The Simpsons has answered a long-running question throughout the show's 35-year history.
The animated series, which debuted on Fox in December of 1989, has frequently depicted Homer Simpson as an incompetent employee of the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant that Mr. Burns owns, but one who always keeps his job.
On the episode that aired Sunday - Shoddy Heat - the show revealed that Homer's dad Grandpa Abe had brokered a deal for his son to always have a job at the plant.
In Shoddy Heat, the 36th season's fourth series, flashbacks revealed Grandpa Abe had worked as a private investigator with a partner named Billy O'Donnell.
The Simpson and O'Donnell firm had probed Burns on a job funded by Burns' girlfriend at that time, Agnes Skinner.
The Simpsons has answered a long-running question throughout the show's 35-year history involving Homer Simpson and his job at the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant
Grandpa Abe on the show brokered a deal for Homer to always have a job at the nuclear plant
Burns said he had a 'one-way ticket to paradise' when O'Donnell mysteriously disappeared.
Grandpa Abe eventually came to a deal with Burns that he would provide Homer a lifelong job at the plant in exchange for ending the investigation.
Read More The Simpsons' most eerie predictions that have come true as 28-year-old prophecy fulfilled tonight
Fans appeared to be entertained by the throwback episode, with one calling it awesome 'and very funny.'
Another said, 'Last night's @TheSimpsons new episode Shoddy Heart was so fun and so Amazingly interesting seeing young Abe Simpson solving a mystery case of dealing with Mr. Burns of why Homer never got fired of his Nuclear Power Plant job.'
Prior to the episode airing, veteran The Simpsons writer Al Jean tweeted that he would send a signed script to whomever could guess the 'long running mystery' that would be solved on the show.
One winning response read: 'How Homer keeps his job after all this time - some sort of deal that Abe and Montgomery made early on.'
Another winning guess read, 'Why Homer hasn't been fired from the plant yet?'
Another mystery also revealed in the episode was that O'Donnell had not died, but bribed off the case by Burns as the other component in the arrangement.
Homer was given a lifelong job at the plant as result of a deal his father made with Mr. Burns
The animated series debuted on Fox in December of 1989
Fans appeared to be entertained by the throwback episode, with one calling it awesome 'and very funny'
Prior to the episode airing, The Simpsons writer Al Jean tweeted that he would send a signed script to whomever could guess the 'long running mystery' that would be solved on the show
Multiple fans were able to correctly solve the long running mystery on the series
A column from Cinemablend's Nick Venable said The Simpsons' creative team can cease its efforts in 'trying to fill in every plot gap and logically explain every Springfield eccentricity before the series wraps its historic run.
'It's the same narrative issue that plagues a lot of modern prequels, this need to source and justify every familiar detail,' Venable said.
Venable added, 'If The Simpsons never gave us an answer for why Homer maintained a steady power plant paycheck despite decades of awful work and rampant unprofessionalism, I wouldn't have suddenly started rethinking my tastes this many years later.
'Similar to how I don't need explanations for how the family celebrates so many birthdays and holidays without ever aging.'
The Simpsons' most eerie predictions that have come true
The Simpsons, the longest-running animated series in history, has garnered a reputation for its uncanny ability to predict the future.
In a surprising turn of events, another seemingly far-fetched foretelling will come to life tonight.
It was back in 1996 when an episode of The Simpsons featured a joke where Cypress Hill believed they had mistakenly booked the London Symphony Orchestra whilst under the influence.
Fast forward to tonight, and that joke becomes a reality at the Royal Albert Hall, where fans can watch the California collective play songs from their 90s album Black Sunday and other hits alongside the LSO.
Cypress Hill said: 'We are thrilled to be performing with the London Symphony Orchestra in such a prestigious venue as the Royal Albert Hall. It's a dream come true, a collaboration only The Simpsons could have predicted.'
As fans eagerly anticipate this unique collaboration, let's take a look at some of the most eerie predictions from The Simpsons that have come true over the years, from AI robots' takeover to Donald Trump running for U.S. presidency... twice.
In 1996, an episode of The Simpsons featured a joke where Cypress Hill believed they had mistakenly booked the London Symphony Orchestra whilst under the influence
Fast forward to tonight, and that joke becomes a reality at the Royal Albert Hall, where fans can watch the California collective play songs from their 90s album Black Sunday
1. Donald Trump running for U.S. presidency and 2024 campaign
Perhaps one of the most famous predictions was in the show's 2000 episode "Bart to the Future."
Lisa Simpson becomes President of the United States and references the presidency of Donald Trump.
Sixteen years later, Trump was elected as the 45th President of the United States, making this one of the most famous predictions from the show, and now speculation mounts about Trump's current 2024 run.
In the same episode, Homer Simpson can be seen flying past a billboard in the background, which reads: "Trump 2024." It may be purely coincidence - but this occurred before Trump was ever president.
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Perhaps one of the most famous predictions was in the show's 2000 episode "Bart to the Future"
2. AI robots' takeover
In the 2012 episode of season 23, titled "Them, Robot," Homer loses his job at the nuclear plant after his employer Mr. Burns replaces all members of staff with robots.
Read More Simpsons fans are stunned as show KILLS OFF a long-running character
Over two decades on, the world has seen a rapid development of artificial intelligence, resulting in robots serving as waiters in Japan along with self-driving Tesla cars.
