77
votes
Accepted
Why does Homer handle a rod of uranium in the opening?
Homer's first job was actually not a Nuclear Safety Inspector. He was a "nuclear technician" or "technical supervisor" (No one really knows. Not even him). In S01E03, he is fired from this job. He ...
- 7,184
62
votes
Did Ned Flanders murder anyone?
The gif you refer to is from Treehouse of Horror XXII, and in particular the section Dial D for Diddily. To quote from the wiki:
In a parody of Dexter, after hearing who he thinks is God tell him ...
- 51.3k
60
votes
Why is Jimmy Carter "history's greatest monster"?
The joke is that Carter is a soft-spoken, genteel man, and thus calling him "history's greatest monster" is a ridiculous exaggeration.
It is possibly also a criticism of Republican propaganda to ...
- 48.7k
45
votes
Accepted
When did The Simpsons start repeating Couch Gags?
The show has essentially repeated couch gags from the very beginning. According to a list of couch gags on The Simpsons wiki, the first repeat was in the show’s eighth aired episode, The Telltale Head....
- 759
36
votes
Accepted
Do any characters in The Simpsons age over time?
The Nahasapeemapetilon octuplets age slightly from newborns to toddlers. In "Eight Misbehavin'" (S11E7), Manjula gives birth to the newborn octuplets. In subsequent appearances, the children ...
- 3,585
36
votes
Do any characters in The Simpsons age over time?
Apu's nephew, Jamshed "Jay" Nahasapeemapetilon went from toddler (S4 E3) to late teen (S27 E12).
The wiki even states:
Jamshed has aged the most out of all characters in The Simpsons, aging ...
- 463
35
votes
Accepted
Why was Mr. Smithers black and then white?
Talking to TMZ, Matt Groening said:
He was always yellow, and they painted him wrong once. 'At the time
we didn't have enough to do retakes, so when there were glitches and
mistakes it stayed ...
- 118k
33
votes
Accepted
What are the 22 short films in "22 Short Films About Springfield"?
The name of the episode is a reference to the film Thirty Two Short Films About Glenn Gould, which like the episode is an anthology of vignettes.
On the DVD commentary they explain that they chose it ...
- 913
31
votes
Accepted
Simpsons episode with $1000
The episode is "The Regina Monologues" where Bart creates a museum for his found $1000 bill. This inspires the family to go to England for a holiday.
29
votes
Accepted
Was there a reason why the blowfish poison didn't kill Homer?
Homer wasn't actually poisoned. He only believed he was poisoned.
At the sushi restaurant, the master chef tells Homer (emphasis mine):
I shall be blunt. We have reason to believe you've eaten poison....
- 22.1k
28
votes
Why didn't Lisa Simpson become an atheist?
The out of universe explanation is they managed to snag Richard Gere [a rather famous Buddhist] for an episode.
In-universe, they can deal with Lisa'a permanent conversion to Buddhism more easily than ...
- 53k
25
votes
Why does Homer handle a rod of uranium in the opening?
DeeV answered it quite well but one more update it's not even rod of uranium but a carbon rod. And to be accurate Inanimate carbon rod.
There were two such rods prominent in the show as detailed in ...
- 118k
23
votes
Accepted
Why is Jimmy Carter "history's greatest monster"?
This is addressed in the commentary audio track of the DVD for this episode.
The other answers are correct that history's greatest monster is a pretty extreme assessment of Jimmy Carter, so much so ...
- 1,108
21
votes
Simpsons episode with $1000
The Regina Monologues (#EABF22 / SI-1417)
Aired Nov 23rd 2003
Mr. Burns loses a thousand-dollar bill that is quickly turned into the main display at the Museum of Modern Bart. After Burns shows up ...
- 13.1k
21
votes
Accepted
What is the meaning behind Lisa Simpsons triangle shaped red eyes?
It's a reference to the CITGO sign
Nothing says “Boston’’ quite like the iconic CITGO sign.
