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* TheWoobie: Ryan and Rebecca Lewis from [[https://www.theonion.com/daddy-put-in-bye-bye-box-1819569708 "Daddy Put In Bye-Bye Box"]]: When they’re 5 and 3, their father dies from what is implied to be stomach cancer-and the kids ''have no idea'' or even that he was sick at all. They think he’s sleeping like Snow White and will run back home to read their bedtime story. Even worse, their dad isn’t the only death in the family: their cat Muffin, their grandmother Sarah and their uncle Brian are all dead. For such young ages, they’ve seen a ''lot'' of death. The article ends with their mother about to tell them the truth.
** Jean Teasdale. While she is oblivious, naive, refuses to take responsibility for her actions and not very smart, there’s no doubt her life ''sucks'': She grew up in a DysfunctionalFamily that broke apart when her father cheated, she was bullied and sexually assaulted at school, she barely graduated, her husband Rick is a {{Jerkass}} who only married her because her parents caught them having sex and treats her badly, she desperately wants kids but Rick hates kids (and it’s implied that she only sees the fun parts of parenthood), she’s never left her crappy suburban hometown, she can’t keep a job and the column is pretty much the one thing she has. What’s more, she is aware of how bad her life is but is actively trying to repress her emotions about leaving and starting over. Ouch.
** Joan from [[https://www.theonion.com/new-mommy-a-lot-prettier-1819565481 "New Mommy A Lot Prettier"]]. Not only does her husband cheat on her with a younger woman, kick her out of their house and not help her financially, he and his new partner are also turning her children against her with treats, toys and lack of discipline. When we see her, she’s obviously stressed and depressed, frequently breaking down in tears as her kids complain about her making them do chores.
** Jean Teasdale. While she is oblivious, naive, refuses to take responsibility for her actions and not very smart, there’s no doubt her life ''sucks'': She grew up in a DysfunctionalFamily that broke apart when her father cheated, she was bullied and sexually assaulted at school, she barely graduated, her husband Rick is a {{Jerkass}} who only married her because her parents caught them having sex and treats her badly, she desperately wants kids but Rick hates kids (and it’s implied that she only sees the fun parts of parenthood), she’s never left her crappy suburban hometown, she can’t keep a job and the column is pretty much the one thing she has. What’s more, she is aware of how bad her life is but is actively trying to repress her emotions about leaving and starting over. Ouch.
** Joan from [[https://www.theonion.com/new-mommy-a-lot-prettier-1819565481 "New Mommy A Lot Prettier"]]. Not only does her husband cheat on her with a younger woman, kick her out of their house and not help her financially, he and his new partner are also turning her children against her with treats, toys and lack of discipline. When we see her, she’s obviously stressed and depressed, frequently breaking down in tears as her kids complain about her making them do chores.
to:
* TheWoobie: TheWoobie:
** Ryan and Rebecca Lewis from [[https://www.theonion.com/daddy-put-in-bye-bye-box-1819569708 "Daddy Put In Bye-Bye Box"]]: Whenthey’re they're 5 and 3, their father dies from what is implied to be stomach cancer-and the kids ''have no idea'' or even that he was sick at all. They think he’s he's sleeping like Snow White and will run back home to read their bedtime story. Even worse, their dad isn’t isn't the only death in the family: their cat Muffin, their grandmother Sarah and their uncle Brian are all dead. For such young ages, they’ve they've seen a ''lot'' of death. The article ends with their mother about to tell them the truth.
** Jean Teasdale. While she is oblivious, naive, refuses to take responsibility for heractions actions, and not very smart, there’s there's no doubt her life ''sucks'': She grew up in a DysfunctionalFamily that broke apart when her father cheated, she was bullied and sexually assaulted at school, she barely graduated, her husband Rick is a {{Jerkass}} who [[ShotgunWedding only married her because her parents caught them having sex sex]] and treats her badly, she desperately wants kids but Rick hates kids (and it’s it's implied that she only sees the fun parts of parenthood), she’s she's never left her crappy suburban hometown, she can’t can't keep a job job, and the column is pretty much the one thing she has. What’s What's more, she is aware of how bad her life is but is actively trying to repress her emotions about leaving and starting over. Ouch.
** Joan from [[https://www.theonion.com/new-mommy-a-lot-prettier-1819565481 "New Mommy A Lot Prettier"]]. Not only does her husband cheat on her with a younger woman, kick her out of their house and not help her financially, he and his new partner are also turning her children against her with treats, toys and lack of discipline. When we see her,she’s she's obviously stressed and depressed, frequently breaking down in tears as her kids complain about her making them do chores.
** Ryan and Rebecca Lewis from [[https://www.theonion.com/daddy-put-in-bye-bye-box-1819569708 "Daddy Put In Bye-Bye Box"]]: When
** Jean Teasdale. While she is oblivious, naive, refuses to take responsibility for her
** Joan from [[https://www.theonion.com/new-mommy-a-lot-prettier-1819565481 "New Mommy A Lot Prettier"]]. Not only does her husband cheat on her with a younger woman, kick her out of their house and not help her financially, he and his new partner are also turning her children against her with treats, toys and lack of discipline. When we see her,
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** In "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7mCktSlyETw Animator Misses The Birth Of His Child So Mr. Incredible Could Have Consistently Sized Penis Bulge]]", is Jamie Klein the victim of long working hours at Pixar, or is he a {{workaholic}} who got so engrossed in his work that he neglected his wife and son? Would Pixar have let him go to see his wife while she was in labor if he'd asked?
to:
** In "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7mCktSlyETw Animator Misses The Birth Of His Child So Mr. Incredible Could Have Consistently Sized Penis Bulge]]", is Jamie Klein the victim of long working hours at Pixar, or is he a {{workaholic}} who got so engrossed in his work that he neglected his wife and newborn son? Would Pixar have let him go to see his wife while she was in labor if he'd asked?
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Shortening it a little bit.
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** "[[https://youtu.be/I2OObOM3R_U?si=gnbIsF8Hb-eWUL9Q Child Bankrupts Make-A-Wish Foundation]]": [[SpoiledBrat Chad Carter]] is an 8-year-old with leukemia who, after [[LoopholeAbuse finding a loophole]] on the Make-A-Wish Foundation charter, decided [[WishingForMoreWishes to wish for unlimited wishes]]. Now gaining whatever he wants, Chad's wishes are costing the foundation 5 times its annual budget, with him being uncaring that it could lead to it filing for bankruptcy. When interviewed, president of the foundation Dean Feinglass answered that when Chad found out they had a legal team, he just wished them away, and that he made one of his first wishes to have the best oncology care possible from the foundation to continue wishing as long as possible.
to:
** "[[https://youtu.be/I2OObOM3R_U?si=gnbIsF8Hb-eWUL9Q Child Bankrupts Make-A-Wish Foundation]]": [[SpoiledBrat Chad Carter]] is an 8-year-old with leukemia who, after [[LoopholeAbuse finding a loophole]] on the Make-A-Wish Foundation charter, decided [[WishingForMoreWishes to wish for unlimited wishes]]. Now gaining whatever he wants, Chad's wishes are costing the foundation 5 times its annual budget, with him being uncaring that it could lead to it filing for bankruptcy. When interviewed, president of the foundation Dean Feinglass answered that when Chad found out they had a legal team, he just wished them away, and that he made one of his first wishes wished to have the best oncology care possible from the foundation them to continue wishing as long as possible.
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!!YMMV Tropes with their own pages
[[index]]
* [[HarsherInHindsight/TheOnion Harsher in Hindsight]]
* [[HilariousInHindsight/TheOnion Hilarious in Hindsight]]
[[/index]]
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* HarsherInHindsight: [[HarsherInHindsight/TheOnion Has its own page]].
* HilariousInHindsight: [[HilariousInHindsight/TheOnion Has its own page]].
* HilariousInHindsight: [[HilariousInHindsight/TheOnion Has its own page]].
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Both should get their own page by this point.
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* HarsherInHindsight: The site seems to have a depressing ability to predict the future:
** [[http://www.theonion.com/articles/bush-our-long-national-nightmare-of-peace-and-pros,464/ "Bush: 'Our Long National Nightmare Of Peace And Prosperity Is Finally Over'"]]. Written days before George W. Bush's inauguration, the article has Bush promising to start at least one major war and cause a recession during his presidency.
** [[http://www.theonion.com/articles/pope-forgives-molested-children,101/ "Pope Forgives Molested Children"]]. Compare some of the phrases in the article to what real-life priests [[http://religion.blogs.cnn.com/2012/08/31/priest-apologizes-after-sex-abuse-comments-draw-ire/ actually]][[http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/10/08/polish-archbishop-jozef-michalik-sex-abuse-comments-_n_4065751.html said]].
** [[http://www.theonion.com/articles/millions-of-americans-buying-floyd-landisinspired,9779/ "Millions Of Americans Wearing Floyd Landis-Inspired Bracelets"]]. At the time, this was a parody of Lance Armstrong's [=LIVESTRONG=] bracelets making fun of then-Tour de France winner Floyd Landis, who was almost immediately found guilty of doping. However, a few years later, Armstrong himself would admit to doping during each one of his Tour de France wins as well. The Onion [[TheMerch Store]] now sells yellow plastic bracelets with "CHEAT TO WIN" on them.
** [[http://www.theonion.com/articles/kim-jongun-privately-doubting-hes-crazy-enough-to,18374/ "Kim Jong-un Privately Doubting He's Crazy Enough to Run North Korea"]]. With recent events and threats coming from the top of the Korean peninsula, any doubts people might have had about Kim Jong-un may have been erased...
** [[http://www.theonion.com/articles/ive-got-you-dumb-motherfuckers-eating-right-out-of,19014/ "I've Got You Dumb Motherfuckers Eating Right Out of My Hand"]] is basically Creator/{{Pixar}} [=CEO=] Creator/JohnLasseter bragging that his movies bring in a ton of money and are pretty much critically beloved. Later that year, ''WesternAnimation/{{Cars 2}}'' came out and was the first movie in the Pixar library to get critically savaged. Its follow-ups, ''WesternAnimation/{{Brave}}'' and ''WesternAnimation/MonstersUniversity'', were better-received, but didn't receive anywhere near the acclaim of their earlier work. Pixar's reputation has never recovered since (with the ''possible'' exceptions of ''WesternAnimation/InsideOut'' and ''WesternAnimation/{{Coco}}''), and the article became downright prophetic in light of Lasseter's sexual harassment allegations revealed during the #[=MeToo=] movement of 2017.
** [[http://www.theonion.com/articles/new-liver-complains-of-difficulty-working-with-lou,32669/ "New Liver Complains of Difficulty Working With Lou Reed"]]. Music/LouReed died of complications of his liver transplant.
** [[http://www.theonion.com/content/news/wealthy_teen_nearly_experiences "Wealthy Teen Nearly Experiences Consequence"]] is about an article where a wealthy teen driving intoxicated gets into a wreck when his car collides with a minivan carrying a family of four. The "affluenza" story around [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethan_Couch Ethan Couch]] may change your perspective.
** [[http://www.theonion.com/articles/chris-farley-has-hilarious-cardiac-arrest,4300/ "Chris Farley Has Hilarious Cardiac Arrest"]], published on November 1997, even calls Farley "the next Belushi". Two months later, Chris Farley died of a drug overdose at the age of 33, just like Creator/JohnBelushi.
** [[http://www.theonion.com/video/college-basketball-star-heroically-overcomes-tragi-19097 "College Basketball Star Heroically Overcomes Tragic Rape He Committed"]], after the Brock Turner case. Turner received a light sentence largely because he was a star swimmer for Stanford University. Fortunately, USA Swimming has banned Turner for life.
** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rc3jMoFJrBQ "Justin Bieber Found To Be Cleverly Disguised 51-Year-Old Pedophile"]], recorded in 2010, portrayed Music/JustinBieber as exploiting his TeenIdol status to molest his adolescent female fans. In 2017, Austin Jones, another Website/YouTube singing sensation with a fanbase composed primarily of tween and teen girls, was found to be exploiting his stardom to get underage fans to make sexually explicit videos for him.
** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lmCjJ0VBjjU "Pop Star's Single, 'Booty Wave', Most Likely Civilization's Downfall"]], a parody of the vapid, raunchy pop music of 2011, has one line that becomes a lot more disturbing nowadays. At one point, the female co-host, who cannot stand the pop star K'ronikka and is barely concealing her contempt, remarks to her that [[StepfordSmiler "there's no light in your eyes"]]. K'ronikka is a thinly-veiled parody of Music/{{Kesha}}, who it turned out was being sexually exploited by her producer, Dr. Luke, eventually driving her to a bout with bulimia and a long battle to get out of her contract that, together, [[CreatorKiller derailed her career]] for half a decade. In other words, her party-hard image was masking a great deal of sadness and heartbreak.
** [[https://politics.theonion.com/ken-jennings-mistaken-for-subways-jared-again-1819567742 "Ken Jennings Mistaken for Subway's Jared Again"]]. Subway broke ties with Jared Fogle after the latter was outed as a pedophile and jailed in 2015.
** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_5yR--35uqA "Today Now! Host Undergoes Horrifically Painful Surgery Live On Air"]] sees Jim Haggerty needing to undergo a procedure to get rid of his kidney stones. Three years after the video was released, the actor who played him [[http://www.bradholbrook.com ended up getting a kidney stone himself]].
** "[[https://www.theonion.com/18-year-old-fighting-in-afghanistan-has-9-11-explained-1819573874 18-Year-Old Fighting In Afghanistan Has 9/11 Explained To him By Older Soldier]]" is already harsh enough by itself, but it became even more so after Time published an article featuring a soldier who ''hadn't even been born yet'' when the terrorist attacks occurred. He and a lot of other young soldiers are much like [=McCombs=] in how they're fighting a war that sparked from an event that they're too young to remember.
** From their Youtube: [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=repxFQXVsHc "Hostages Trapped Inside Walmart Insisting They Never Shop At Walmart"]] Considering the August 3rd 2019 [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2019_El_Paso_shooting El Paso Wal-Mart Shooting which had 23 people injured and 23 dead.]] It can be unsettling
** [[https://www.theonion.com/u-s-quietly-slips-out-of-afghanistan-in-dead-of-night-1819572778 "U.S. Quietly Slips Out Of Afghanistan In Dead Of Night"]] which came out in ''2011'', stated that US troops left Afghanistan in the middle of the night. 10 years later, not only the pull out happened for real in 2021, it was noted to have [[https://apnews.com/article/bagram-afghanistan-airfield-us-troops-f3614828364f567593251aaaa167e623 happened in the middle of the night in local time]] as well.
** [[https://www.theonion.com/this-war-will-destabilize-the-entire-mideast-region-and-1819594296 "This War Will Destabilize The Entire Mideast Region And Set Off A Global Shockwave Of Anti-Americanism vs. No It Won’t."]] Published in 2003 on the eve of the Iraq War, today it barely even reads as satire, just an accurate prediction of what that war would unleash.
** [[https://www.theonion.com/critically-acclaimed-ted-lasso-episode-just-stock-pho-1847547843 "Critically Acclaimed ‘Ted Lasso’ Episode Just Stock Photos Of People Hugging Each Other"]]. Published early during Season 2 of the hit series ''Series/TedLasso'' as a way to mock the show for being too saccharine and lacking conflict. Within a few episodes of the article's publication, the show took a ''hard'' turn into drama, with storylines revolving around mental health, abusive parents, death, and more. To say the article aged badly is an understatement.
** The [[https://www.theonion.com/ugly-girl-killed-1819564191 "Ugly Girl Killed"]] article from 1997 that was written as an subversion to the MissingWhiteWomanSyndrome and also highlights BeautyEqualsGoodness[[note]]and was inspired by the murder of [=JonBenet=] Ramsey[[/note]] is reminiscent with the disproportionate coverage of the abductions/murders of schoolgirls [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murder_of_Hannah_Williams Hannah Williams,]] [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murder_of_Danielle_Jones Danielle Jones]] and [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murder_of_Milly_Dowler Milly Dowler.]] This was due to the former girl being a habitual runaway and coming from a lower-class, single mom home versus the latter girls having more traditional and comfortable upbringings.
** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OHVvVmUNBFc "Beyonce Unhurt After Stray Bullet Hits Passerby"]] shows the media being more focused on the bruise [[Music/{{Beyonce}} the celebrity]] got from the titular passerby who fell on her ''after taking a bullet meant for her'', a crack at how celebrities take up attention that they don't deserve. The passerby was even portrayed by a rectangle instead of a human model. In early 2021, when Music/LadyGaga's dogs were taken while their walker is shot, the ''former'' got more coverage.
** [[https://www.theonion.com/mother-teresa-sent-to-hell-in-wacky-afterlife-mix-up-1819564421 "Mother Teresa Sent to Hell in Wacky Afterlife Mixup"]] becomes a lot harsher after [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Criticism_of_Mother_Teresa some of Teresa's poor treatment]] of the people she allegedly "helped" came to light, as if her destination wasn't an accident after all.
** The [[https://youtu.be/mPjsoYfTxj4 "Reporter Goes Undercover In Chinatown By Wearing Silk Robe"]], which shows a RefugeInAudacity segment of a White reporter mocking bigotry and other cultural appropriations in the media, became downright uncomfortable five years later when Fox News reporter Jesse Watters [[https://youtu.be/PJmnLzw8NA4 embarked on a similar news segment]] which included the exact things The Onion had lampshaded.
** [[https://www.theonion.com/celebrities-explain-how-they-are-helping-ukraine-1848695261 "Celebrities Explain How They Are Helping Ukraine"]]'s first joke is Creator/BruceWillis saying he spends an hour everyday trying to find Ukraine on a globe. He was later diagnosed with dementia.
* HilariousInHindsight: The recurring tendency for this to happen has caused people to joke that The Onion can predict the future:
** [[http://www.theonion.com/articles/fuck-everything-were-doing-five-blades,11056/ "Fuck Everything, We're Doing Five Blades"]]. The Gillette Fusion would be released 2 years later in 2006.
** [[http://www.theonion.com/articles/lady-gaga-kidnaps-commissioner-gordon,17789/ "Lady Gaga Kidnaps Commissioner Gordon"]]. In ''Franchise/{{Batman}} Incorporated: Leviathan Strikes!'' released in 2011, Batgirl infiltrates a school that brainwashes teenage girls into assassins run by Expys of {{Music/Madonna}}, {{Music/Rihanna}}, Music/KatyPerry... and Music/LadyGaga.
*** When the creators of ''WesternAnimation/BewareTheBatman'' updated the design of a minor villain called Magpie, guess who they made her look like?
*** Lady Gaga will play ComicBook/HarleyQuinn in the second ''Joker'' movie.
** The April 8, 1998 issue had the headline: "Cubs Eliminated From Playoff Contention." The Cubs went on to make the playoffs that year.
** [[http://www.theonion.com/articles/michael-moore-honored-with-new-ben-jerrys-flavor,1292/ "Michael Moore Honored With New Ben & Jerry's Flavor"]] mocks that company's liberal leanings by saying they have invented a new flavor named after Creator/MichaelMoore called "The Waffle Truth" that had vanilla ice cream with chocolate-covered waffle cone pieces. Two years later, Ben & Jerry's did come out with a new flavor named for liberal (faux-conservative) icon Creator/StephenColbert called "Stephen Colbert's Americone Dream", which has... vanilla ice cream with chocolate-covered waffle cone pieces.
** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3TrPwOrf4sM "Historic 'Blockbuster' Store Offers Glimpse Of How Movies Were Rented In The Past"]], due to both the 2013 announcement of Blockbuster shutting down their physical stores as a result of the popularity of Netflix and internet downloads, and the Bend, Oregon location becoming a tourist attraction due to being the final Blockbuster shop that is still running. The video was widely cited in actual news reports of Blockbuster's demise. Another business that had a historical museum was Borders, which also folded not long after the video was made.
** With the legalization of marijuana in Colorado and Washington state, it looks like the drugs ''are'' actually winning the drug war (that was a headline from ''Our Dumb Century'').
** [[http://www.theonion.com/articles/song-about-heroin-used-to-advertise-bank,1489/ "Song About Heroin Used to Advertise Bank"]] ran in 2001. In 2005, Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines began using "Lust For Life" by Music/IggyPop, the very song mentioned in that article, for an ad campaign that ran for the rest of the decade. Then, in 2010, AT&T used Music/LouReed's song "Perfect Day", which is also commonly believed to reference heroin addiction, in a commercial.
** [[http://www.theonion.com/articles/moon-finally-hatches,36414/?utm_source=Facebook&utm_medium=SocialMarketing&utm_campaign=LinkPreview:NA:InFocus "Moon Finally Hatches"]] gained an extra level of funny when a few months later a ''Series/DoctorWho'' episode aired in which [[Recap/DoctorWhoS34E7KillTheMoon the same thing happened.]]
** [[http://www.theonion.com/video/onn-exclusive-fire-ninja-inferno-becomes-first-ope-37313 "Fire-Ninja Inferno Becomes First Openly Gay Fatal Melee Fighter"]], a spoof of ''Franchise/MortalKombat'', becomes this when ''VideoGame/MortalKombatX'' unveiled the first gay character of the series.
** [[http://www.theonion.com/article/guy-at-bar-complaining-about-his-job-turns-out-to--5842 "Guy At Bar Complaining About His Job Turns Out To Be Eli Manning"]]. Published in 2007, Manning was at the time still under a tremendous amount of scorn having just played an atrocious game against the Green Bay Packers to drop the New York Giants to 0-2. Manning rebounded to make the playoffs, defeat the Packers in the NFC Championship Game, and [[DefeatingTheUndefeatable win the Super Bowl against the undefeated New England Patriots]] in one of the greatest upsets in NFL history with one of the most memorable plays in sports.
** [[http://www.theonion.com/article/lapd-discovers-hidden-deformed-olsen-triplet-576 "LAPD Discovers Hidden Deformed Olsen Triplet"]], came out in 2003, long before Creator/ElizabethOlsen became much more famous than her older sisters. WebVideo/HonestTrailers even called her "The Olsen Triplet" in their video for ''Film/Godzilla2014''.
** [[http://www.theonion.com/articles/mother-teresa-sent-to-hell-in-wacky-afterlife-mixu,973/ "Mother Teresa Sent To Hell In Wacky Afterlife Mix-Up"]] is a little funnier after the inverse became the plot of the sitcom ''Series/TheGoodPlace''.
