FreddeGredde’s medley of songs from The Simpsons gives me an idea: turn the show into a musical. You know, like Cop Rock or Rags to Riches. It’s guaranteed to breathe new life into the series.

-via The Uniblog | FreddeGredde’s Website

Previously by FreddeGredde: Classic Cartoon Theme Song Medley

Who knew Homer was speaking dragon this whole time?

Link Via The Daily What

The Simpsons has a reputation for clever, subtle references. It occasionally mentions or imitates famous works of art. After twenty-three seasons, that “occasionally” builds up to a lot, and the author of Simpsons Park has compiled a huge list of dozens of works of art that the writers worked into the show. Pictured above is their take on Henri Rousseau’s The Dream.

Link -via The Agitator

Four years ago, we published an article called Life Imitates The Simpsons, containing six plots from the TV show The Simpsons which later happened in the real world. In the years since, many more Simpsons plots were prescient of, or else inspired, real-life incidents. Ranker now has a list of 13 Simpsons Jokes That Actually Came True, and I was amazed to find no overlap in the two lists! Check this out: the picture on the left shows a promotional billboard for Itchy & Scratchy: The Movie, which was featured on The Simpsons in 1992. On the right is a billboard for Kill Bill, which came out in 2003. Read all the details at Ranker. Link

Neatorama presents

On December 17, 1989 The Simpsons made its debut on Fox TV. What can you say about The Simpsons? Now in its 23rd season, it is, without a doubt, one of the most brilliant television shows of all time. Let’s take a look at some Simpsons trivia you may not have known

Why are they yellow?

Matt Groening, the creator of The Simpsons, said he made the characters yellow to grab the attention of channel surfers.

How much does Maggie cost in the opening sequence?

O.K. we’re all familiar with the classic opening sequence on the show, where Marge and Maggie are at the supermarket checkout line and Maggie goes through the market scanner. Ever wonder how much she scans for? Maggie originally scanned for $847.63, which was the price of raising a baby for one month back in 1989 (when the show debuted). Now things have changed and Marge’s groceries add up to $243.36. When Maggie is added and scanned, she doubles the tab to $486.52.

Tracy Ullman sued the show.

The Simpsons is one of the most successful spinoffs in history, spawning from The Tracy Ullman Show. Tracy Ullman’s variety show ran for three years on Fox, and The Simpsons originated as brief cartoon vignettes on the show. Dan Castellanetta (the voice of “Homer”) and Julie Kavner (“Marge”) were regulars on the series, nancy Cartwright (“Bart”) and Yeardley Smith (“Lisa”) were brought in to do the voiceovers for the cartoons. After The Simpsons took off on its own, Tracy Ullman sued, unsuccessfully, to earn a share of The Simpsons‘ merchandising bonanza. (So far, The Simpsons has lasted twenty years longer than the show that spawned it.)

Most unnecessary translation switch.

The Simpsons is dubbed in by foreign-speaking actors for its runs in many different countries. In episodes dubbed in French, Homer’s catchphrase “D’oh!” is translated and read as “T’oh!”

Most Parodied movie?

The Simpsons is always incredibly clever satire. One of the show’s favorite satire targets is, of course, the movies. According to the show’s creators, the show’s most parodied film is Citizen Kane. “They could create an entire film from Simpsons clips,” a Simpsons writer has stated, referring to the amount of Citizen Kane gags they’ve used.he added that The Godfather films were very popular targets, too. Specifically, the show’s creators listed the show’s four most popular movie targets for satire as:

1. Citizen Kane
2. 2001: A Space Odyssey
3. The Shining
4. A Clockwork Orange

What celebrity guest star has played the most roles?

The Simpsons is not only the longest-running animated TV show in history, but it holds the record for the most celebrity guest star appearances. Albert Brooks has made the most guest appearances in the most different roles: five different appearances as five different characters.

Many last names come from actual streets.

Matt Groening got many of the last names of characters on the show from streets in his hometown of Portland, Oregon. Lovejoy, Quimby, Flanders, Kearney, Terwilliger, and Burnside are all actual street names in Portland.

Who is the only character on The Simpsons to have five fingers on a hand?

The Simpsons characters, like almost all animated characters, have only four fingers on each hand.Only one Simpsons character has ever had five fingers. “God” is the only character portrayed on The Simpsons to ever have five fingers.