The white sign, which today features a massive flashing red triangle, has loomed over 660 Beacon Street in ...
- 14.2k
21
votes
Accepted
Quebec's got the bomb
The USA and the West in general are constantly concerned with countries getting "the bomb" and threatening them. Over more recent past this has included Libya, Iraq, Iran and North Korea.
...
- 52.2k
18
votes
Accepted
Episode(s) of The Simpsons without all 5 Simpsons?
According to the Simpsons wikia:
"Four Great Women and a Manicure" is the twentieth episode of Season 20, which aired on May 10, 2009. Valentina Garza wrote the episode, while Raymond S. Persi ...
- 67.8k
17
votes
Accepted
Is every Simpsons episode beginning unique?
No it isn't
According to the Couch gag wiki:
Generally, between one-half and two-thirds of the couch gags used in a season are new, while the remaining couch gags are repeats. Most couch gags are ...
- 14.5k
16
votes
Accepted
What is the foot-prints logo on Homer's shirt - and Homer's childhood acquaintance's shirt - referencing?
It's pretty clearly a reference to "Hang Ten," which was a trendy (U.S.) west coast clothing brand in the 1970s. Which is both when Groening was graduating university and approximately when ...
- 969
15
votes
"Fland Canyon" and Maude
Based on your comment:
@Walt I agree, but such a significant event surely must lie on a static timeline.
There is no static timeline, at least not to the degree that you're expecting it to exist. ...
- 26.2k
14
votes
Accepted
Is Artie Ziff richer than Mr Burns?
Yes
According to Forbes Fictional 15, he was number 11 with 1B in 2002 and number 13 with 996M in 2008 which matches what happened in episode The Burns and the Bees where:
When billionaires learnt ...
- 9,592
14
votes
Why did Homer, Moe and Wally cover their mouths when talking about the Super Bowl?
A typical Simpsons episode "takes 6-8 months to do one episode" according to Simpsons creator Matt Groeing. Of course, they are creating multiple episodes at a time, but from the starting ideas to ...
- 67.8k
14
votes
Have the Tracey Ullman episodes of The Simpsons been officially released since their original air date?
Based on this Quartz article, apparently an app Simpson's World from FXX should hopefully get all the shorts and thus will be available legally.
Saftler said he is also working on acquiring the ...
- 7,301
14
votes
Why didn't Lisa Simpson become an atheist?
As the top answer to this question indicates, Buddhism is quite compatible with Lisa's skeptical nature. The second-highest answer on that question has an interesting quote: "Remember that every ...
- 720
14
votes
Do any characters in The Simpsons age over time?
Also Selma's adopted daughter Ling Bouvier.
She started as a newborn in S16 E12 and now is a toddler (S24 E11)
- 141
13
votes
Accepted
Do we know why Nelson says "epidermis means your hair"?
The joke is that Nelson is playing a prank that depends on Bart’s ignorance of the word “epidermis”; but it turns out Nelson is just as ignorant as his target
- 1,757
12
votes
Accepted
Was it possible to determine who shot Mr. Burns before Part 2 aired?
Clues in Part 1 that point specifically to Maggie:
At one point, Burns remarks that stealing Springfield Elementary's oil was "like taking candy from a baby", and expresses a desire to actually steal ...
- 22.1k
11
votes
Why did Homer, Moe and Wally cover their mouths when talking about the Super Bowl?
It's comedy. It's a joke. Contrary to the other two answers, this was not any sort of scheduling or technical limitation.
The joke is that the audience knows cartoons such as the Simpsons are created ...
- 5,321
11
votes
Accepted
In which episode of The Simpsons did this animation error occur?
I believe the episode you are looking for is Homer Vs. Lisa and the 8th Commandment from Season 2, at time 19:40 on my DVD.
But I don't think it's an animation mistake per se - Homer is at the window ...
- 3,627
Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible