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44 Bits of ‘Simpsons’ Trivia That Are Unpossible to Forget

November 01, 2024

It's no secret that Cracked has some of the smartest writers in the game. Sorry, The Simpsons. The Simpsons has some of the smartest writers in the game. Well, there's no way of deleting that mistake, now is there? Maybe it's best to keep it there as a subliminal message of sorts. Okay, so we don't have jokes laden with mathematical equations, but we do have lists of wild stats somewhere around here! Those have equations for sure. Maybe head over to one of those after this list of Simpsons trivia. See for yourself!

44

The Cheap Imitators

Georgia ripped off The Simpsons and barely bothered to disguise it. The Samsonadzes pretty much swiped the core of The Simpsons and put a new name on.

43

The Original Opening Sequence

The original opening sequence of THE SIMPSONS - which didn't appear in the series pilot -- was made unusually long to cut the amount of animation work

42

The Simpsons

A Simpsons Christmas episode, from Season 7, was inspired by real life. In the episode, Bart steals a video game, gets caught, and kind of gets more distant from his mom-and something similar happened to Simpsons writer Mike Scully when he was 12 (so he pitched the idea for the episode based on it). CRACKED COM — Source

41

Saving Lives

When TV saves lives (or destroys them) The Simpsons A 12-year-old from West Yorkshire was saved from choking on a sandwich by his best friend, who had seen the Heimlich Maneuver on The Simpsons. These cartoons are really life-saving PSAs in disguise, apparently. CRACKED — 20th Television
The Telegraph

40

The Theme Song

COMEDY NERD CRACKED.COM DANNY ELFMAN SAYS THE SIMPSONS THEME WAS THE EASIEST THING НЕ EVER DID. THE SIMPSONS I literally wrote the piece in the car on my way home from the meeting, in my head, he says. — Source

39

The Simpsons Game

The Simpsons Game (The Simpsons Movie) CRACKED.COM It may not be the almighty Simpsons: Hit and Run, but this co-op platformer, released the same year as The Simpsons Movie, is well worth playing, especially for its bevy of levels parodying other gaming classics such as Medal of Honor and Grand Theft Auto. — Source: Gamespot

38

Alan Moore and Thomas Pynchon

ETT Alan Moore & Thomas Pynchon Alan Moore, famed despiser of all adaptations of his work, played himself on The Simpsons. So did Thomas Pynchon. ? HOMAS ICHON IOUSE CRACKED.COM

37

The Real-Life Inspiration for Krusty the Clown

Rusty Nails was the real-life inspiration behind Krusty The Portland entertainer was a very sweet clown, says Matt Groening, who would have grown up watching him. CRACKED.COM — Source: 14 Facts About The Simpsons (In Case You Run Out Of Episodes To Watch)

36

Matt Groening’s Musical Influences

COMEDY NERD CRACKED.COM MATT GROENING IS A MAJOR FAN OF THE BAND THE RESIDENTS. In fact, he was a member of their first fan club, W.E.I.R.D. (We Endorse Immediate Residents Deification), founded in 1978. — Source

35

Maggie’s Voice

Elizabeth Taylor was the voice of Maggie's first word Matt Groening said, We did 24 takes, but they were always too sexual. CRACKED.COM — Source

34

Controversial Crossover

Matt Groening removed his name from one episode DEVELOPED By JAMES L. BROOKS Sam SIMAN Groening was so upset with The Critic crossover inclusion in A Star is Burns that his name doesn't appear in the opening credits. CRACKED.COM — Source: 14 Facts About The Simpsons (In Case You Run Out Of Episodes To Watch)

33

The Simpsons’ Silhouettes

GRAGKED.COM The Simpsons have their iconic looks because Matt Groening believes that cartoon characters should be recognizable from a silhouette. — Source

32

Fred Armisen

FRED ARMISEN got Groening back to his Portland roots DEVEL CRACKED.COM After Fred and Carrie Brownstein guested on the Simpsons, Matt Groening returned the favor by appearing on Portlandia. The Simpsons creator sued Armisen's character for his line of bootleg Bart Ska-mson t-shirts. — Oregon Live

31

Matt Groening’s Cameo

Matt Groening THE SIMPSONS MPSOWS GRANDING CRACKED.COM Groening portrayed himself as a gun-totin', tequila-shootic one-eyed megalomaniac during an interstitial in a seventh-season clip show. — Source: 13 Movies And Shows That Dunked On Themselves