Secret Hidden Beatles Message

Images: (L) Gentileza Diario Uno/Infobae (R) Simpsons Wiki

A group of fishermen in Cordoba caught a mutant fish off a lake near a nuclear power plant that looked like it came straight out of The Simpsons. Folks, meet the real life equivalent of Blinky, the three-eyed fish:

"We were fishing and we got the surprise of getting this rare specimen. As it was dark at that time we did not notice, but then you looked at him with a flashlight and saw that he had a third eye," said Julian Zmutt, one of the fishermen.

Link [Google Translate] - via Geekosystem

Doesn’t Marge look lovely? Japanese artist y_yamaden carved her likeness in a banana. Link -via Laughing Squid

John Kricfalusi, the animator for the legendary Ren & Stimpy Show, got a chance to direct the couch gag for last night’s episode of The Simpsons. Kricfalusi is not one to hold back his creative vision, even for a children’s show (Nickelodeon ultimately fired him). His work in this short is deliciously weird and psychedelic.

-via Boing Boing | Previously: Banksy’s Couch Gag

Barbara Bush, the First Lady of the United States from 1989 to 1993, didn’t think much of The Simpsons, and said so publicly. Marge Simpson took offense and wrote a polite but firm letter objecting to Bush’s characterization of the show as “the stupidest thing I’ve ever seen.” The First Lady responded to Mrs. Simpson’s note and apologized for the remark.

Link -via The Mary Sue

If you’ve ever visited the Middle East, you know that when American TV programs are shown on Arab TV, culturally sensitive content is often altered or removed. Turns out some hows aren’t so easy to “Arabize.”

MUST-SEE TV

In late 1991, the Middle East Broadcasting Corporation (MBC) went on the air for the first time. It was the Arab world’s first privately owned, independent satellite TV network, and the first to offer 24 hours of Arabic language television programming free of charge to anyone with a satellite dish.

Other networks soon sprung up, creating a huge demand for content to fill the airwaves. In the years that followed, countless American TV shows -everything from Friends to The Late Show with David Letterman to Two and a Half Man to McGyver to Dr. Phil and Oprah- found their way onto these channels, either dubbed into Arabic or broadcast with Arabic subtitles, and with culturally offensive subject matter toned down or removed entirely.

Shows that appealed to younger audiences were especially popular. In some countries as much as 60 percent of the population was under 20 years of age, and the numbers remain high today. So it was probably inevitable that sooner or later, one of the Arab networks would set its sights on The Simpsons, one of the most successful shows in American TV history, and try to bring it to the Middle East. In 2005, MBC did just that.

HOMER OF ARABIA

No expense was spared to prepare The Simpsons for the Arab market. The Arab world’s best TV writers were hired to translate episodes into Arabic, and A-list actors and actresses were hired to provide new voices for the characters. To make the show seem less “foreign,” Homer Simpson was renamed Omar Shamshoon, and the show itself was renamed Al Shamshoon -”The Shamshoons.” (Marge Simpson became Mona Shamshoon, Bart became Badr, and Lisa became Beesa.) Each episode that was selected for translation into Arabic was carefully reviewed to remove anything that might be offensive to Muslims. For example, where Homer Simpson drinks Duff beer (Islam forbids the consumption of alcohol), Omar Shamshoon drinks Duff fruit juice. Homer eats hot dogs (which commonly contain pork, also forbidden) and donuts (which are unfamiliar to most Arabs), but Omar eats Egyptian beef sausage links and khak cookies, which, like donuts, are often made with a hole in the middle.

Not every episode made the cut: Those with strong religious themes were out, as were the ones where the characters spent lots of time drinking beer in Moe’s Tavern. In episodes featuring shorter church and tavern scenes, they’re referred to as a “mosque” and a “coffeehouse.” And Ned Flanders? He became just an annoyingly perfect neighbor, not an annoyingly perfect Christian neighbor.

As for all the Simpsons-centric dialog, like “Don’t have a cow, man!” and “Hi-diddley-ho, neighbors!” …well, the writers just translated as best they could. (“D’oh!” was translated as “D’oh!”)

NEITHER HERE NOR THERE

The final product was a confusing mishmash of cultural references, something not really American, not really Arab (Marge Simpson and the other female characters don’t wear veils, for example) …and definitely not The Simpsons. It wasn’t very funny, either, and with all the translations, revisions, and deletions, the storylines could be maddeningly difficult to follow.

