, discovered in 1877 by Asaph Hall — Source

30

A 1995 student PSA featuring 5th graders from Helena, MT not only correctly proclaimed By the time we're in college, the Internet will be our telephone, television, shopping center, and workplace. ка The Greatest Thing in Lh ACH - It also hinted at the Internet's future infatuation with felines. I even found a recipe for cat food cupcakes! CRACKED.COM — Source

29

CRACKED COM THE VIDEOGAME TOM CLANCY'S GHOST RECON UNCANNILY PREDICTED THE RUSSIA - GEORGIA WAR. RELEASED IN 2001, THE GAME WAS SET IN APRIL 2008 - JUST R FEW MONTHS BEFORE THE REAL WAR. — Source

28

In a 1969 episode of Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In, a sketch called News Of The Future accurately predicted Ronald Reagan would be President in 1988. Later that year, yet another News Of The Future segment foresaw the exact year the Berlin Wall would fall. GRAGKED.COM — Source

27

CRACKED COM When the Treaty of Versailles was signed, officially ending the First World War in 1919, French Marshal Ferdinand Foch responded... THIS IS NOT PEACE. IT IS AN ARMISTICE FOR TWENTY YEARS. The Second World War started in 1939. — Source

26

Two weeks before his death in a Chicago hotel, former Weezer bassist Mikey Welsh predicted a twitter post. his own demise via @MikeyWelsh71 Mikey Welsh dreamt i died in chicago next weekend (heart attack in my sleep). need to write my will today. 26 Sep via web @MikeyWelsh71 Mikey Welsh @JVittitow correction-the CRACKED.COM weekend after next — Source

25

DEMOLITION MAN INADVERTENTLY PREDICTED SCHWARZENEGGER'S POLITICAL CAREER. Detective Huxley mentions doing research at the Arnold Schwarzenegger Presidential Library. Stallone's character John Spartan reacts the way you'd think Stallone would. The movie came out in 1993, a full 10 years before Schwarzenegger began his two terms as Governor of California. It also predicted driverless cars, Skype, and GPS. CRACKED.COM https://youtu.be/-OZ_R3YpB1Y — Source

24

38 Eerie Predictions That Shattered the Crystal Ball — Source

23

CHRIS ROCK NAILED THE TITLE OF OJ's BOOK. O.J. SIMPSON I Didn't Kill My Wife! But If I DID, Here's How I'd Do It It was 1999, on The Chris Rock Show. Не did a segment where he was reminiscing, and held up a video with OJ called I Didn't Kill My Wife! But If I DID, Here's How I'd Do it. Simpson's 2007 book was entitled If I Did It. To be fair, it's possible OJ got the idea from Chris Rock. CRACKED.COM https://youtu.be/KKD4bKVEus — Source

22

IN THEIR PILOT EPISODE, THE LONE GUNMEN THWARTED A PLOT TO HIJACK A PLANE AND CRASH IT INTO THE WORLD TRADE CENTER. (Cue X-Files theme music.) It aired in March, 2001. CRACKED.COM https://youtube@ruM32hHsLo — Source

21

THERE'S A POSTER ON ROBBIE'S WALL IN POLTERGEIST FROM THE 1988 SUPERBOWL. An odd choice of SAMPLE - set decoration, considering the movie was released in 1982. And downright creepy when you realize that on SuperBowl Sunday in 1988, Heather O'Rourke, who played Carol Anne, became violently ill. She died the next day. She was 12 years old. CRACKED.COM https://youtu.be/au-QUyjOF7A — Source

20

ALBERT BROOKS PREDICTED REALITY me TV IN 1979. FILMING THANKSGIVING His mockumentary film Real Life featured an obnoxious, intrusive camera crew trailing a family and deliberately stirring up conflict. It was meant as a sendup of a PBS documentary series, but with the twist that most of the drama was generated artificially by the producer. CRACKED.COM http://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/real-life-1979 — Source

19

A GOOFY 1987 SITCOM PREDICTED GADHAFI'S DEATH WITHIN A FEW MONTHS. The show was called Second Chance, and in the pilot STJ PETER'S OFFICE Colonel Moammar July 29, 20TJ Gadhafi shows up in St. Peter's office in July of 2011. Gadhafi actually died in October of that year. Not too far off, for a show that aired 24 years before that date. CRACKED.COM https://youtu.be/o62MU1q-U1k — Source

18

WARREN ZEVON PREDICTED HIS OWN DEATH. His song The Factory ends with these lines: Kickin' asbestos in the factory Punchin' out Chryslers in the factory Breathin' that plastic in the factory. Zevon died from advanced malignant mesothelioma, which is usually caused by inhalation of asbestos. That wouldn't be so odd if Zevon wrote that song from his personal experience, but he didn't. Не never worked in any such risky environment himself and had no reason to believe he was at risk of mesothelioma. CRACKED.COM www.nytimes.com/2003/01/26/magazine/warren-zevon-s-last-waltz.htm/?pagewanted=all&src=pm — Source