30

The Oregon Connection

Springfield THE SIMPSONS SPRINGFLELO Matt Groening confirmed it's supposed to be set in Springfield, Oregon and liked how the name was SO common. — Source: NPR

29

Marge’s Hair

Marge Simpson has huge hair because she was originally going to be secretly rabbit. a Matt Groening had planned to reveal that Marge was hiding rabbit

28

Matt Groening’s Parenting Advice

CRACKEDCON Interviewer: How do you respond to critics who consider Bart Simpson a dreadful role model for children? Matt Groening: If you don't wan

27

Lisa for President

Fictional Presidents PRESIDENT The Simpsons Lisa Simpson The episode Bart to the Future didn't just predict that Donald Trump would be president, but Lisa's outfit resembles what Kamala Harris wore to her VP inauguration. CRACKED.COM — Source

26

‘Jingle Bells, Batman Smells’

character introductions The simpsons IEL Bart simpson Every kid in the late '80s/early '90s was singing, Jingle Bells, Batman smells, Robin laid an egg, the Batmobile broke its wheel, and the Joker got away. Bart sings this in his first scene, showing the world his don't have a cow, man attitude. CRACKED — 20th Television
Mental Floss

25

Nancy Cartwright

Bart Simpson has roots in the real world. CRACKEDCO Nancy Cartwright's most notable role by far is Bart Simpson. But a few years earlier, she got a tiny little part in 1983's Twilight Zone: The Movie, where she's very appropriately banished to a cartoon universe.

24

Amy Poehler

AMY POEHLER is Bart Simpson's future love CRACKED.COM Future Bart can't resist the charm's of Poehler's skateboarding Jenda. Не exclaims, Hey, about some forehead! before the two engage in a flirtatious head butt. It's no wonder he'll marry her. And no wonder she'll divorce him. — Source: Live From Springfield, It’s the Simpsons/Saturday Night Live Nexus

23

A Forgotten Hitler Joke

Proving a conspiracy theory? ADOLF CRACKED.COM In the classic episode, Bart vs. Aus- tralia, before ticking off all of Aus- tralia, Bart randomly prank calls ran- dom numbers. One of the numbers he calls is in Buenos Aires, Argenti- na, where an elderly Adolf Hitler at- tempts to answer. This is a reference to the conspiracy theory that Hitler survived WWII and escaped to Ar- gentina, where he lived until 1962. — The Guardian

22

Rod and Todd Flanders

6 2 66 THe SIMPSONS In the episode Bart Star - CRACKED.COM the numbers on the religious Rod and Todd's football jerseys are '66' and '6.' — Source

21

Sting

When a boy's down a well, you can count on STING GRAGKED.COM Bart pretends to suffer tragedy and Sting shows up for We're Sending Our Love Down The Well, a celebrity singalong rescue effort. (The part was originally written for Springsteen.) When Bart actually falls down the hole, a shirtless Sting leads the shovel brigade. — Screenrant

20

Joe Namath

JOE NAMATH gives Bart some QB advice CRACKED.COM When Namath's car breaks down in front of the Simpson house, Bart asks the legend for pigskin secrets. There's only one thing you need to know to be a great quarterback, Joe says. But his car is quickly fixed, so he leaves Bart with an unsatisfying remember what I said. — YouTube

19

Bart the Genius

More from Bart the Genius. y=r2/3 r2 or RDRR CRACKED.COM When Bart swaps his answer sheet with Martin Prince, everyone thinks he has an IQ of 216. At his new school, The Learning Center for Gifted Children, the teacher writes an equation and says: So y equals r cubed over three, and if you determine the rate of change in this curve cor- rectly, I think you will be pleasantly surprised. The other children laugh, but the teacher asks: Don't you get it, Bart? Derivative dy equals three r squared dr over three, or r squared dr... or r dr — ZME Science

18

Bart in France

In the French dub of The Simpsons, Bart doesn't say eat my shorts! He says va te faire shampouiner! This translates to go shampoo yourself! CRAC

17

Apu Easter Egg

DO NOT ACCEPT CHECKS FROM: CHIEF WIGGUM REVEREND LOVEJOY. HOMER J. SIMPSON HOMER S. SIMPSON H.J. SIMPSON CRACKED.COM HOMOR SIMPSON HOMER J. FONG SIMPSONS THE In the episode Homer and Apu, this sign in the Kwik- E-Mart is a treat for observant viewers. — Source

16

The Origins of ‘D’oh’!

