The Simpsons is well known for its uncanny ability to predict the future in the plots of its past episodes.
But now fans of the hit Fox animated sitcom have discovered that the show seemingly managed to foretell Virgin founder Richard Branson's recent foray into space.
The scene in question comes from the season 25 episode The Art of War, which aired back in 2014. The episode revolves around a dispute around a piece of artwork between the characters of Homer and Kirk van Houten.
In one sequence, Richard Branson appears very briefly as a passenger on a spaceship, floating in zero gravity, admiring a painting on the wall of his craft.
Alongside a screengrab of the scene, Twitter user @aditya_kondawar wrote: "How can The Simpsons show predict every Damn thing?"
With the benefit of hindsight, this image now appears to have thus predicted the business magnate's recent suborbital journey into the edge of space on board Virgin Galactic Unity 22.
Check out Richard Branson's message from space:The 70-year-old described the rocket trip as the "experience of a lifetime" after Unity's crew reached an estimated height of 282,000ft (53 miles).
BBC News reports that Virgin Galactic hopes to be accepting paying members of the public by 2022, with BBC News adding that some 600 individuals have already reserved their seats.
However, Branson is not the only billionaire who is participating in spaceflight. Amazon founder Jeff Bezos is due to join the crew of the latest Blue Origin rocket in a mission taking place on July 20.
The world's richest man first announced he would join the New Shepard's maiden voyage, alongside his brother Mark Bezos, in a post shared on his official Instagram account on Monday, June 7.
In a caption addressed to his 2.8 million followers on the platform, the billionaire wrote: "Ever since I was five years old, I’ve dreamed of traveling to space.
"On July 20th, I will take that journey with my brother. The greatest adventure, with my best friend."
CNN reports that the upcoming space mission will see the company's six-seater capsule and 59-foot rocket make an 11-minute-long flight more than 60 miles above the surface of the Earth.
However, more than 150,000 critics of Bezos have since signed a petition lobbying to keep the Amazon CEO in space indefinitely.