The premier episode of Al Shamshoon aired in October 2005, on the first night of the holy month of Ramadan -the biggest TV viewing night of the year. Muslims fast from sunup to sundown during Ramadan, and after the fast is broken with an evening meal, millions of the faithful settle in for a night of watching TV. Though 52 episodes were scheduled to air that month,  -with MBC looking forward to “Arabizing” all 17 seasons of The Simpsons in years to come- the series was pulled after only 34 shows. Why? Because not many people tuned in to watch it. Al Shamshoon turned out to be just too strange a show for many viewers, especially in a part of the world where cartoons were still seen as entertainment for children.

But what really killed Al Shamshoon may have been the very thing that brought it into being in the first place: Satellite TV channels. Arabs with satellite TV dishes can pull in non-Arab stations, and some of those broadcast The Simpsons in all its original, unadulterated glory. (The show is also available on DVD.) Many of the people who tuned in to watch Al Shamshoon were fans of The Simpsons who just wanted to see how badly MBC would botch the job, and after having a few laughs at the network’s expense, they went back to watching the real thing.

HOME GROWN

For Arab critics of Al Shamshoon, one of the most frustrating things about the show was knowing that if MBC had just taken a fraction of the money it spent on Al Shamshoon and hired Arab animators to create an entirely new, entirely Arab show from scratch, they might have come up with something funny and engaging that Arabs could understand and call their own.

Even as Al Shamshoon was falling flat on its face in 2005, work had already begun on just such a show. Freej (“Neighborhood”), a comedy about four grandmothers living in a quiet neighborhood of Dubai, a booming metropolis in the United Arab Emirates, was already in production. Freej was the brainchild of a twenty-something UAE national named Mohammed Saeed Harib, whose first exposure to animated shows came in the late 1990s when he was a student at Boston’s Northeastern University and his dormmates downloaded bootleg episodes of South Park and other shows to watch on their computers. Harib came up with Um Saeed, the first of his four grandmother characters, while he was still living in the dorm. By 2003, he’d developed a concept for an entire show, which he sold to the satellite channel Sama Dubai.

FULL CIRCLE

One year after Al Shashoon bit the dust, the first episode of Freej aired in the same coveted time slot -the first night of Ramadan. Unlike Al Shamshoon, Freej, the Arab world’s first 3D animated series, was a hit from the very start. By the time the second season of Freej aired the following year, half of all television viewers in the UAE were tuning in to watch the show. Stay tuned; you may be watching one of these days, too. In 2009, Harib entered into talks with American media companies to bring his show to the United States. (Until then, you can look for clips on YouTube.)

___________________

The article above was reprinted with permission from the Bathroom Institute’s newest book, Uncle John’s Heavy Duty Bathroom Reader.

Since 1988, the Bathroom Reader Institute has published a series of popular books containing irresistible bits of trivia and obscure yet fascinating facts.

If you like Neatorama, you’ll love the Bathroom Reader Institute’s books – go ahead and check ‘em out!

Come Home To The Simpsons from devilfish on Vimeo.

Lost as a Friends-esque sitcom? The Simpsons as real people? It could have all happened if only producers had edited their opening credits a little differently. Check out these and a few more over at Shortlist. I didn’t quite buy the Lost as Friends, but I was amused. And the Gorillaz soundtrack coupled with original The Walking Dead comic book art is nothing short of amazing.

Link via Flavorwire

Matt Groening, creator of The Simpsons, teamed up with Apple in 1989 to try and sell computers to college kids. The artwork for the “Who Needs a Computer Anyway?” booklet came from Groening’s book, School is Hell. It seems an odd pairing, but it was reprised later by an Etsy seller’s unauthorized Homer Simpson iPhone decal. There are a few more of the pages from “Who Needs a Computer Anyway?” on The Daily What. Link

Link

Fox has never licensed the beverage in the United States. According to several reports, Simpsons’ creator Matt Groening fears that bringing Duff into the real world would be tantamount to pushing alcohol on minors.

The Duff dearth north of the border has only made fans more desperate. Online message boards buzz about where to find Duff. On eBay, an empty bottle of Duff beer from Argentina sells for $14.99; a decal off the Colombian product is being offered for $8.99.

At Rock Garden, a bar in Bogotá, Duff commands import prices — about $5.50 a bottle — even though it’s brewed in the nearby city of Medellin.

Duff Sudamerica, the Chilean producer, expects to sell $750,000 worth of Duff beer this year, but personally I think they’ll surpass that once Simpsons superfans get in on it.

Link | Image: Jim Wyss / Miami Herald Staff

D’oh no! Its’ the Smithers Love Song by Your Favorite Martian.

