A Simpsons fan on social media has pointed out the unexpected connection between the show and the Titanic submersible.
The submersible known as Titan, which is intended to explore the wreckage of the sunken ship Titanic, has been missing with five people on board in the Atlantic Ocean since Sunday (18 June).
Reiss has spoken about his experiences as a passenger on the company OceanGate Expeditions, after going on a number of voyages in the past.
Now, people are pointing out a deeper connection, relating to content from the classic animation.
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The social media account "Four Finger Discount" wrote, "Weird Fact: Former Simpsons showrunner @MikeReissWriter last year rode the same Titanic submersible that is now missing. The last episode he ever produced was 'Simpson Tide', involving Homer and co. getting stuck on a damaged submarine."
'Simpson Tide' is indeed the last episode that Reiss is listed as an executive producer on. However, he is listed as a producer on the show until as recently as 2009.
The episode sees their submarine hit by a depth charge, causing them to be stuck in a perilous situation within the leaking craft.
The Simpsons is well known for predicting the future. Others have also highlighted a plot point from the 10th episode of the seventeenth season, 'Homer's Paternity Coot', which sees Homer come close to running out of oxygen in a submersible after inadvertently crashing it.
It comes after Reiss spoke about his experiences on the Titanic submersible on Monday's (19 June) BBC Breakfast, saying: "I know the logistics of it and I know how vast the ocean is and how very tiny this craft is.
"If it's down at the bottom I don't know how anyone is going to be able to access it, much less bring it back up," he added.
Reiss explained that he had gone on three different dives with the company OceanGate Expeditions, which owns Titan, and that they "almost always lost communication".
"I got on the sub and at the back of my mind was 'well, I may never get off this thing,' that's always with you,' he said.
Reiss said that Titan is "a beautifully designed craft"; however, the nature of the expedition makes problems possible.
"This is not to say this is a shoddy ship or anything, it's just that this is all new technology and they're learning it as they go along," he said.
"You have to just remember the early days of the space programme or the early days of aviation, where you just make a lot of mistakes on the way to figuring out what you're doing."
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