** Back in 2015, The Onion had an article where a [[https://www.theonion.com/so-help-me-god-i-m-going-to-eat-one-of-those-multicolo-1819585017 small child insists he'll eat one of the multi-colored detergent pods]]. Come December 2017, the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tide_Pod_challenge Tide Pod Challenge]] is now a thing. A few months prior, they did a story about sour apple flavored Tide Pods
** [[https://entertainment.theonion.com/entertainment-scientists-warn-miley-cyrus-will-be-deple-1819594712 "Miley Cyrus will be depleted by 2013"]]. When 2013 rolled around, Cyrus hit a full-on CareerResurrection with the release of "Wrecking Ball".
** [[https://www.theonion.com/residents-of-indiana-join-together-to-form-collective-c-1819573362 "Residents Of Indiana Join Together To Form Collective Consciousness"]] inadvertently predicted a major plot point from season three of ''Series/StrangerThings'', [[spoiler:in which the [[EldritchAbomination Mind Flayer]] creates a HiveMind in a small town in Indiana. This one only manages to encompass thirty people rather than the entire state, but it more than makes up for it with the BodyHorror that it subjects those thirty people to.]]
** [[https://entertainment.theonion.com/report-south-korea-developing-new-pop-group-capable-of-1819580135 "South Korea Developing New Pop Group Capable Of Reaching U.S."]], published in 2017. Around 1 year later, K-Pop became massively popular in the United States.
** [[https://local.theonion.com/man-just-buying-one-of-every-cleaning-product-in-case-t-1842493766 "Man Just Buying One Of Every Cleaning Product In Case Trump Announces It's Coronavirus Cure"]], published on 25 March 2020. [[https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-52407177 One month later...]]
** The 9/11 issue had an article titled "President Urges Calm, Restraint Among Nation's Ballad Singers" which warned musicians like Music/MariahCarey and Music/MichaelJackson not to record any "mawkish, insipid all-star tribute ballads." In October 2001, Carey and Jackson were among the biggest names in the televised benefit concert ''United We Stand: What More Can I Give,'' which suffered massive technical problems and performances that were widely criticized as uninspired.
** The 2011 ''Onion News Network'' video [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iIY5b1JMvGs "Today Now! Interviews The 5-Year-Old Screenwriter Of]] ''Film/FastFive''" becomes even funnier when ''[[Film/TheFastAndTheFurious F9: The Fast Saga]]'' director Justin Lin revealed that one of that film's wildest set pieces involving magnetized cars [[https://www.syfy.com/syfywire/f9-magnet-plane-justin-lin-son was an idea from his 9 year old son.]]
** 2019's "[[https://www.theonion.com/bugs-bunny-explains-how-lebron-helped-him-get-sober-for-1834816124 Bugs Bunny Explains How LeBron Helped Him Get Sober For Role In ‘Space Jam’ Sequel]]" is a bit funnier after the actual ''Film/SpaceJamANewLegacy'' has a sequence where Bugs [[DrowningMySorrows drowns his sorrows]] in [[DrunkOnMilk carrot juice]] as [=LeBron=] helps him find his resolve again.
** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q_OIXfkXEj0 '9/11 Conspiracy Theories Ridiculous' - Al Qaeda]] has the news network correspond with an actual Al Qaeda member because the latter were not amused with 9/11 not being credited to them while being appalled at how ridiculous the theories were. When the 2021 Afghanistan pull-out happened, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GaHz3nFvFZg BBC had an actual interview with a Taliban spokesman]].
*** And a decade before that, al-Qaeda [[https://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/al-qaeda-iran-ahmadinejad-stop-spreading-911-conspiracy/story?id=14620643 actually went after Iran]] for spreading 9/11 conspiracy theories!
** From 2020, [[https://www.theonion.com/paleontologists-unearth-rare-mint-condition-triceratop-1845439323 Paleontologists Unearth Rare Mint Condition Triceratops Skull In Goodwill Bin.]] In 2022, [[https://www.cnn.com/2022/05/07/us/ancient-roman-statue-bought-texas-goodwill-trnd/index.html a statue a woman in Texas bought at a Goodwill]] really did turn out to be an Ancient Roman artifact!
** [[https://www.theonion.com/literally-no-one-calls-me-that-or-has-ever-called-me-t-1819592848 ‘Literally Nobody Calls Me That Or Has Ever Called Me That’: Our Interview With Ol’ Musky]] is funnier now because after it got popular, some people really do call Elon Musk that.
** Not only did [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yuTkgi7scKo ‘Ultra-Realistic Modern Warfare Game Features Awaiting Orders, Repairing Trucks’]] become this with the release of {{VideoGame/Call Of Duty Modern Warfare 3}}, the game that was supposedly the subject of the article, but it also predicts the rise of {{Simulation Game}}s, which often centre around banal tasks like the very driving and repairing mentioned in the video.
* JerkassWoobie: Russ Kunkel in "[[http://www.theonion.com/article/loved-ones-recall-local-mans-cowardly-battle-with--772 Loved Ones Recall Man's Cowardly Battle With Cancer]]". Diagnosed with terminal cancer, he's completely unable to FaceDeathWithDignity, which shows how pathetic he is, but also makes his story even sadder.
** [[http://www.theonion.com/articles/bush-our-long-national-nightmare-of-peace-and-pros,464/ "Bush: 'Our Long National Nightmare Of Peace And Prosperity Is Finally Over'"]]. Written days before George W. Bush's inauguration, the article has Bush promising to start at least one major war and cause a recession during his presidency.
** [[http://www.theonion.com/articles/pope-forgives-molested-children,101/ "Pope Forgives Molested Children"]]. Compare some of the phrases in the article to what real-life priests [[http://religion.blogs.cnn.com/2012/08/31/priest-apologizes-after-sex-abuse-comments-draw-ire/ actually]][[http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/10/08/polish-archbishop-jozef-michalik-sex-abuse-comments-_n_4065751.html said]].
** [[http://www.theonion.com/articles/millions-of-americans-buying-floyd-landisinspired,9779/ "Millions Of Americans Wearing Floyd Landis-Inspired Bracelets"]]. At the time, this was a parody of Lance Armstrong's [=LIVESTRONG=] bracelets making fun of then-Tour de France winner Floyd Landis, who was almost immediately found guilty of doping. However, a few years later, Armstrong himself would admit to doping during each one of his Tour de France wins as well. The Onion [[TheMerch Store]] now sells yellow plastic bracelets with "CHEAT TO WIN" on them.
** [[http://www.theonion.com/articles/kim-jongun-privately-doubting-hes-crazy-enough-to,18374/ "Kim Jong-un Privately Doubting He's Crazy Enough to Run North Korea"]]. With recent events and threats coming from the top of the Korean peninsula, any doubts people might have had about Kim Jong-un may have been erased...
** [[http://www.theonion.com/articles/ive-got-you-dumb-motherfuckers-eating-right-out-of,19014/ "I've Got You Dumb Motherfuckers Eating Right Out of My Hand"]] is basically Creator/{{Pixar}} [=CEO=] Creator/JohnLasseter bragging that his movies bring in a ton of money and are pretty much critically beloved. Later that year, ''WesternAnimation/{{Cars 2}}'' came out and was the first movie in the Pixar library to get critically savaged. Its follow-ups, ''WesternAnimation/{{Brave}}'' and ''WesternAnimation/MonstersUniversity'', were better-received, but didn't receive anywhere near the acclaim of their earlier work. Pixar's reputation has never recovered since (with the ''possible'' exceptions of ''WesternAnimation/InsideOut'' and ''WesternAnimation/{{Coco}}''), and the article became downright prophetic in light of Lasseter's sexual harassment allegations revealed during the #[=MeToo=] movement of 2017.
** [[http://www.theonion.com/articles/new-liver-complains-of-difficulty-working-with-lou,32669/ "New Liver Complains of Difficulty Working With Lou Reed"]]. Music/LouReed died of complications of his liver transplant.
** [[http://www.theonion.com/content/news/wealthy_teen_nearly_experiences "Wealthy Teen Nearly Experiences Consequence"]] is about an article where a wealthy teen driving intoxicated gets into a wreck when his car collides with a minivan carrying a family of four. The "affluenza" story around [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethan_Couch Ethan Couch]] may change your perspective.
** [[http://www.theonion.com/articles/chris-farley-has-hilarious-cardiac-arrest,4300/ "Chris Farley Has Hilarious Cardiac Arrest"]], published on November 1997, even calls Farley "the next Belushi". Two months later, Chris Farley died of a drug overdose at the age of 33, just like Creator/JohnBelushi.
** [[http://www.theonion.com/video/college-basketball-star-heroically-overcomes-tragi-19097 "College Basketball Star Heroically Overcomes Tragic Rape He Committed"]], after the Brock Turner case. Turner received a light sentence largely because he was a star swimmer for Stanford University. Fortunately, USA Swimming has banned Turner for life.
** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rc3jMoFJrBQ "Justin Bieber Found To Be Cleverly Disguised 51-Year-Old Pedophile"]], recorded in 2010, portrayed Music/JustinBieber as exploiting his TeenIdol status to molest his adolescent female fans. In 2017, Austin Jones, another Website/YouTube singing sensation with a fanbase composed primarily of tween and teen girls, was found to be exploiting his stardom to get underage fans to make sexually explicit videos for him.
** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lmCjJ0VBjjU "Pop Star's Single, 'Booty Wave', Most Likely Civilization's Downfall"]], a parody of the vapid, raunchy pop music of 2011, has one line that becomes a lot more disturbing nowadays. At one point, the female co-host, who cannot stand the pop star K'ronikka and is barely concealing her contempt, remarks to her that [[StepfordSmiler "there's no light in your eyes"]]. K'ronikka is a thinly-veiled parody of Music/{{Kesha}}, who it turned out was being sexually exploited by her producer, Dr. Luke, eventually driving her to a bout with bulimia and a long battle to get out of her contract that, together, [[CreatorKiller derailed her career]] for half a decade. In other words, her party-hard image was masking a great deal of sadness and heartbreak.
** [[https://politics.theonion.com/ken-jennings-mistaken-for-subways-jared-again-1819567742 "Ken Jennings Mistaken for Subway's Jared Again"]]. Subway broke ties with Jared Fogle after the latter was outed as a pedophile and jailed in 2015.
** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_5yR--35uqA "Today Now! Host Undergoes Horrifically Painful Surgery Live On Air"]] sees Jim Haggerty needing to undergo a procedure to get rid of his kidney stones. Three years after the video was released, the actor who played him [[http://www.bradholbrook.com ended up getting a kidney stone himself]].
** "[[https://www.theonion.com/18-year-old-fighting-in-afghanistan-has-9-11-explained-1819573874 18-Year-Old Fighting In Afghanistan Has 9/11 Explained To him By Older Soldier]]" is already harsh enough by itself, but it became even more so after Time published an article featuring a soldier who ''hadn't even been born yet'' when the terrorist attacks occurred. He and a lot of other young soldiers are much like [=McCombs=] in how they're fighting a war that sparked from an event that they're too young to remember.
