Homer Simpson Disappearing into the Hedges Is Becoming A Chia Pet

The new Homer Simpson hedge Chia Pet is sure to be the hottest holiday gift of Christmas 1994!

Remember when you couldn’t turn on the TV and watch an episode of your favorite animated comedy without hearing the earworm jingle of “Ch-Ch-Ch-Chia!” at every commercial break? If you do, then there’s a good chance that it’s time to talk to your physician about scheduling a colonoscopy. 

Originally made in Mexico, the terra-cotta figurines filled with chia seeds that would grow into faux-fur for whichever animal, cartoon character or president was an irrationally popular Secret Santa present throughout the 1980s and 1990s, and the San Francisco-based company Joseph Enterprises was aggressive about securing brand deals with beloved TV franchises such as Garfield, Scooby-Doo, Looney Tunes and, of course, The Simpsons back during the shared heyday of Chia Pets and The Simpsons.

Much like The Simpsons itself, Chia Pets don’t quite have the cultural footprint today that they did in the 1990s, but all that is about to probably stay the same when they release their newest Simpsons-themed planter:

The oft-memed Simpsons scene comes from the Season Five episode “Homer Loves Flanders” in which Homer softens on his one-sided rival and neighbor after Flanders gives Homer a ticket to the “Pigskin Classic” football game between the Springfield Atoms and the Shelbyville Sharks. Unfortunately for the good Christian neighbor, Homer’s affection and attention quickly becomes overwhelming, and he barges in on the Flanders family playing basketball by casually emerging out of the hedge wall like the Terminator T-1000 before disappearing back through it moments later when Ned declines to invite him to visit Rod and Tod’s grandma.

Numerous following Simpsons episodes have referenced the iconic scene since its explosion in internet fame during the early 2010s, one of which was the 2022 “Treehouse of Horror” episode in the “Simpsons World” segment, an extended parody of the Westworld premise where Springfield and The Simpsons family are all just one big android-filled amusement park for rich assholes. In the episode, Australian tourists repeatedly heckle android Homer to do the “bush meme,” eventually causing him to snap and push the human into the hedge, killing them. Homer then remarks, “I’m so sick of that stupid hedge!”

Well, he’s not sick enough, apparently, and the meme Chia Pet is sure to make its appearance in a few office gift swaps this holiday season, just as the original Simpsons Chia Pets earned their light chuckles around Christmastime decades ago. 

Though, I gotta ask, isn’t the point of Chia Pets that the plants are supposed to look like hair and not, you know, plants?