If recent events have proved anything, it is that the future is often too tough to predict. Unexpected things happen, and things that are likely to occur often never see the light of day. This is why when a television series or a movie manage to predict future events, sometimes years before they occur, we’re bound to pay attention and feel a little freaked out about it. We’ve collected five times when the small and big screens were surprisingly prophetic.

1. The Simpsons, 2000

Lisa from the Simpsons as president — 5 Bizarre Future Events That Series & Movies Actually Predicted

In an episode of the popular series, The Simpsons — which aired in 2000 — Bart went to the future to find his sister Lisa had become president. Lisa referenced her predecessor as “President Trump,” which basically means the show predicted the 2016 elections 16 years before they took place. Spooky!

2. The Lone Gunmen, March 2001

Scene from The Lone Gunmen — 5 Bizarre Future Events That Series & Movies Actually Predicted

The Lone Gunmen was a spin-off of the ever-popular show The X-Files. In the pilot episode, computer hackers managed to take control of a passenger plane so they could fly it into the World Trade Center. Sounds familiar, doesn’t it? The episode aired in March 2001, just six months before the 9/11 attacks.

3. Contagion, 2011: A Familiar Future

Scene from the movie Contagion; man and woman walking along the isles of a half-empty store — 5 Bizarre Future Events That Series & Movies Actually Predicted

Contagion is a 2011 film that gained recent popularity due to the worldwide pandemic. In the movie, a team of doctors has to race against time to stop the spread of a deadly virus. Get this, though — the virus affects the respiratory system, and the outbreak was first discovered in China. That’s not everything. The virus originated from a bat. That’s a lot of coincidences in a row, don’t you think?

4. Star Trek: The Next Generation, the 1980s and 1990s

Captain Picard holding a PADD — 5 Bizarre Future Events That Series & Movies Actually Predicted

Do you remember the PADDs (Personal Access Display Devices) that the Star Trek characters used in the show? They look suspiciously similar to the present-day iPads, don’t they? And to think these weren’t invented until around three decades later!

5. Scrubs, 2007

Janitor talking to someone else who's outside the frame — 5 Bizarre Future Events That Series & Movies Actually Predicted

Remember that 2007 episode of Scrubs when the janitor made a comment about Osama bin Laden and where he might be hiding? In the now popular scene, the janitor said that the United States government should look for Osama in Pakistan. Four years later, in 2011, bin Laden was found hiding in — you guessed it— Pakistan. A bizarre future prediction, wouldn’t you say?

There are moments when shows and movies keep us on the edge of our seats with suspense, and others when they amaze us with their ability to predict world events…