As the year draws to a close, many of us start looking forward to the new year.
While we say goodbye (and good riddance) to what has been a tumultuous 2021, it seems only fitting to see what some of the prophets of the past envisioned for 2022.
The Brag scoured the internet for the best (and worst) predictions for 2022 and beyond, from some of the most famous soothsayers on the planet.
Baba Vanga
Vangeliya Pandeva Gushterova, aka Baba Vanga, was blinded in an accident as a child.
She was known as ‘the Nostradamus from the Balkans’, who accurately foretold the Chernobyl disaster, September 11, Princess Diana’s death and the 2004 tsunami.
Some of her predictions have been wrong – including her prophecy that the 45th President of the United States would be the last, and that World War III would begin in 2010.
According to Baba Vanga, though, another pandemic is on the way – and not another COVID-19 variant. This one will originate in Siberia, where a frozen virus will be released by climate change.
She also predicted a scarcity of drinking water in the coming year. Rising pollution in rivers will leave many cities facing water shortages, which will lead to political consequences as alternatives are found.
Baba also prophesied that an asteroid will be sent by aliens as part of an attack on Earth in 2022, and that people will spend so much time online it will become dangerous as they confuse screen time with reality.
And a little closer to home, Baba predicted a plague of locusts will attack Indian crops and cause famine, while several Asian countries – including Australia – will be hit by more earthquakes and floods.
Which isn’t out of the question when you consider the wild weather we’re expecting for New Year’s Eve.
Nostradamus
Nostradamus was known as the ‘Prophet of Doom’ and was a French plague doctor, astrologer and ‘seer’.
He published a book called Les Prophéties in 1555, and predicted the rise of Adolf Hitler, the death of Henry II, the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombs and the Kennedy assassination.
Nostradamus’ predictions leave a little room for interpretation, but there’s four main ones for 2022.
The first is, “So high the price of wheat/That man is stirred/His fellow man to eat in his despair.”
Cannibalism isn’t on the rise just yet, but the cost of living is – and given the reaction of people to toilet paper shortages in supermarkets earlier this year, anything could happen if food prices get too high.
“The moon in the full of night over the high mountain/The new sage with a lone brain sees it/By his disciples invited to be immortal/Eyes to the south. Hands in bosoms, bodies in the fire.”
This seems to be alluding to the advancement of AI technology, though it could be related to Elon Musk and his space-invading missions.
“The copies of gold and silver inflated/Which after the theft were thrown into the lake/At the discovery that all is exhausted and dissipated by the debt/All scripts and bonds will be wiped out,” just seems to point to cryptocurrency.
Although, with inflation going the way it is, the US dollar is expected to collapse soon.
Nostradamus also foretold of droughts and floods, though not specifically contained to 2022: “For forty years the rainbow will not be seen/For 40 years it will be seen every day/The dry earth will grow more parched/And there will be great floods when it is seen.”
Old Moore’s Almanac
Old Moore’s Almanac is a magazine that has been published annually for the past 258 years.
Founded by mathematician and teacher Theophilus Moore – known as the ‘Irish Merlin’ – some of Old Moore’s correct predictions have included Brangelina’s divorce, Kanye’s mental health decline, Prince Harry’s wedding, Elizabeth Taylor’s death and Brexit.
Old Moore’s has also predicted a second pandemic for 2022 – also unrelated to COVID-19.
It also says terrorism will return to Europe, and there will be news about missing Malaysian Airlines flight MH370.
There’s also baby news for Rebel Wilson, and marriage issues for Meghan and Harry, according to their predictions for 2022.
The magazine also predicts vaccine passports will become “a way of life” and those who don’t want to get jabbed will form whole towns based on their own values.
Vaccine safety concerns and “big pharma scandals” will continue well into the new year, and greetings like kissing and shaking hands will disappear completely, never to return.
The Simpsons
It’s no secret by now that Simpsons creator Matt Groening is obviously a time traveller – how else would so many of the show’s ‘predictions’ have come true?
From Donald Trump as President (season 11, which aired in 2000), FaceTime and video calls (back in 1995), Coronavirus and murder hornets (although they were killer bees) in a 1993 episode, to Lady Gaga’s half-time performance at the Super Bowl five years before it actually happened – The Simpsons know what’s up.
Among their predictions that are yet to happen – but aren’t outside the realm of impossible:
Robots taking over – The Simpsons visited an amusement park where every ride was manned by AI. The robots lost control and ended up going on a killing rampage.
Even scientists were creeped out by this humanoid robot’s reaction to someone getting in it’s personal space last week:
Ivanka Trump running for President – The Simpsons have made a few references to Ivanka running for the White House either before or after her father, Donald Trump. Ivanka IRL is eligible to run for the Presidency.
Colonising Mars – Lisa signs up for a one-way trip to Mars, which upsets Marge so much the whole family ends up going, in 2026.
Elon Musk and his SpaceX team are “highly confident” they will land humans on Mars by… 2026.
Virtual reality food – When The Simpsons time-travelled to the year 2030, Homer and Marge tried some “virtual fudge” with the help of VR glasses and feeding tubes.
Cornell University food scientists have found that virtual reality makes food taste better; whereas Royal Caribbean has been trying to develop the technology to serve their customers a virtual reality dining experience.