HOMER SIMPSON d'oh The 1940s BBC radio comedy It's That Man Again was really popular for its catchphrases like Don't mind if I do, and D'oh!, which was used decades before Homer Simpson made it famous. GRACKED — 20th Television,
Wiki Commons
Blackpool Gazette

15

Homer on Tardiness

CRACKED HOMER SIMPSON There's no time to be careful. We're late. THE SIMPSONS Responding to Marge's plea to drive safely, Homer's first line is pretty Homer-esque, but also pretty responsible when you realize he's trying to get somewhere on time. — Mental Floss / Vulture

14

The Bart T-Shirt Ban

GRACKED DOWN WITH HOMEWORK BART SIMPSON T-SHIRTS WERE BANNED IN SCHOOLS. In April 1990, U.S. schools banned Bart shirts, thinking his attitude made him a bad role model. But the shirts were a hit, and Matt Groening thought the ban was silly. — 20th Television
Mental Floss

13

Homer’s Pugilistic Advice

Advice from TV dads The Simpsons Homer Simpson teaches Bart how to fight. First, you gotta shriek like a woman, and keep sobbing until he turns away in disgust. That's when it's time to kick some back. And then, when he's lying on the ground... Kick him in the ribs... Step on his back... And run like hell. CRACKED — 20th Television
Clip on YouTube

12

The Origins of Bart

Matt Groening first thought of Bart in high school In high school, he wrote a book about a kid named Bart Simpson whose father Homer would get mad at him. CRACKED.COM — Source: 14 Facts About The Simpsons (In Case You Run Out Of Episodes To Watch)

11

Homer and Krusty

COMEDY NERD Homer Simpson was originally going to be revealed to be Krusty the Clown. The original idea behind Krusty the Clown was that he was Homer in disguise, but Homer still couldn't get any respect from his son, who worshipped Krusty, said Matt Groening. CRACKED.COM — Source

10

The Baseball Hall of Fame

Homer Simpson got inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame a few years ago. 178 It was thanks to the 1992 episode Homer at the Bat, in which he played for the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant softball team. CRACKED.COM — Source: MLB

9

Homer’s Jobs

Number of Jobs held by Homer Simpson: 188 in the first 400 episodes

8

Lisa’s Influence

Lisa Simpson made young girls crazy for CRACKED.COM saxophones. ENRIELO ILEVATARY When The Simpsons started airing, lots of pre-teen girls started pla

7

Larry King

LARRY KING starred as Larry King -twice GRAGKEDCOM The second Simpsons celeb to appear as himself, King moderated a fierce mayoral debate between Mayor Quimby and Sideshow Bob. On another episode, Homer believes he's dying and falls asleep to a recording of King reading the Bible. — Channel 3000

6

James Earl Jones

JAMESEARLIONES was almost Sideshow Bob CRACKED.co Show runners originally wrote the role of Sideshow Bob for Jones. Though the famous voice guested several other times, he was unable to make the Bob commitment. That opened the door for what Kelsey Grammar calls his best role ever. — Source: 15 Potential Simpsons Cameos That Didn’t Become Reality

5

The Many Voices of Phil Hartman

PHIL HARTMAN made an impact like no other SNLer CRACKED.COM Before his untimely death, Hartman was both a Simpsons regular and a go-to for new characters. Among his best: shady attorney Lionel Hutz, washed-up movie star Troy McClure, and singing huckster Lanley. Lyle Lanley. Monorail. Monorail. Monorail. — Source: Live From Springfield, It’s the Simpsons/Saturday Night Live Nexus

4

Tom Cruise

TOM CRUISE would have been Bart's best pal DOL CRACKED.COM Someone told producers that Cruise wanted to guest, SO they wrote the part of Bart's amazing Bigger Brother Tom just for him. Cruise rejected the part, which was ably handled by do-it-all Phil Hartman. — Source: 15 Potential Simpsons Cameos That Didn’t Become Reality

3

Phil Hartman

44 Bits of ‘Simpsons’ Trivia That Are Unpossible to Forget

2

McBain

Easter Eggs The Simpsons There's an entire McBain film (think Rambo meets Beverly Hills Cop) playing in the background of The Simpsons episodes through the years. CRACKED.COM — Source: 15 Movie Easter Eggs (Just in Time for Easter)

1

Simpsons 101

NAME: Denise Duvernay FAN OF: The Simpsons THE SIMPSONS IN THE CLASSROOM RESULT: A college seminar based on Springfield. Dr. DuVernay teaches a course — Source: DNA Info

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