We seem to be on a roll with The Big Lebowski mash-ups. Coming hot on the heels of The Big LEGOwski, now we have Homer Simpson, Lenny and Carl reenacting the “They peed on your effing rug” scene at the bowling alley.

via GeekTyrant

(Video link)

Guess what, neighborino; you know those all-too-brief moments during The Simpsons in which we see marquee tough guy McBain getting his Ahnuld on? They’re Easter eggs. Parts of a whole.

It turns out that if you arrange all of the McBain clips from old episodes of “The Simpsons,”  they form a cohesive four-minute excerpt from an action film in which the titular hero “hunts corrupt drug kingpin Senator Mendoza and tries to exact revenge for his murdered partner while battling red tape at police headquarters.”

Link -via CollegeHumor

Remember the The Simpsons opening sequence directed by the guerilla artist Banksy? Well, he’s uploaded the original storyboard of the now famous intro to his website. Take a look: Link – via Buzzfeed

As it turned out, it wasn’t quite so easy. There were slight differences in timing and tempo which meant I had to alter Gwenatav’s part slightly, cutting out moments of silence so the two would sync up. Since choppy video would be unacceptable, I had to do my best to match up what I could – compounded by the fact that Gwen’s video was recorded in 25fps and Julien’s at 30fps. That said, I’m happy with the results…

Which you can hear at Geeks Are Sexy. Link

I saw the film Banksy directed, “Exit Through the Gift Shop,” and I thought, oh, we should see if he would do a main title for the show, a couch gag. So I asked Bonnie Pietila, our casting director, if she could locate him, because she had previously located people like Thomas Pynchon. And she did it through the producers of that film. We didn’t have any agenda. We said, “We’d like to see if you would do a couch gag.” So he sent back boards for pretty much what you saw.

Jean also verified that he’s sure that he was dealing with the real Banksy, and not an imposter:

The original boards that we got from him were in his style and were certainly by an extremely proficient artist. We were dealing with the person that represented him making the movie. I haven’t met him, I don’t even know what he looks like, except what the Internet suggests. And he’s taken credit for it now so I’m pretty sure it’s him. We went through the people that made the movie so I assume they would know how to get to the real him.

Link via Super Punch | Image: Fox

Tonight’s opening sequence of The Simpsons was written and directed by street artist Banksy. It may be disturbing to some viewers. -via Laughing Squid

Barney Gumble

Barney was based on a drunkard character named “Crazy” Guggenheim that was in the “Joe the Bartender” sketches of The Jackie Gleason Show. Matt Groening wanted him to be the most pathetic sitcom sidekick ever and he always wanted to break the unspoken rules of television that made it taboo to have alcohol serve as the source of comedy. As for his name, it was based on another popular comedy character, Barney Rubble of The Flintstones.

Video link.

Bart Simpson

While Bart’s name is just an anagram of “brat”, the character was largely based on Matt Groening’s older brother. On top of that, the character is an extreme version of a bratty child, and Groening incorporated all of the bad traits from Tom Sawyer, Huckleberry Finn and Dennis the Menace.

Bleeding Gums Murphy

Image via Hans Reitzema [Wikipedia]

Bleeding Gums’ character design is loosely based on the now deceased saxophone player LeRoi Moore, who played for the Dave Matthews band. His character is believed to be a homage to saxophone player Sonny Rollins, who quit his jazz career to play by himself on a bridge.

Bumblebee Man

Bumblebee Man is the Simpson’s version of a popular Mexican television character known as El Chapulin Colorado (The Red Grasshopper). The show’s producers said that whenever they watched Telemundo, the character seemed to always be on the screen, which served as inspiration for Bumblebee Man to always be on TV as well.

Video link.

Charles Montgomery Burns

Image via James Duncan Davidson [Wikipedia]

The city’s most diabolical millionaire was based on a number of tycoons including the Rockefellers, but a main inspiration for the character was Fredrik Olsen, a reclusive mogul who owned a number of companies, including Timex. Another source for Mr. Burns personality came from Matt Groening’s his high school teacher, Mr. Bailey.

The look of the character was based on Fox founder Barry Diller (seen above) and a praying mantis.

Doctor Julius Hibbert

When Doctor Hibbert first appeared, he wasn’t based on anyone specific, but when The Simpsons were moved to the same time slot as The Cosby Show, the staff thought it was appropriate to make him a character of Dr. Huxtable, Cosby’s character on the show.

