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Donald Trump becoming president, the horse meat scandal, Ebola – just three of many global happenings predicted years before they came to be by writers of The Simpsons.

How a cult cartoon is so often found to be prophetic is impressive, if a little baffling. There are so many examples of the show somehow displaying eerie crystal ball qualities.

The latest is another unlikely scenario. Today, it's the USA curling team beating favourites Sweden to its first ever Winter Olympic gold in the event.

The USA beat Sweden in a tense curling final

(Image: FOX) (Image: FOX)

It was a fairytale victory – the Americans were on the brink of elimination less than a week ago. Today, they go home champions, following an epic match that saw the USA finish with a rare five-point end in the eighth.

The win had crowds at the Gangneung Curling Centre in raptures. They witnessed a historic final – the Swedes had lost just two in ten in the run-up to the match.

"During the entire end you could kind of feel it building, [Sweden’s] margin for error got incredibly small," said US curler John Shuster, who played the winning shot.

Of course, it was Homer Simpson and wife Marge who slid to stunning victory in 'Boy Meets Curl', the 12th episode in series 21. It aired on February 14, 2010. Nearly eight years ago to the day.

Kirk Van Houten didn't make the cut

(Image: FOX) (Image: FOX)

In the episode, Homer and Marge form a mixed curling team with Agnes and Seymour Skinner. The band of chancers are picked to compete at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, Canada.

They train at an ice rink with other characters in the show. The Swedish team are depicted as you might imagine – tall, chiselled, blonde, athletic.

The script was written by Rob LaZebnik, who considered having the plot revolve around Homer competing in four-man bobsled. Instead, he chose curling, a niche sport that has captured the hearts of many in 2018.

The Simpsons team, ever keen for subtle detail, visited a curling club in order to make its cartoon accurate. The episode was directed by Chuck Sheetz. Veteran US sportscaster Bob Costas guest-starred.

As ever, others who have noticed the prediction are announcing their bafflement on social media. Although, actually, these days people appear fairly used to the cartoon knowing what's going to happen years before anyone else.

This first appeared on February 24, 2018