** From their Youtube: [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=repxFQXVsHc "Hostages Trapped Inside Walmart Insisting They Never Shop At Walmart"]] Considering the August 3rd 2019 [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2019_El_Paso_shooting El Paso Wal-Mart Shooting which had 23 people injured and 23 dead.]] It can be unsettling
** [[https://www.theonion.com/u-s-quietly-slips-out-of-afghanistan-in-dead-of-night-1819572778 "U.S. Quietly Slips Out Of Afghanistan In Dead Of Night"]] which came out in ''2011'', stated that US troops left Afghanistan in the middle of the night. 10 years later, not only the pull out happened for real in 2021, it was noted to have [[https://apnews.com/article/bagram-afghanistan-airfield-us-troops-f3614828364f567593251aaaa167e623 happened in the middle of the night in local time]] as well.
** [[https://www.theonion.com/this-war-will-destabilize-the-entire-mideast-region-and-1819594296 "This War Will Destabilize The Entire Mideast Region And Set Off A Global Shockwave Of Anti-Americanism vs. No It Won’t."]] Published in 2003 on the eve of the Iraq War, today it barely even reads as satire, just an accurate prediction of what that war would unleash.
** [[https://www.theonion.com/critically-acclaimed-ted-lasso-episode-just-stock-pho-1847547843 "Critically Acclaimed ‘Ted Lasso’ Episode Just Stock Photos Of People Hugging Each Other"]]. Published early during Season 2 of the hit series ''Series/TedLasso'' as a way to mock the show for being too saccharine and lacking conflict. Within a few episodes of the article's publication, the show took a ''hard'' turn into drama, with storylines revolving around mental health, abusive parents, death, and more. To say the article aged badly is an understatement.
** The [[https://www.theonion.com/ugly-girl-killed-1819564191 "Ugly Girl Killed"]] article from 1997 that was written as an subversion to the MissingWhiteWomanSyndrome and also highlights BeautyEqualsGoodness[[note]]and was inspired by the murder of [=JonBenet=] Ramsey[[/note]] is reminiscent with the disproportionate coverage of the abductions/murders of schoolgirls [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murder_of_Hannah_Williams Hannah Williams,]] [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murder_of_Danielle_Jones Danielle Jones]] and [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murder_of_Milly_Dowler Milly Dowler.]] This was due to the former girl being a habitual runaway and coming from a lower-class, single mom home versus the latter girls having more traditional and comfortable upbringings.
** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OHVvVmUNBFc "Beyonce Unhurt After Stray Bullet Hits Passerby"]] shows the media being more focused on the bruise [[Music/{{Beyonce}} the celebrity]] got from the titular passerby who fell on her ''after taking a bullet meant for her'', a crack at how celebrities take up attention that they don't deserve. The passerby was even portrayed by a rectangle instead of a human model. In early 2021, when Music/LadyGaga's dogs were taken while their walker is shot, the ''former'' got more coverage.
** [[https://www.theonion.com/mother-teresa-sent-to-hell-in-wacky-afterlife-mix-up-1819564421 "Mother Teresa Sent to Hell in Wacky Afterlife Mixup"]] becomes a lot harsher after [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Criticism_of_Mother_Teresa some of Teresa's poor treatment]] of the people she allegedly "helped" came to light, as if her destination wasn't an accident after all.
** The [[https://youtu.be/mPjsoYfTxj4 "Reporter Goes Undercover In Chinatown By Wearing Silk Robe"]], which shows a RefugeInAudacity segment of a White reporter mocking bigotry and other cultural appropriations in the media, became downright uncomfortable five years later when Fox News reporter Jesse Watters [[https://youtu.be/PJmnLzw8NA4 embarked on a similar news segment]] which included the exact things The Onion had lampshaded.
** [[https://www.theonion.com/celebrities-explain-how-they-are-helping-ukraine-1848695261 "Celebrities Explain How They Are Helping Ukraine"]]'s first joke is Creator/BruceWillis saying he spends an hour everyday trying to find Ukraine on a globe. He was later diagnosed with dementia.
* HilariousInHindsight: The recurring tendency for this to happen has caused people to joke that The Onion can predict the future:
** [[http://www.theonion.com/articles/fuck-everything-were-doing-five-blades,11056/ "Fuck Everything, We're Doing Five Blades"]]. The Gillette Fusion would be released 2 years later in 2006.
** [[http://www.theonion.com/articles/lady-gaga-kidnaps-commissioner-gordon,17789/ "Lady Gaga Kidnaps Commissioner Gordon"]]. In ''Franchise/{{Batman}} Incorporated: Leviathan Strikes!'' released in 2011, Batgirl infiltrates a school that brainwashes teenage girls into assassins run by Expys of {{Music/Madonna}}, {{Music/Rihanna}}, Music/KatyPerry... and Music/LadyGaga.
*** When the creators of ''WesternAnimation/BewareTheBatman'' updated the design of a minor villain called Magpie, guess who they made her look like?
*** Lady Gaga will play ComicBook/HarleyQuinn in the second ''Joker'' movie.
** The April 8, 1998 issue had the headline: "Cubs Eliminated From Playoff Contention." The Cubs went on to make the playoffs that year.
** [[http://www.theonion.com/articles/michael-moore-honored-with-new-ben-jerrys-flavor,1292/ "Michael Moore Honored With New Ben & Jerry's Flavor"]] mocks that company's liberal leanings by saying they have invented a new flavor named after Creator/MichaelMoore called "The Waffle Truth" that had vanilla ice cream with chocolate-covered waffle cone pieces. Two years later, Ben & Jerry's did come out with a new flavor named for liberal (faux-conservative) icon Creator/StephenColbert called "Stephen Colbert's Americone Dream", which has... vanilla ice cream with chocolate-covered waffle cone pieces.
** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3TrPwOrf4sM "Historic 'Blockbuster' Store Offers Glimpse Of How Movies Were Rented In The Past"]], due to both the 2013 announcement of Blockbuster shutting down their physical stores as a result of the popularity of Netflix and internet downloads, and the Bend, Oregon location becoming a tourist attraction due to being the final Blockbuster shop that is still running. The video was widely cited in actual news reports of Blockbuster's demise. Another business that had a historical museum was Borders, which also folded not long after the video was made.
** With the legalization of marijuana in Colorado and Washington state, it looks like the drugs ''are'' actually winning the drug war (that was a headline from ''Our Dumb Century'').
** [[http://www.theonion.com/articles/song-about-heroin-used-to-advertise-bank,1489/ "Song About Heroin Used to Advertise Bank"]] ran in 2001. In 2005, Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines began using "Lust For Life" by Music/IggyPop, the very song mentioned in that article, for an ad campaign that ran for the rest of the decade. Then, in 2010, AT&T used Music/LouReed's song "Perfect Day", which is also commonly believed to reference heroin addiction, in a commercial.
** [[http://www.theonion.com/articles/moon-finally-hatches,36414/?utm_source=Facebook&utm_medium=SocialMarketing&utm_campaign=LinkPreview:NA:InFocus "Moon Finally Hatches"]] gained an extra level of funny when a few months later a ''Series/DoctorWho'' episode aired in which [[Recap/DoctorWhoS34E7KillTheMoon the same thing happened.]]
** [[http://www.theonion.com/video/onn-exclusive-fire-ninja-inferno-becomes-first-ope-37313 "Fire-Ninja Inferno Becomes First Openly Gay Fatal Melee Fighter"]], a spoof of ''Franchise/MortalKombat'', becomes this when ''VideoGame/MortalKombatX'' unveiled the first gay character of the series.
** [[http://www.theonion.com/article/guy-at-bar-complaining-about-his-job-turns-out-to--5842 "Guy At Bar Complaining About His Job Turns Out To Be Eli Manning"]]. Published in 2007, Manning was at the time still under a tremendous amount of scorn having just played an atrocious game against the Green Bay Packers to drop the New York Giants to 0-2. Manning rebounded to make the playoffs, defeat the Packers in the NFC Championship Game, and [[DefeatingTheUndefeatable win the Super Bowl against the undefeated New England Patriots]] in one of the greatest upsets in NFL history with one of the most memorable plays in sports.
** [[http://www.theonion.com/article/lapd-discovers-hidden-deformed-olsen-triplet-576 "LAPD Discovers Hidden Deformed Olsen Triplet"]], came out in 2003, long before Creator/ElizabethOlsen became much more famous than her older sisters. WebVideo/HonestTrailers even called her "The Olsen Triplet" in their video for ''Film/Godzilla2014''.
** [[http://www.theonion.com/articles/mother-teresa-sent-to-hell-in-wacky-afterlife-mixu,973/ "Mother Teresa Sent To Hell In Wacky Afterlife Mix-Up"]] is a little funnier after the inverse became the plot of the sitcom ''Series/TheGoodPlace''.
** Back in 2015, The Onion had an article where a [[https://www.theonion.com/so-help-me-god-i-m-going-to-eat-one-of-those-multicolo-1819585017 small child insists he'll eat one of the multi-colored detergent pods]]. Come December 2017, the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tide_Pod_challenge Tide Pod Challenge]] is now a thing. A few months prior, they did a story about sour apple flavored Tide Pods
** [[https://entertainment.theonion.com/entertainment-scientists-warn-miley-cyrus-will-be-deple-1819594712 "Miley Cyrus will be depleted by 2013"]]. When 2013 rolled around, Cyrus hit a full-on CareerResurrection with the release of "Wrecking Ball".
** [[https://www.theonion.com/residents-of-indiana-join-together-to-form-collective-c-1819573362 "Residents Of Indiana Join Together To Form Collective Consciousness"]] inadvertently predicted a major plot point from season three of ''Series/StrangerThings'', [[spoiler:in which the [[EldritchAbomination Mind Flayer]] creates a HiveMind in a small town in Indiana. This one only manages to encompass thirty people rather than the entire state, but it more than makes up for it with the BodyHorror that it subjects those thirty people to.]]
** [[https://entertainment.theonion.com/report-south-korea-developing-new-pop-group-capable-of-1819580135 "South Korea Developing New Pop Group Capable Of Reaching U.S."]], published in 2017. Around 1 year later, K-Pop became massively popular in the United States.
** [[https://local.theonion.com/man-just-buying-one-of-every-cleaning-product-in-case-t-1842493766 "Man Just Buying One Of Every Cleaning Product In Case Trump Announces It's Coronavirus Cure"]], published on 25 March 2020. [[https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-52407177 One month later...]]
** The 9/11 issue had an article titled "President Urges Calm, Restraint Among Nation's Ballad Singers" which warned musicians like Music/MariahCarey and Music/MichaelJackson not to record any "mawkish, insipid all-star tribute ballads." In October 2001, Carey and Jackson were among the biggest names in the televised benefit concert ''United We Stand: What More Can I Give,'' which suffered massive technical problems and performances that were widely criticized as uninspired.
** The 2011 ''Onion News Network'' video [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iIY5b1JMvGs "Today Now! Interviews The 5-Year-Old Screenwriter Of]] ''Film/FastFive''" becomes even funnier when ''[[Film/TheFastAndTheFurious F9: The Fast Saga]]'' director Justin Lin revealed that one of that film's wildest set pieces involving magnetized cars [[https://www.syfy.com/syfywire/f9-magnet-plane-justin-lin-son was an idea from his 9 year old son.]]
** 2019's "[[https://www.theonion.com/bugs-bunny-explains-how-lebron-helped-him-get-sober-for-1834816124 Bugs Bunny Explains How LeBron Helped Him Get Sober For Role In ‘Space Jam’ Sequel]]" is a bit funnier after the actual ''Film/SpaceJamANewLegacy'' has a sequence where Bugs [[DrowningMySorrows drowns his sorrows]] in [[DrunkOnMilk carrot juice]] as [=LeBron=] helps him find his resolve again.
** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q_OIXfkXEj0 '9/11 Conspiracy Theories Ridiculous' - Al Qaeda]] has the news network correspond with an actual Al Qaeda member because the latter were not amused with 9/11 not being credited to them while being appalled at how ridiculous the theories were. When the 2021 Afghanistan pull-out happened, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GaHz3nFvFZg BBC had an actual interview with a Taliban spokesman]].
*** And a decade before that, al-Qaeda [[https://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/al-qaeda-iran-ahmadinejad-stop-spreading-911-conspiracy/story?id=14620643 actually went after Iran]] for spreading 9/11 conspiracy theories!
** From 2020, [[https://www.theonion.com/paleontologists-unearth-rare-mint-condition-triceratop-1845439323 Paleontologists Unearth Rare Mint Condition Triceratops Skull In Goodwill Bin.]] In 2022, [[https://www.cnn.com/2022/05/07/us/ancient-roman-statue-bought-texas-goodwill-trnd/index.html a statue a woman in Texas bought at a Goodwill]] really did turn out to be an Ancient Roman artifact!
** [[https://www.theonion.com/literally-no-one-calls-me-that-or-has-ever-called-me-t-1819592848 ‘Literally Nobody Calls Me That Or Has Ever Called Me That’: Our Interview With Ol’ Musky]] is funnier now because after it got popular, some people really do call Elon Musk that.
** Not only did [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yuTkgi7scKo ‘Ultra-Realistic Modern Warfare Game Features Awaiting Orders, Repairing Trucks’]] become this with the release of {{VideoGame/Call Of Duty Modern Warfare 3}}, the game that was supposedly the subject of the article, but it also predicts the rise of {{Simulation Game}}s, which often centre around banal tasks like the very driving and repairing mentioned in the video.
* JerkassWoobie: Russ Kunkel in "[[http://www.theonion.com/article/loved-ones-recall-local-mans-cowardly-battle-with--772 Loved Ones Recall Man's Cowardly Battle With Cancer]]". Diagnosed with terminal cancer, he's completely unable to FaceDeathWithDignity, which shows how pathetic he is, but also makes his story even sadder.
to:
* HarsherInHindsight: The site seems to have a depressing ability to predict the future:
** [[http://www.theonion.com/articles/bush-our-long-national-nightmare-of-peace-and-pros,464/ "Bush: 'Our Long National Nightmare Of Peace And Prosperity Is Finally Over'"]]. Written days before George W. Bush's inauguration, the article has Bush promising to start at least one major war and cause a recession during his presidency.
** [[http://www.theonion.com/articles/pope-forgives-molested-children,101/ "Pope Forgives Molested Children"]]. Compare some of the phrases in the article to what real-life priests [[http://religion.blogs.cnn.com/2012/08/31/priest-apologizes-after-sex-abuse-comments-draw-ire/ actually]][[http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/10/08/polish-archbishop-jozef-michalik-sex-abuse-comments-_n_4065751.html said]].
** [[http://www.theonion.com/articles/millions-of-americans-buying-floyd-landisinspired,9779/ "Millions Of Americans Wearing Floyd Landis-Inspired Bracelets"]]. At the time, this was a parody of Lance Armstrong's [=LIVESTRONG=] bracelets making fun of then-Tour de France winner Floyd Landis, who was almost immediately found guilty of doping. However, a few years later, Armstrong himself would admit to doping during each one of his Tour de France wins as well. The Onion [[TheMerch Store]] now sells yellow plastic bracelets with "CHEAT TO WIN" on them.
** [[http://www.theonion.com/articles/kim-jongun-privately-doubting-hes-crazy-enough-to,18374/ "Kim Jong-un Privately Doubting He's Crazy Enough to Run North Korea"]]. With recent events and threats coming from the top of the Korean peninsula, any doubts people might have had about Kim Jong-un may have been erased...
** [[http://www.theonion.com/articles/ive-got-you-dumb-motherfuckers-eating-right-out-of,19014/ "I've Got You Dumb Motherfuckers Eating Right Out of My Hand"]] is basically Creator/{{Pixar}} [=CEO=] Creator/JohnLasseter bragging that his movies bring in a ton of money and are pretty much critically beloved. Later that year, ''WesternAnimation/{{Cars 2}}'' came out and was the first movie in the Pixar library to get critically savaged. Its follow-ups, ''WesternAnimation/{{Brave}}'' and ''WesternAnimation/MonstersUniversity'', were better-received, but didn't receive anywhere near the acclaim of their earlier work. Pixar's reputation has never recovered since (with the ''possible'' exceptions of ''WesternAnimation/InsideOut'' and ''WesternAnimation/{{Coco}}''), and the article became downright prophetic in light of Lasseter's sexual harassment allegations revealed during the #[=MeToo=] movement of 2017.
** [[http://www.theonion.com/articles/new-liver-complains-of-difficulty-working-with-lou,32669/ "New Liver Complains of Difficulty Working With Lou Reed"]]. Music/LouReed died of complications of his liver transplant.
** [[http://www.theonion.com/content/news/wealthy_teen_nearly_experiences "Wealthy Teen Nearly Experiences Consequence"]] is about an article where a wealthy teen driving intoxicated gets into a wreck when his car collides with a minivan carrying a family of four. The "affluenza" story around [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethan_Couch Ethan Couch]] may change your perspective.
** [[http://www.theonion.com/articles/chris-farley-has-hilarious-cardiac-arrest,4300/ "Chris Farley[[HarsherInHindsight/TheOnion Has Hilarious Cardiac Arrest"]], published on November 1997, even calls Farley "the next Belushi". Two months later, Chris Farley died of a drug overdose at the age of 33, just like Creator/JohnBelushi.
** [[http://www.theonion.com/video/college-basketball-star-heroically-overcomes-tragi-19097 "College Basketball Star Heroically Overcomes Tragic Rape He Committed"]], after the Brock Turner case. Turner received a light sentence largely because he was a star swimmer for Stanford University. Fortunately, USA Swimming has banned Turner for life.
** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rc3jMoFJrBQ "Justin Bieber Found To Be Cleverly Disguised 51-Year-Old Pedophile"]], recorded in 2010, portrayed Music/JustinBieber as exploiting his TeenIdol status to molest his adolescent female fans. In 2017, Austin Jones, another Website/YouTube singing sensation with a fanbase composed primarily of tween and teen girls, was found to be exploiting his stardom to get underage fans to make sexually explicit videos for him.
** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lmCjJ0VBjjU "Pop Star's Single, 'Booty Wave', Most Likely Civilization's Downfall"]], a parody of the vapid, raunchy pop music of 2011, has one line that becomes a lot more disturbing nowadays. At one point, the female co-host, who cannot stand the pop star K'ronikka and is barely concealing her contempt, remarks to her that [[StepfordSmiler "there's no light in your eyes"]]. K'ronikka is a thinly-veiled parody of Music/{{Kesha}}, who it turned out was being sexually exploited by her producer, Dr. Luke, eventually driving her to a bout with bulimia and a long battle to get out of her contract that, together, [[CreatorKiller derailed her career]] for half a decade. In other words, her party-hard image was masking a great deal of sadness and heartbreak.
** [[https://politics.theonion.com/ken-jennings-mistaken-for-subways-jared-again-1819567742 "Ken Jennings Mistaken for Subway's Jared Again"]]. Subway broke ties with Jared Fogle after the latter was outed as a pedophile and jailed in 2015.
** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_5yR--35uqA "Today Now! Host Undergoes Horrifically Painful Surgery Live On Air"]] sees Jim Haggerty needing to undergo a procedure to get rid of his kidney stones. Three years after the video was released, the actor who played him [[http://www.bradholbrook.com ended up getting a kidney stone himself]].
** "[[https://www.theonion.com/18-year-old-fighting-in-afghanistan-has-9-11-explained-1819573874 18-Year-Old Fighting In Afghanistan Has 9/11 Explained To him By Older Soldier]]" is already harsh enough by itself, but it became even more so after Time published an article featuring a soldier who ''hadn't even been born yet'' when the terrorist attacks occurred. He and a lot of other young soldiers are much like [=McCombs=] in how they're fighting a war that sparked from an event that they're too young to remember.
** From their Youtube: [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=repxFQXVsHc "Hostages Trapped Inside Walmart Insisting They Never Shop At Walmart"]] Considering the August 3rd 2019 [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2019_El_Paso_shooting El Paso Wal-Mart Shooting which had 23 people injured and 23 dead.]] It can be unsettling
** [[https://www.theonion.com/u-s-quietly-slips-out-of-afghanistan-in-dead-of-night-1819572778 "U.S. Quietly Slips Out Of Afghanistan In Dead Of Night"]] which came out in ''2011'', stated that US troops left Afghanistan in the middle of the night. 10 years later, not only the pull out happened for real in 2021, it was noted to have [[https://apnews.com/article/bagram-afghanistan-airfield-us-troops-f3614828364f567593251aaaa167e623 happened in the middle of the night in local time]] as well.
** [[https://www.theonion.com/this-war-will-destabilize-the-entire-mideast-region-and-1819594296 "This War Will Destabilize The Entire Mideast Region And Set Off A Global Shockwave Of Anti-Americanism vs. No It Won’t."]] Published in 2003 on the eve of the Iraq War, today it barely even reads as satire, just an accurate prediction of what that war would unleash.
** [[https://www.theonion.com/critically-acclaimed-ted-lasso-episode-just-stock-pho-1847547843 "Critically Acclaimed ‘Ted Lasso’ Episode Just Stock Photos Of People Hugging Each Other"]]. Published early during Season 2 of the hit series ''Series/TedLasso'' as a way to mock the show for being too saccharine and lacking conflict. Within a few episodes of the article's publication, the show took a ''hard'' turn into drama, with storylines revolving around mental health, abusive parents, death, and more. To say the article aged badly is an understatement.
** The [[https://www.theonion.com/ugly-girl-killed-1819564191 "Ugly Girl Killed"]] article from 1997 that was written as an subversion to the MissingWhiteWomanSyndrome and also highlights BeautyEqualsGoodness[[note]]and was inspired by the murder of [=JonBenet=] Ramsey[[/note]] is reminiscent with the disproportionate coverage of the abductions/murders of schoolgirls [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murder_of_Hannah_Williams Hannah Williams,]] [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murder_of_Danielle_Jones Danielle Jones]] and [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murder_of_Milly_Dowler Milly Dowler.]] This was due to the former girl being a habitual runaway and coming from a lower-class, single mom home versus the latter girls having more traditional and comfortable upbringings.
** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OHVvVmUNBFc "Beyonce Unhurt After Stray Bullet Hits Passerby"]] shows the media being more focused on the bruise [[Music/{{Beyonce}} the celebrity]] got from the titular passerby who fell on her ''after taking a bullet meant for her'', a crack at how celebrities take up attention that they don't deserve. The passerby was even portrayed by a rectangle instead of a human model. In early 2021, when Music/LadyGaga's dogs were taken while their walker is shot, the ''former'' got more coverage.
** [[https://www.theonion.com/mother-teresa-sent-to-hell-in-wacky-afterlife-mix-up-1819564421 "Mother Teresa Sent to Hell in Wacky Afterlife Mixup"]] becomes a lot harsher after [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Criticism_of_Mother_Teresa some of Teresa's poor treatment]] of the people she allegedly "helped" came to light, as if her destination wasn't an accident after all.