3. Ebola outbreak
In a scene from the 1997 episode, "Lisa's Sax," Marge Simpson can be seen holding a book titled "Curious George and the Ebola Virus."
Although Ebola was first discovered in 1976, Ebola had its largest outbreak on record in 2014 and 2015, which resulted in over 11,000 deaths across the globe.
4. Smartwatches
In the episode "Lisa's Wedding," which aired in 1995, characters are seen using watch-like devices to communicate.
This prediction came true with the advent of smartwatches like the Apple Watch and other wearable tech.
5. The FIFA corruption scandal
In the 2014 episode, "You Don't Have to Live Like a Referee," Homer becomes a referee at the World Cup and exposes corruption within the soccer organisation.
A year after the episode aired, a real-life scandal erupted involving top FIFA officials being indicted for corruption and bribery.
In the 2014 episode, "You Don't Have to Live Like a Referee," Homer becomes a referee at the World Cup and exposes corruption within the soccer organisation
A year after the episode aired, a real-life scandal erupted involving top FIFA officials - including Alejandro Burzaco (centre) - being indicted for corruption and bribery
6. Disney buying 20th Century Fox
In "When You Dish Upon a Star," which was aired in 1998, a sign reading "20th Century Fox, a Division of Walt Disney Co." appears.
Just under a decade later, in 2017, Disney announced its acquisition of 21st Century Fox in a $52.4 billion deal, bringing the eerie prediction to fruition.
7. Lady Gaga's Super Bowl performance
In the 2012 episode, "Lisa Goes Gaga," the Bad Romance singer performs a concert that involved being suspended in the air.
During the Super Bowl LI halftime show in 2017, Lady Gaga made a grand entrance: descending from the stadium roof trapeze-style while singing, mirroring her performance in the animated series.
In the 2012 episode, "Lisa Goes Gaga," the Bad Romance singer performs a concert that involved being suspended in the air
During the Super Bowl LI halftime show in 2017, Lady Gaga made a grand entrance : descending from the stadium roof trapeze-style while singing (stock image)
7. Faulty voting machines in the U.S. election
In the "Treehouse of Horror XIX" episode, aired in 2008, Homer attempts to vote for Barack Obama, but the voting machine repeatedly registers his vote for John McCain.
In the 2012 United States presidential election, there were reports of ballot machines flipping votes from Obama to Mitt Romney in the state of Pennsylvania, which resulted in a machine being removed from voting booths.
In the "Treehouse of Horror XIX" episode, aired in 2008, Homer attempts to vote for Barack Obama, but the voting machine repeatedly registers his vote for John McCain
In the 2012 United States presidential election, there were reports of ballot machines flipping votes from Obama (pictured, left) to Mitt Romney (right) in the state of Pennsylvania
8. Nobel Prize winner
In the 2010 episode "The Simpsons," Milhouse predicts that Bengt. R. Holmström will win the Nobel Peace Prize in Economics.
In 2016, Holmström, alongside fellow economist Oliver Hart, won the prestigious award for their work on improving the design of contracts and the deals that bind together employers and their workers, according to The New York Times.
9. Siegfried & Roy tiger attack
In the episode "$pringfield," which was aired in 1993, a white tiger attacks a pair of fictional magicians named Gunter and Ernst.
In 2003, Roy Horn of the famous duo Siegfried & Roy was left partially paralysed and confined to a wheelchair after being attacked by Montecore, a 400-pound white Bengal tiger, during a live performance.
The legendary magician later died aged 75 of complications from the coronavirus in a Las Vegas hospital in 2020.
In the episode "$pringfield," which was aired in 1993, a white tiger attacks a pair of fictional magicians named Gunter and Ernst
Roy Horn of Siegfried and Roy, died after testing positive for COVID-19. He is pictured above performing with a white tiger during the duo's 15,000th live show in 1996
10. Video calling
In the 1995 episode, "Lisa's Wedding," characters use video phones to communicate.
This prediction became reality with the widespread adoption of video calling services such as Skype, FaceTime, and Zoom.
11. Greece's economic crisis
In the episode "Politically Inept, with Homer Simpson," aired in 2012, a ticker on a news show reads "Europe puts Greece on eBay."
Just a few years later, Greece experienced a severe economic crisis that led to austerity measures and bailouts.
12. Richard Branson's space race
Images of Sir Richard Branson enjoying a spaceflight went viral in 2021 after the businessman, 73, launched himself towards the stars, in a bizarre case of real life imitating art.
The entrepreneur successfully earned his astronaut wings after travelling to the edge of space on board a Virgin Galactic flight, making him the first spaceflight founder to travel to space on his own ship.
Video of the magnate was beamed back to earth as he experienced weightlessness and floated around the cabin of the vessel.
The footage was strangely similar to a scene in a 2014 episode of The Simpsons called The War of Art, from the show's 25th series.
Images of Sir Richard Branson enjoying a spaceflight went viral in 2021 after the businessman, 73, launched himself towards the stars, in a bizarre case of real life imitating art
Sir Richard Branson floats in zero gravity on board Virgin Galactic's passenger rocket plane VSS Unity after reaching the edge of space above Spaceport America