17

NICKI MINAJ PREDICTED HER COUSIN'S DEATH, WITH A SONG. Why'd you have to leave in July? On a peaceful and serene summer night... Why the doctors could not stop the bleeding... Now you see you not bullet proof... I could've told you about my intuition ... Why'd you have to go so soon? -We Miss You A year after Nicki wrote this, her cousin Nicholas Telemaque was gunned down in July and left to bleed to death. http://www.nydailynews.com/news/crime/nicholas-telemague- CRACKED.COM 27-shot-death-brooklyn-street-leaving-nightclub-article-1.155416 — Source

16

IN 1987, APPLE MADE A COMMERCIAL PREDICTING BORDERLINE MAGIC PRODUCTS THEY'D INVENT BY 2011. The video featured meall a tablet-style computer with a personal digital assistant that takes - CHTT phone calls and video chats, searches the Fite network - Schedule - Internet, analyzes Desartifucation - - - data, and creates sophisticated graphics. And the Scopy Year: 1230 Rate: 22 whole thing has a touch screen and is voice-activated. THE VIDEO IS SET IN SEPTEMBER OF 2011-JUST A COUPLE OF WEEKS BEFORE APPLE LAUNCHED THE IPHONE WITH SIRI. CRACKED.COM https://youtu.be/QRH8eimU_20 — Source

15

Star Trek: The Next Generation featured the PADD, sci-f technology extremely similar to the iPad. The fictional mobile touch-screen Personal Access Display Devices has many similarities to the very real iPad created 30 years later. CRACKED.COM — Source

14

UK's House of Cards predicted the fall of Margaret Thatcher The episode in which Margaret Thatcher's character resigned aired only four days before the actual Prime Minister resigned. CRACKED.COM — Source

13

Airplane! 2 predicted the use of full-body A CRIME scanners by airport security TO PO FEDERAL SAFETY PIES BEA As a throwaway gag, pervy airport security watch NSFW full-body scans in the 1982 sequel, hitting a little too close to home in a post-9/11 world. CRACKED.COM — Source

12

NASA uses the T-minus countdown because of the movie Woman in the Moon Before NASA existed, the 1929 sci-fi silent film used a countdown clock before launching a rocket. CRACKED.COM — Source

11

An episode of Full House featured Aunt Becky in admissions scandal Uncle Jesse lies on his kids' preschool application, but in the TV show, Aunt Becky 'fesses up. CRACKED.COM — Source

10

Saturday Night Live put Princess Leia in a gold bikini 5 years before Return of the Jedi In the 1978 episode hosted by Carrie Fisher, Fisher plays her iconic character who drops by a 1950s beach. CRACKED.COM — Source

9

Super Mario Bros. King Коора destroys the WTC. Mario defeats King Koopa after a dramatic battle on the Brooklyn waterfront, which includes Коора briefly disintegrating the World Trade Center towers. CRACKED — Source

8

7

Predicting the Trump Wall. Arrested Development Season 4 predicted the idea of a US- Mexican border wall, which President Donald Trump later adopted, and the show acknowledged this in its fifth season. CRACKED — Source

6

Hackers ACEDHORNO OLOVE LOVE to GODOSEXЬ ROSECRETOLE 28PHREAK12U SKILL LORDNIKO LOCRA LAVERRIDE SECRETOS NEW On-demand TV, RV gaming, and more. The 1995 thriller is often mocked for its campy portrayal of teenage tech-whizzes, but it was surprisingly prophetic about modern technology, accurately predicting on-demand TV, tech world sexism, virtual reality gaming, and the dangers of simple passwords. CRACKED — Source

5

Christopher Reeve's last role was eerily prophetic. Reeve's last film before his accident follows a police officer who is paralyzed after being shot in the line of duty. Reeve visited a spinal cord trauma unit to prepare for the role, and famously commented it could happen to anyone. Above Suspicion CRACKED — Source

4

Spooks writers: Prophets? Spooks The writers of BBC One's hit MI5 drama have an uncanny knack for predicting real-life events, from the 7/7 bombings to the global financial crisis, which has led to the show being nominated for a BAFTA award in its eighth series. CRACKED — Source

3

Minority Report Targeted advertising. Advertisers are spending more money on advertising, but only half of the targeted market can remember the message and the other half want to forget it. The answer may lie in immersive direct targeting, such as the scene from Minority Report where a billboard calls out to Tom Cruise's character. CRACKED — Source

2

Star Trek 20th-century sci-fi predicts 21st- century agriculture. In The Trouble with Tribbles, Quadrotriticale is a genetically- engineered hybrid grain, predicting GMO, and used in 2268 to attempt to develop Sherman's Planet as an agrarian colony. CRACKED — Source

1

Scrubs The janitor knew Osama bin Laden's whereabouts. The janitor correctly predicted in 2007 that the U.S. should be looking for bin Laden in Pakistan, and a clip of this prediction went viral. CRACKED — Source

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