The Simpsons episode ‘predicted Russia Covid-19 jab ice cream offer’ in 2000

A vaccination centre in Russia which has been seen handing out free ice cream to anyone getting the coronavirus vaccine was predicted by The Simpsons – more than 20 years ago, it has been claimed.

The offer was made to any Russians getting the jab after polls showed just 38% of people feel confident about getting it.

But the offer was apparently predicted in an episode of The Simpsons which aired in 2000, fans have said.

In the Season 12 episode, The Computer Wore Menace Shoes, Homer buys a computer and creates his own website to spread gossip and fake news.

But, when he starts writing conspiracy theories about flu shots, he is sent to an island where people who know too much are imprisoned.

One scene shows Homer tucking into a strawberry sundae filled with syringes, sending him into a drug-fuelled haze.

And one fan of the legendary animation couldn’t resist making the comparison to Moscow’s ice-cream offer.

Alongside a headline about the ice-cream incentive and a grab of Homer tucking into the sundae, they wrote: “Simpsons predicted the future again.”

It left Twitter users puzzled, with one asking: “How do they keep doing this? Is this a coincidence or do the writers have time machines wtf is going on?”

Another wrote: “One of the worst episodes ever made an accurate prediction.”

“Remember, The Simpsons predict nothing. Reality only catches up to The Simpsons,” a third added.

But other users disagreed. One person wrote: “I watched this episode just last night and this is really a stretch. It would be better to say this episode predicts anti-vaxxers but they were actually around in 2001 too.”

It’s not the first thing Simpsons fans have said was predicted by the show.

Last month it was claimed that the show predicted Kamala Harris would become Vice President.

Eagle-eyed viewers say her outfit at US President Joe Biden’s inauguration was identical to one worn by Lisa Simpson in an old episode.

And it even guessed billionaire businessman Donald Trump would become US President – an idea which would have seemed far-fetched at the time.

The 2000 episode, called Bart to the Future, depicts Lisa as President of the US.

She is seen wearing a purple pant suit with a string of white pearls around her neck.

The cartoon character even complains that the country inherited “quite a budget crunch” from former president Mr Trump.