** The [[https://youtu.be/mPjsoYfTxj4 "Reporter Goes Undercover In Chinatown By Wearing Silk Robe"]], which shows a RefugeInAudacity segment of a White reporter mocking bigotry and other cultural appropriations in the media, became downright uncomfortable five years later when Fox News reporter Jesse Watters [[https://youtu.be/PJmnLzw8NA4 embarked on a similar news segment]] which included the exact things The Onion had lampshaded.
** [[https://www.theonion.com/celebrities-explain-how-they-are-helping-ukraine-1848695261 "Celebrities Explain How They Are Helping Ukraine"]]'s first joke is Creator/BruceWillis saying he spends an hour everyday trying to find Ukraine on a globe. He was later diagnosed with dementia.
its own page]].
* HilariousInHindsight:The recurring tendency for this to happen has caused people to joke that The Onion can predict the future:
** [[http://www.theonion.com/articles/fuck-everything-were-doing-five-blades,11056/ "Fuck Everything, We're Doing Five Blades"]]. The Gillette Fusion would be released 2 years later in 2006.
** [[http://www.theonion.com/articles/lady-gaga-kidnaps-commissioner-gordon,17789/ "Lady Gaga Kidnaps Commissioner Gordon"]]. In ''Franchise/{{Batman}} Incorporated: Leviathan Strikes!'' released in 2011, Batgirl infiltrates a school that brainwashes teenage girls into assassins run by Expys of {{Music/Madonna}}, {{Music/Rihanna}}, Music/KatyPerry... and Music/LadyGaga.
*** When the creators of ''WesternAnimation/BewareTheBatman'' updated the design of a minor villain called Magpie, guess who they made her look like?
*** Lady Gaga will play ComicBook/HarleyQuinn in the second ''Joker'' movie.
** The April 8, 1998 issue had the headline: "Cubs Eliminated From Playoff Contention." The Cubs went on to make the playoffs that year.
** [[http://www.theonion.com/articles/michael-moore-honored-with-new-ben-jerrys-flavor,1292/ "Michael Moore Honored With New Ben & Jerry's Flavor"]] mocks that company's liberal leanings by saying they have invented a new flavor named after Creator/MichaelMoore called "The Waffle Truth" that had vanilla ice cream with chocolate-covered waffle cone pieces. Two years later, Ben & Jerry's did come out with a new flavor named for liberal (faux-conservative) icon Creator/StephenColbert called "Stephen Colbert's Americone Dream", which has... vanilla ice cream with chocolate-covered waffle cone pieces.
** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3TrPwOrf4sM "Historic 'Blockbuster' Store Offers Glimpse Of How Movies Were Rented In The Past"]], due to both the 2013 announcement of Blockbuster shutting down their physical stores as a result of the popularity of Netflix and internet downloads, and the Bend, Oregon location becoming a tourist attraction due to being the final Blockbuster shop that is still running. The video was widely cited in actual news reports of Blockbuster's demise. Another business that had a historical museum was Borders, which also folded not long after the video was made.
** With the legalization of marijuana in Colorado and Washington state, it looks like the drugs ''are'' actually winning the drug war (that was a headline from ''Our Dumb Century'').
** [[http://www.theonion.com/articles/song-about-heroin-used-to-advertise-bank,1489/ "Song About Heroin Used to Advertise Bank"]] ran in 2001. In 2005, Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines began using "Lust For Life" by Music/IggyPop, the very song mentioned in that article, for an ad campaign that ran for the rest of the decade. Then, in 2010, AT&T used Music/LouReed's song "Perfect Day", which is also commonly believed to reference heroin addiction, in a commercial.
** [[http://www.theonion.com/articles/moon-finally-hatches,36414/?utm_source=Facebook&utm_medium=SocialMarketing&utm_campaign=LinkPreview:NA:InFocus "Moon Finally Hatches"]] gained an extra level of funny when a few months later a ''Series/DoctorWho'' episode aired in which [[Recap/DoctorWhoS34E7KillTheMoon the same thing happened.]]
** [[http://www.theonion.com/video/onn-exclusive-fire-ninja-inferno-becomes-first-ope-37313 "Fire-Ninja Inferno Becomes First Openly Gay Fatal Melee Fighter"]], a spoof of ''Franchise/MortalKombat'', becomes this when ''VideoGame/MortalKombatX'' unveiled the first gay character of the series.
** [[http://www.theonion.com/article/guy-at-bar-complaining-about-his-job-turns-out-to--5842 "Guy At Bar Complaining About His Job Turns Out To Be Eli Manning"]]. Published in 2007, Manning was at the time still under a tremendous amount of scorn having just played an atrocious game against the Green Bay Packers to drop the New York Giants to 0-2. Manning rebounded to make the playoffs, defeat the Packers in the NFC Championship Game, and [[DefeatingTheUndefeatable win the Super Bowl against the undefeated New England Patriots]] in one of the greatest upsets in NFL history with one of the most memorable plays in sports.
** [[http://www.theonion.com/article/lapd-discovers-hidden-deformed-olsen-triplet-576 "LAPD Discovers Hidden Deformed Olsen Triplet"]], came out in 2003, long before Creator/ElizabethOlsen became much more famous than her older sisters. WebVideo/HonestTrailers even called her "The Olsen Triplet" in their video for ''Film/Godzilla2014''.
** [[http://www.theonion.com/articles/mother-teresa-sent-to-hell-in-wacky-afterlife-mixu,973/ "Mother Teresa Sent To Hell In Wacky Afterlife Mix-Up"]] is a little funnier after the inverse became the plot of the sitcom ''Series/TheGoodPlace''.
** Back in 2015, The Onion had an article where a [[https://www.theonion.com/so-help-me-god-i-m-going-to-eat-one-of-those-multicolo-1819585017 small child insists he'll eat one of the multi-colored detergent pods]]. Come December 2017, the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tide_Pod_challenge Tide Pod Challenge]] is now a thing. A few months prior, they did a story about sour apple flavored Tide Pods
** [[https://entertainment.theonion.com/entertainment-scientists-warn-miley-cyrus-will-be-deple-1819594712 "Miley Cyrus will be depleted by 2013"]]. When 2013 rolled around, Cyrus hit a full-on CareerResurrection with the release of "Wrecking Ball".
** [[https://www.theonion.com/residents-of-indiana-join-together-to-form-collective-c-1819573362 "Residents Of Indiana Join Together To Form Collective Consciousness"]] inadvertently predicted a major plot point from season three of ''Series/StrangerThings'', [[spoiler:in which the [[EldritchAbomination Mind Flayer]] creates a HiveMind in a small town in Indiana. This one only manages to encompass thirty people rather than the entire state, but it more than makes up for it with the BodyHorror that it subjects those thirty people to.]]
** [[https://entertainment.theonion.com/report-south-korea-developing-new-pop-group-capable-of-1819580135 "South Korea Developing New Pop Group Capable Of Reaching U.S."]], published in 2017. Around 1 year later, K-Pop became massively popular in the United States.
** [[https://local.theonion.com/man-just-buying-one-of-every-cleaning-product-in-case-t-1842493766 "Man Just Buying One Of Every Cleaning Product In Case Trump Announces It's Coronavirus Cure"]], published on 25 March 2020. [[https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-52407177 One month later...]]
** The 9/11 issue had an article titled "President Urges Calm, Restraint Among Nation's Ballad Singers" which warned musicians like Music/MariahCarey and Music/MichaelJackson not to record any "mawkish, insipid all-star tribute ballads." In October 2001, Carey and Jackson were among the biggest names in the televised benefit concert ''United We Stand: What More Can I Give,'' which suffered massive technical problems and performances that were widely criticized as uninspired.
** The 2011 ''Onion News Network'' video [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iIY5b1JMvGs "Today Now! Interviews The 5-Year-Old Screenwriter Of]] ''Film/FastFive''" becomes even funnier when ''[[Film/TheFastAndTheFurious F9: The Fast Saga]]'' director Justin Lin revealed that one of that film's wildest set pieces involving magnetized cars [[https://www.syfy.com/syfywire/f9-magnet-plane-justin-lin-son was an idea from his 9 year old son.]]
** 2019's "[[https://www.theonion.com/bugs-bunny-explains-how-lebron-helped-him-get-sober-for-1834816124 Bugs Bunny Explains How LeBron Helped Him Get Sober For Role In ‘Space Jam’ Sequel]]" is a bit funnier after the actual ''Film/SpaceJamANewLegacy'' has a sequence where Bugs [[DrowningMySorrows drowns his sorrows]] in [[DrunkOnMilk carrot juice]] as [=LeBron=] helps him find his resolve again.
** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q_OIXfkXEj0 '9/11 Conspiracy Theories Ridiculous' - Al Qaeda]] has the news network correspond with an actual Al Qaeda member because the latter were not amused with 9/11 not being credited to them while being appalled at how ridiculous the theories were. When the 2021 Afghanistan pull-out happened, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GaHz3nFvFZg BBC had an actual interview with a Taliban spokesman]].
*** And a decade before that, al-Qaeda [[https://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/al-qaeda-iran-ahmadinejad-stop-spreading-911-conspiracy/story?id=14620643 actually went after Iran]] for spreading 9/11 conspiracy theories!
** From 2020, [[https://www.theonion.com/paleontologists-unearth-rare-mint-condition-triceratop-1845439323 Paleontologists Unearth Rare Mint Condition Triceratops Skull In Goodwill Bin.]] In 2022, [[https://www.cnn.com/2022/05/07/us/ancient-roman-statue-bought-texas-goodwill-trnd/index.html a statue a woman in Texas bought at a Goodwill]] really did turn out to be an Ancient Roman artifact!
** [[https://www.theonion.com/literally-no-one-calls-me-that-or-has-ever-called-me-t-1819592848 ‘Literally Nobody Calls Me That Or[[HilariousInHindsight/TheOnion Has Ever Called Me That’: Our Interview With Ol’ Musky]] is funnier now because after it got popular, some people really do call Elon Musk that.
its own page]].
* JerkassWoobie:
**Not only did [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yuTkgi7scKo ‘Ultra-Realistic Modern Warfare Game Features Awaiting Orders, Repairing Trucks’]] become this with the release of {{VideoGame/Call Of Duty Modern Warfare 3}}, the game that was supposedly the subject of the article, but it also predicts the rise of {{Simulation Game}}s, which often centre around banal tasks like the very driving and repairing mentioned in the video.
* JerkassWoobie:Russ Kunkel in "[[http://www.theonion.com/article/loved-ones-recall-local-mans-cowardly-battle-with--772 Loved Ones Recall Man's Cowardly Battle With Cancer]]". Diagnosed with terminal cancer, he's completely unable to FaceDeathWithDignity, which shows how pathetic he is, but also makes his story even sadder.
** [[http://www.theonion.com/articles/bush-our-long-national-nightmare-of-peace-and-pros,464/ "Bush: 'Our Long National Nightmare Of Peace And Prosperity Is Finally Over'"]]. Written days before George W. Bush's inauguration, the article has Bush promising to start at least one major war and cause a recession during his presidency.
** [[http://www.theonion.com/articles/pope-forgives-molested-children,101/ "Pope Forgives Molested Children"]]. Compare some of the phrases in the article to what real-life priests [[http://religion.blogs.cnn.com/2012/08/31/priest-apologizes-after-sex-abuse-comments-draw-ire/ actually]][[http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/10/08/polish-archbishop-jozef-michalik-sex-abuse-comments-_n_4065751.html said]].
** [[http://www.theonion.com/articles/millions-of-americans-buying-floyd-landisinspired,9779/ "Millions Of Americans Wearing Floyd Landis-Inspired Bracelets"]]. At the time, this was a parody of Lance Armstrong's [=LIVESTRONG=] bracelets making fun of then-Tour de France winner Floyd Landis, who was almost immediately found guilty of doping. However, a few years later, Armstrong himself would admit to doping during each one of his Tour de France wins as well. The Onion [[TheMerch Store]] now sells yellow plastic bracelets with "CHEAT TO WIN" on them.
** [[http://www.theonion.com/articles/kim-jongun-privately-doubting-hes-crazy-enough-to,18374/ "Kim Jong-un Privately Doubting He's Crazy Enough to Run North Korea"]]. With recent events and threats coming from the top of the Korean peninsula, any doubts people might have had about Kim Jong-un may have been erased...
** [[http://www.theonion.com/articles/ive-got-you-dumb-motherfuckers-eating-right-out-of,19014/ "I've Got You Dumb Motherfuckers Eating Right Out of My Hand"]] is basically Creator/{{Pixar}} [=CEO=] Creator/JohnLasseter bragging that his movies bring in a ton of money and are pretty much critically beloved. Later that year, ''WesternAnimation/{{Cars 2}}'' came out and was the first movie in the Pixar library to get critically savaged. Its follow-ups, ''WesternAnimation/{{Brave}}'' and ''WesternAnimation/MonstersUniversity'', were better-received, but didn't receive anywhere near the acclaim of their earlier work. Pixar's reputation has never recovered since (with the ''possible'' exceptions of ''WesternAnimation/InsideOut'' and ''WesternAnimation/{{Coco}}''), and the article became downright prophetic in light of Lasseter's sexual harassment allegations revealed during the #[=MeToo=] movement of 2017.
** [[http://www.theonion.com/articles/new-liver-complains-of-difficulty-working-with-lou,32669/ "New Liver Complains of Difficulty Working With Lou Reed"]]. Music/LouReed died of complications of his liver transplant.
** [[http://www.theonion.com/content/news/wealthy_teen_nearly_experiences "Wealthy Teen Nearly Experiences Consequence"]] is about an article where a wealthy teen driving intoxicated gets into a wreck when his car collides with a minivan carrying a family of four. The "affluenza" story around [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethan_Couch Ethan Couch]] may change your perspective.
** [[http://www.theonion.com/articles/chris-farley-has-hilarious-cardiac-arrest,4300/ "Chris Farley
** [[http://www.theonion.com/video/college-basketball-star-heroically-overcomes-tragi-19097 "College Basketball Star Heroically Overcomes Tragic Rape He Committed"]], after the Brock Turner case. Turner received a light sentence largely because he was a star swimmer for Stanford University. Fortunately, USA Swimming has banned Turner for life.
** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rc3jMoFJrBQ "Justin Bieber Found To Be Cleverly Disguised 51-Year-Old Pedophile"]], recorded in 2010, portrayed Music/JustinBieber as exploiting his TeenIdol status to molest his adolescent female fans. In 2017, Austin Jones, another Website/YouTube singing sensation with a fanbase composed primarily of tween and teen girls, was found to be exploiting his stardom to get underage fans to make sexually explicit videos for him.
** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lmCjJ0VBjjU "Pop Star's Single, 'Booty Wave', Most Likely Civilization's Downfall"]], a parody of the vapid, raunchy pop music of 2011, has one line that becomes a lot more disturbing nowadays. At one point, the female co-host, who cannot stand the pop star K'ronikka and is barely concealing her contempt, remarks to her that [[StepfordSmiler "there's no light in your eyes"]]. K'ronikka is a thinly-veiled parody of Music/{{Kesha}}, who it turned out was being sexually exploited by her producer, Dr. Luke, eventually driving her to a bout with bulimia and a long battle to get out of her contract that, together, [[CreatorKiller derailed her career]] for half a decade. In other words, her party-hard image was masking a great deal of sadness and heartbreak.
** [[https://politics.theonion.com/ken-jennings-mistaken-for-subways-jared-again-1819567742 "Ken Jennings Mistaken for Subway's Jared Again"]]. Subway broke ties with Jared Fogle after the latter was outed as a pedophile and jailed in 2015.
** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_5yR--35uqA "Today Now! Host Undergoes Horrifically Painful Surgery Live On Air"]] sees Jim Haggerty needing to undergo a procedure to get rid of his kidney stones. Three years after the video was released, the actor who played him [[http://www.bradholbrook.com ended up getting a kidney stone himself]].
** "[[https://www.theonion.com/18-year-old-fighting-in-afghanistan-has-9-11-explained-1819573874 18-Year-Old Fighting In Afghanistan Has 9/11 Explained To him By Older Soldier]]" is already harsh enough by itself, but it became even more so after Time published an article featuring a soldier who ''hadn't even been born yet'' when the terrorist attacks occurred. He and a lot of other young soldiers are much like [=McCombs=] in how they're fighting a war that sparked from an event that they're too young to remember.
** From their Youtube: [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=repxFQXVsHc "Hostages Trapped Inside Walmart Insisting They Never Shop At Walmart"]] Considering the August 3rd 2019 [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2019_El_Paso_shooting El Paso Wal-Mart Shooting which had 23 people injured and 23 dead.]] It can be unsettling
** [[https://www.theonion.com/u-s-quietly-slips-out-of-afghanistan-in-dead-of-night-1819572778 "U.S. Quietly Slips Out Of Afghanistan In Dead Of Night"]] which came out in ''2011'', stated that US troops left Afghanistan in the middle of the night. 10 years later, not only the pull out happened for real in 2021, it was noted to have [[https://apnews.com/article/bagram-afghanistan-airfield-us-troops-f3614828364f567593251aaaa167e623 happened in the middle of the night in local time]] as well.
** [[https://www.theonion.com/this-war-will-destabilize-the-entire-mideast-region-and-1819594296 "This War Will Destabilize The Entire Mideast Region And Set Off A Global Shockwave Of Anti-Americanism vs. No It Won’t."]] Published in 2003 on the eve of the Iraq War, today it barely even reads as satire, just an accurate prediction of what that war would unleash.
** [[https://www.theonion.com/critically-acclaimed-ted-lasso-episode-just-stock-pho-1847547843 "Critically Acclaimed ‘Ted Lasso’ Episode Just Stock Photos Of People Hugging Each Other"]]. Published early during Season 2 of the hit series ''Series/TedLasso'' as a way to mock the show for being too saccharine and lacking conflict. Within a few episodes of the article's publication, the show took a ''hard'' turn into drama, with storylines revolving around mental health, abusive parents, death, and more. To say the article aged badly is an understatement.
** The [[https://www.theonion.com/ugly-girl-killed-1819564191 "Ugly Girl Killed"]] article from 1997 that was written as an subversion to the MissingWhiteWomanSyndrome and also highlights BeautyEqualsGoodness[[note]]and was inspired by the murder of [=JonBenet=] Ramsey[[/note]] is reminiscent with the disproportionate coverage of the abductions/murders of schoolgirls [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murder_of_Hannah_Williams Hannah Williams,]] [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murder_of_Danielle_Jones Danielle Jones]] and [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murder_of_Milly_Dowler Milly Dowler.]] This was due to the former girl being a habitual runaway and coming from a lower-class, single mom home versus the latter girls having more traditional and comfortable upbringings.
** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OHVvVmUNBFc "Beyonce Unhurt After Stray Bullet Hits Passerby"]] shows the media being more focused on the bruise [[Music/{{Beyonce}} the celebrity]] got from the titular passerby who fell on her ''after taking a bullet meant for her'', a crack at how celebrities take up attention that they don't deserve. The passerby was even portrayed by a rectangle instead of a human model. In early 2021, when Music/LadyGaga's dogs were taken while their walker is shot, the ''former'' got more coverage.
** [[https://www.theonion.com/mother-teresa-sent-to-hell-in-wacky-afterlife-mix-up-1819564421 "Mother Teresa Sent to Hell in Wacky Afterlife Mixup"]] becomes a lot harsher after [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Criticism_of_Mother_Teresa some of Teresa's poor treatment]] of the people she allegedly "helped" came to light, as if her destination wasn't an accident after all.
** The [[https://youtu.be/mPjsoYfTxj4 "Reporter Goes Undercover In Chinatown By Wearing Silk Robe"]], which shows a RefugeInAudacity segment of a White reporter mocking bigotry and other cultural appropriations in the media, became downright uncomfortable five years later when Fox News reporter Jesse Watters [[https://youtu.be/PJmnLzw8NA4 embarked on a similar news segment]] which included the exact things The Onion had lampshaded.
** [[https://www.theonion.com/celebrities-explain-how-they-are-helping-ukraine-1848695261 "Celebrities Explain How They Are Helping Ukraine"]]'s first joke is Creator/BruceWillis saying he spends an hour everyday trying to find Ukraine on a globe. He was later diagnosed with dementia.
* HilariousInHindsight:
** [[http://www.theonion.com/articles/fuck-everything-were-doing-five-blades,11056/ "Fuck Everything, We're Doing Five Blades"]]. The Gillette Fusion would be released 2 years later in 2006.
** [[http://www.theonion.com/articles/lady-gaga-kidnaps-commissioner-gordon,17789/ "Lady Gaga Kidnaps Commissioner Gordon"]]. In ''Franchise/{{Batman}} Incorporated: Leviathan Strikes!'' released in 2011, Batgirl infiltrates a school that brainwashes teenage girls into assassins run by Expys of {{Music/Madonna}}, {{Music/Rihanna}}, Music/KatyPerry... and Music/LadyGaga.
*** When the creators of ''WesternAnimation/BewareTheBatman'' updated the design of a minor villain called Magpie, guess who they made her look like?
*** Lady Gaga will play ComicBook/HarleyQuinn in the second ''Joker'' movie.
** The April 8, 1998 issue had the headline: "Cubs Eliminated From Playoff Contention." The Cubs went on to make the playoffs that year.
** [[http://www.theonion.com/articles/michael-moore-honored-with-new-ben-jerrys-flavor,1292/ "Michael Moore Honored With New Ben & Jerry's Flavor"]] mocks that company's liberal leanings by saying they have invented a new flavor named after Creator/MichaelMoore called "The Waffle Truth" that had vanilla ice cream with chocolate-covered waffle cone pieces. Two years later, Ben & Jerry's did come out with a new flavor named for liberal (faux-conservative) icon Creator/StephenColbert called "Stephen Colbert's Americone Dream", which has... vanilla ice cream with chocolate-covered waffle cone pieces.
** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3TrPwOrf4sM "Historic 'Blockbuster' Store Offers Glimpse Of How Movies Were Rented In The Past"]], due to both the 2013 announcement of Blockbuster shutting down their physical stores as a result of the popularity of Netflix and internet downloads, and the Bend, Oregon location becoming a tourist attraction due to being the final Blockbuster shop that is still running. The video was widely cited in actual news reports of Blockbuster's demise. Another business that had a historical museum was Borders, which also folded not long after the video was made.
** With the legalization of marijuana in Colorado and Washington state, it looks like the drugs ''are'' actually winning the drug war (that was a headline from ''Our Dumb Century'').
** [[http://www.theonion.com/articles/song-about-heroin-used-to-advertise-bank,1489/ "Song About Heroin Used to Advertise Bank"]] ran in 2001. In 2005, Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines began using "Lust For Life" by Music/IggyPop, the very song mentioned in that article, for an ad campaign that ran for the rest of the decade. Then, in 2010, AT&T used Music/LouReed's song "Perfect Day", which is also commonly believed to reference heroin addiction, in a commercial.
** [[http://www.theonion.com/articles/moon-finally-hatches,36414/?utm_source=Facebook&utm_medium=SocialMarketing&utm_campaign=LinkPreview:NA:InFocus "Moon Finally Hatches"]] gained an extra level of funny when a few months later a ''Series/DoctorWho'' episode aired in which [[Recap/DoctorWhoS34E7KillTheMoon the same thing happened.]]
** [[http://www.theonion.com/video/onn-exclusive-fire-ninja-inferno-becomes-first-ope-37313 "Fire-Ninja Inferno Becomes First Openly Gay Fatal Melee Fighter"]], a spoof of ''Franchise/MortalKombat'', becomes this when ''VideoGame/MortalKombatX'' unveiled the first gay character of the series.
** [[http://www.theonion.com/article/guy-at-bar-complaining-about-his-job-turns-out-to--5842 "Guy At Bar Complaining About His Job Turns Out To Be Eli Manning"]]. Published in 2007, Manning was at the time still under a tremendous amount of scorn having just played an atrocious game against the Green Bay Packers to drop the New York Giants to 0-2. Manning rebounded to make the playoffs, defeat the Packers in the NFC Championship Game, and [[DefeatingTheUndefeatable win the Super Bowl against the undefeated New England Patriots]] in one of the greatest upsets in NFL history with one of the most memorable plays in sports.
** [[http://www.theonion.com/article/lapd-discovers-hidden-deformed-olsen-triplet-576 "LAPD Discovers Hidden Deformed Olsen Triplet"]], came out in 2003, long before Creator/ElizabethOlsen became much more famous than her older sisters. WebVideo/HonestTrailers even called her "The Olsen Triplet" in their video for ''Film/Godzilla2014''.
** [[http://www.theonion.com/articles/mother-teresa-sent-to-hell-in-wacky-afterlife-mixu,973/ "Mother Teresa Sent To Hell In Wacky Afterlife Mix-Up"]] is a little funnier after the inverse became the plot of the sitcom ''Series/TheGoodPlace''.
** Back in 2015, The Onion had an article where a [[https://www.theonion.com/so-help-me-god-i-m-going-to-eat-one-of-those-multicolo-1819585017 small child insists he'll eat one of the multi-colored detergent pods]]. Come December 2017, the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tide_Pod_challenge Tide Pod Challenge]] is now a thing. A few months prior, they did a story about sour apple flavored Tide Pods
** [[https://entertainment.theonion.com/entertainment-scientists-warn-miley-cyrus-will-be-deple-1819594712 "Miley Cyrus will be depleted by 2013"]]. When 2013 rolled around, Cyrus hit a full-on CareerResurrection with the release of "Wrecking Ball".
** [[https://www.theonion.com/residents-of-indiana-join-together-to-form-collective-c-1819573362 "Residents Of Indiana Join Together To Form Collective Consciousness"]] inadvertently predicted a major plot point from season three of ''Series/StrangerThings'', [[spoiler:in which the [[EldritchAbomination Mind Flayer]] creates a HiveMind in a small town in Indiana. This one only manages to encompass thirty people rather than the entire state, but it more than makes up for it with the BodyHorror that it subjects those thirty people to.]]
** [[https://entertainment.theonion.com/report-south-korea-developing-new-pop-group-capable-of-1819580135 "South Korea Developing New Pop Group Capable Of Reaching U.S."]], published in 2017. Around 1 year later, K-Pop became massively popular in the United States.
** [[https://local.theonion.com/man-just-buying-one-of-every-cleaning-product-in-case-t-1842493766 "Man Just Buying One Of Every Cleaning Product In Case Trump Announces It's Coronavirus Cure"]], published on 25 March 2020. [[https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-52407177 One month later...]]
** The 9/11 issue had an article titled "President Urges Calm, Restraint Among Nation's Ballad Singers" which warned musicians like Music/MariahCarey and Music/MichaelJackson not to record any "mawkish, insipid all-star tribute ballads." In October 2001, Carey and Jackson were among the biggest names in the televised benefit concert ''United We Stand: What More Can I Give,'' which suffered massive technical problems and performances that were widely criticized as uninspired.
** The 2011 ''Onion News Network'' video [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iIY5b1JMvGs "Today Now! Interviews The 5-Year-Old Screenwriter Of]] ''Film/FastFive''" becomes even funnier when ''[[Film/TheFastAndTheFurious F9: The Fast Saga]]'' director Justin Lin revealed that one of that film's wildest set pieces involving magnetized cars [[https://www.syfy.com/syfywire/f9-magnet-plane-justin-lin-son was an idea from his 9 year old son.]]
** 2019's "[[https://www.theonion.com/bugs-bunny-explains-how-lebron-helped-him-get-sober-for-1834816124 Bugs Bunny Explains How LeBron Helped Him Get Sober For Role In ‘Space Jam’ Sequel]]" is a bit funnier after the actual ''Film/SpaceJamANewLegacy'' has a sequence where Bugs [[DrowningMySorrows drowns his sorrows]] in [[DrunkOnMilk carrot juice]] as [=LeBron=] helps him find his resolve again.
** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q_OIXfkXEj0 '9/11 Conspiracy Theories Ridiculous' - Al Qaeda]] has the news network correspond with an actual Al Qaeda member because the latter were not amused with 9/11 not being credited to them while being appalled at how ridiculous the theories were. When the 2021 Afghanistan pull-out happened, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GaHz3nFvFZg BBC had an actual interview with a Taliban spokesman]].
*** And a decade before that, al-Qaeda [[https://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/al-qaeda-iran-ahmadinejad-stop-spreading-911-conspiracy/story?id=14620643 actually went after Iran]] for spreading 9/11 conspiracy theories!
** From 2020, [[https://www.theonion.com/paleontologists-unearth-rare-mint-condition-triceratop-1845439323 Paleontologists Unearth Rare Mint Condition Triceratops Skull In Goodwill Bin.]] In 2022, [[https://www.cnn.com/2022/05/07/us/ancient-roman-statue-bought-texas-goodwill-trnd/index.html a statue a woman in Texas bought at a Goodwill]] really did turn out to be an Ancient Roman artifact!
** [[https://www.theonion.com/literally-no-one-calls-me-that-or-has-ever-called-me-t-1819592848 ‘Literally Nobody Calls Me That Or
* JerkassWoobie:
**
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** "[[https://youtu.be/I2OObOM3R_U?si=gnbIsF8Hb-eWUL9Q Child Bankrupts Make-A-Wish Foundation]]": [[SpoiledBrat Chad Carter]] is an 8-year-old with leukemia who, after [[LoopholeAbuse finding a loophole]] on the Make-A-Wish Foundation charter, decided [[WishingForMoreWishes to wish for unlimited wishes]]. Now gaining whatever he wants, Chad's wishes are costing the foundation 5 times its annual budget, with him being uncaring that it could lead to it filing for bankruptcy. When interviewed, president of the foundation Dean Feinglass answered that when Chad found out they had a legal team, he just wished them away, and that he made one of his first wishes to have the best oncology care possible from the foundation to continue wishing as long as possible.
** "[[https://youtu.be/Q9X_sXWoKJE?si=17hbOeQKKjY_Rjcb The Onion Reviews 'Interstellar']]": The terrible truth of Creator/ChristopherNolan is his stealing of Peter K. Rosenthal's film ideas. When Peter presented him with ''Film/{{Interstellar}}'' for feedback, Nolan stole the film, returning the case with a copy of ''Film/ThePrestige'' and passed ''Interstellar'' off as his own movie while getting the entire cast and crew to go along with it. Having previously stolen ''Film/{{Inception}}'', Nolan still manages to have Peter consider him a friend despite constantly stealing his films.
** "[[https://youtu.be/I2OObOM3R_U?si=gnbIsF8Hb-eWUL9Q Child Bankrupts Make-A-Wish Foundation]]": [[SpoiledBrat Chad Carter]] is an 8-year-old with leukemia who, after [[LoopholeAbuse finding a loophole]] on the Make-A-Wish Foundation charter, decided [[WishingForMoreWishes to wish for unlimited wishes]]. Now gaining whatever he wants, Chad's wishes are costing the foundation 5 times its annual budget, with him being uncaring that it could lead to it filing for bankruptcy. When interviewed, president of the foundation Dean Feinglass answered that when Chad found out they had a legal team, he just wished them away, and that he made one of his first wishes to have the best oncology care possible from the foundation to continue wishing as long as possible.
** "[[https://youtu.be/Q9X_sXWoKJE?si=17hbOeQKKjY_Rjcb The Onion Reviews 'Interstellar']]": The terrible truth of Creator/ChristopherNolan is his stealing of Peter K. Rosenthal's film ideas. When Peter presented him with ''Film/{{Interstellar}}'' for feedback, Nolan stole the film, returning the case with a copy of ''Film/ThePrestige'' and passed ''Interstellar'' off as his own movie while getting the entire cast and crew to go along with it. Having previously stolen ''Film/{{Inception}}'', Nolan still manages to have Peter consider him a friend despite constantly stealing his films.
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** Brooke Alvarez from the IFC series. She's basically an AlphaBitch who treats everyone around her like dirt and generally seems to think everyone else is a massive idiot...then it's revealed in season 2 she was a Russian girl who was forced to become a child cosmonaut by the Soviets (with all sorts of torturous treatments) and had to battle a vicious chimpanzee while in orbit. Her own mother noticed the changes after she came down to Earth -- a hardness around her and constant night terrors involving her fighting chimpanzees. By the end of the episode (and after repeated denials it affected her, with Jane Carmichael, Tucker Hope and O'Brady Shaw repeatedly bringing it up; in Carmichael's case it's a case of TheDogBitesBack, having grown tired of Brooke's attitude towards her), she ends up having a mental breakdown and being taken away for treatment.
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** [[https://www.theonion.com/mother-teresa-sent-to-hell-in-wacky-afterlife-mix-up-1819564421 "Mother Teresa Sent to Hell in Wacky Afterlife Mixup"]] becomes a lot harsher after some of Teresa's poor treatment of the people she allegedly "helped" came to light, as if her destination wasn't an accident after all.
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** [[https://www.theonion.com/mother-teresa-sent-to-hell-in-wacky-afterlife-mix-up-1819564421 "Mother Teresa Sent to Hell in Wacky Afterlife Mixup"]] becomes a lot harsher after [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Criticism_of_Mother_Teresa some of Teresa's poor treatment treatment]] of the people she allegedly "helped" came to light, as if her destination wasn't an accident after all.
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** Creator/StevenOgg, just a year or so before ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoV'', voiced an in-universe promo on the IFC series (specifically for ''Gut Check with O'Brady Shaw'').
