50 Interesting Facts About The Simpsons
We’ve all got that one friend who thinks they know everything about The Simpsons. To be honest, I am generally that friend. However, with 30+ years of content, there’s bound to be a few interesting tidbits that have slipped under the radar. So we’ve gone and found 50 interesting facts that may leave even your poindexter buddies speechless:
======
Don’t forget to also check out our Simpsons podcast, reviewing every episode of all time!
1. ‘Homer At The Bat’ was the first episode to defeat The Cosby Show in its original airing.
2. On Conan O’Brien’s first day as part of the writing staff, a bird flew through the window and killed itself.
3. Moe’s telephone number is 764-84377, which is one digit more than a usual U.S number.
4. His number actually spells out SMITHERS.
5. In the French dubbed Simpsons, Homer’s “D’oh!” is translated to “T’oh!”
6. In the Spanish version, Homer instead says “Ouch!”
7. Homer’s email, ChunkyLover53@aol.com, is genuinely registered and users will get an automated response from him when they try and contact it.
8. Audio of Paul McCartney reading a recipe for lentil soup can be heard playing backwards during the closing credits of ‘Lisa The Vegetarian.’
9. Nancy Cartwright accidentally knocked over Danny Devito when she was introduced to him before he recorded the dialogue for Uncle Herb the first time.
10. Comic Book Guy’s real name is Jeff Albertson.
11. Matt Groening is the voice behind Maggie’s sucking sound.
12. Dan Castellaneta has said that he based “D’oh!” off of Jimmy Finlayson’s “Dooooh!” in the Laurel And Hardy films.
13. Michael Jackson co-wrote ‘Do The Bartman.’
14. Matt Groening got many of the character’s last names from street names in Portland, Oregon, his hometown.
15. In ‘Burns Verkaufen der Kraftwerk’, Mr. Burns was originally going to sell the power plant to the Japanese instead of the Germans.
16. It only took Danny Elfman two days to compose the show’s theme song.
17. If you string together all of the McBain clips, they actually make somewhat of a coherent movie:
18. Kang and Kodos are named after characters from Star Trek: The Original Series.
19. Nancy Cartwright first auditioned for the role of Lisa, not Bart.
20. The inspiration for Krusty came from Portland TV Clown, Rusty Nails.
21. There was once a ride called ‘The Simpsons Down Under’ at Fox Studios in Sydney. It was in the the backlot theme park, which unfortunately closed down in 2001. The ride featured an altered version of ‘Bart vs Australia’, with entirely new scenes.
22. Cletus and Brandine have 44 children.
23. The drawings in the episode ‘Angry Dad’, were actually drawn by the young son of one of the animators.
24. The Who’s Pete Townshend was actually voiced by his brother Paul in ‘A Tale Of Two Cities.’.
25. Bart’s locker combination is 36-24-36, a reference to the Commodore’s song Brick House.
26. In 1997, The Simpsons became the longest-running prime time animated series in the U.S., surpassing The Flinstones.
27. Hank Scorpio was originally going to return in The Simpsons Movie. Whoever decided not to go with that option should be fired immediately.
28. The live-action sequence at the end of ‘Treehouse Of Horror VI’ was filmed on Ventura Boulevard in Studio City.
29. An original concept in the early days was for Homer to actually be Krusty all along, hence why the designs are so similar.
30. Michael Jackson was credited as John Jay Smith in ‘Stark Raving Dad.’ This was due to contractual limitations meaning he wasn’t meant to contribute to the show.
31. However, he wasn’t allowed to sing, meaning an impersonator was brought in for the “Lisa It’s Your Birthday” scene.
32. The vehicle known as The Homer, has actually been created in real life.
33. Speaking of, a real-life Simpsons house was built in 1997 as part of a promotional competition.
34. ‘Bart Gets An F’ is still the highest rated episode of all time in the U.S.
35. It was also the highest rated show on FOX until 1995.
36. Bart first uses the term “Eat my shorts” in the episode Bart The Genius.
37. Before Sting was selected to appear in ‘Radio Bart’, Bruce Springsteen was offered the role instead but he turned it down.
38. In the Arabic version, Homer is known as Omar and he drinks soda instead of Duff.
39. In 1998, Bart was named as one of the ‘Most Influential People Of The Century’ by TIME Magazine.
40. The Simpsons hold the Guiness World Record for most guest stars in a TV series.
41. FOX owns the rights to The Simpsons until 2082.
42. The Simpsons characters were designed so that they would be easily identifiable in silhouette.
43. The reason they were made yellow was to grab the attention of channel surfers.
44. Homer Simpson is the most downloaded sat-nav voice.
45. Homer is the only character to have dialogue in every episode.
46. Yeardley Smith originally auditioned for Bart.
47. In the 1975 movie, Day Of The Locust, Donald Sutherland played a character named Homer Simpson. He also was a guest voice on ‘Lisa The Iconoclast.’
48. Paul McCartney’s only demand after being a guest star was that Lisa remain a vegetarian for the remainder of the series.
49. The actors behind the voices of Homer and Marge in the French version of the show, Phillipe Peythieu and Veronique Augereau, actually got married in real life.
50. God and Jesus are the only characters on the show to have had five fingers.
Hope you learned a thing or two, or perhaps you’re one of those poindexter’s who knew all of these already. Regardless, stay tuned for more interesting Simpsons facts! In the meantime check out our podcast, reviewing every Simpsons episode of all time.
Support Four Finger Discount on Patreon for access to exclusive podcasts, videos, prize giveaways, as well as entry into our exclusive Four Finger Discount Facebook group! Click the image below to gain instant access to hours of exclusive content!