Duffman

Bud Man’s superhero advertising character is a direct inspiration for Duffman. The catchphrase “Oh Yeah” came from the song of the same name by Yello, which was a popular advertising tune during the eighties, which fit right in with Duffman’s persona.

Video link.

Jimbo Jones

If you like the bully, John Bender, from The Breakfast Club and you like Jimbo, there’s a reason for that; Jimbo is based on the Brat Pack character. His name, on the other hand, has a source much closer to the show’s heart…he was named for executive producer James L. Brooks.

Krusty The Clown

Image via Carl Lender [Wikipedia]

Many Simpsons fans already know that Krusty the Clown was based on a television clown that Matt Groening watched as a child, named Rusty Nails. On the other hand, fewer people know that Krusty’s biography is largely based on the life of comedian Jackie Mason (seen above), who was the son of an orthodox rabbi. Mason voices Krusty’s father, which must have been cathartic for him during the first episode he was cast in.

Moe Syzlak

Moe was largely based on a two people, one of the main inspirations was Louis “Red” Deutsch, a boxer-turned-bartender made famous when tapes of prank calls made to his bar were released to the public. Two Jersey City pranksters repeatedly called him and when he started to catch on, he started angrily threatening the callers and their families. This played directly into Bart’s phone relationship with Moe throughout the series.

Another inspiration for Moe was comedian Rich Hall, who was friends with writer George Meyer.

Nelson Muntz

Nelson was also based on John Bender to some extent, and his name is not only a reference to the full nelson wrestling hold, but also to Judd Nelson, the actor who portrayed John Bender in The Breakfast Club. Nelson has even more in common with John Bender than Jimbo does, particularly when it comes to personality and his home life.

Professor John Frink Jr.

Originally the geeky inventor we’ve all grown to love was supposed to be a mad scientist, but when Hank Azaria first voiced him, he did an impression of Jerry Lewis’ Nutty Professor and everyone loved it, so the writers changed the script around to make him more goofy.

Troy McClure

While it’s easy to see that Troy is more of a stereotypical Hollywood wash up than a caricature of any one specific person, his name is based on two B-movie actors: Troy Donahue and Doug McClure. Doug’s daughter said that while her dad considered it an honor to have such an iconic character named after him, she still enjoyed talking back to him by calling him “Troy.”

The Yes Guy

Although he has no real name, every fan is familiar with the mustachioed character that constantly says “yeeeessss.” The character is a tribute to Frank Nelson’s many appearances on The Jack Benny Program and other shows of the period. His trademark was the same “yeeeeesssss” that Yes Guy is known for.

There are tons of Simpsons characters out there, who’s your favorite? And do any of you know any other stories behind the characters?

Source: Simpsons Wiki

The next time your iPhone G4 drops a call, don’t blame Antennagate – it’s probably Homer nom nom nomming the connection.

Nerd Approved has the larger pic: Link or go to apjam’s Etsy shop

The years fly by so fast, don’t they? This is from the episode “Lisa’s Wedding” {wiki} which aired in 1995. -via reddit

Need a sofa? How about a life-size sofa from The Simpsons, complete with characters? It only seats one, but with if you’re such a hardcore Simpsons fan, then chances are you don’t have (or need) any friends to share the couch with anyhow, right? Link

"cat & mouse" (2005)

In his art series "Perspective Sculptures," British artist James Hopkins uses optical illusions to transform what appears to be a random jumble of objects into a particular image when viewed at just the right angle.

Designboom has more: Link | James Hopkins website – via Nerdcore

The opening to last night’s episode of The Simpsons parodied “Tik Tok“, a song by American pop singer Ke$ha (that’s how she spells it). Featuring Groundskeeper Willy brushing his teeth with a bottle of Jack.

via Comics Alliance | Another Tik Tok Parody

deviantART user Martin Beyer imagined what Mr. Burns from The Simpsons would look like if he was depicted more literally. It looks like a sculpture, but Beyer actually used Zbrush to create a digital 3D image.

Link via GearFuse

Anything you’ve ever wondered about Simpson’s Comics, Radioactive Man, Bartman, Bart Simpson’s Treehouse of Horror, Roswell – Little Green Man, or Futurama, etc. etc, etc.? Now’s your chance to ask the main principal writer and artist/editor. (Also the editor of this new book!)

So go ahead and leave your question in the comments below and we’ll select some to put in front of Bill!

Hamburger Earmuffs

If you think inventing the Hamburger Earmuffs was easy you’d be GLAYVENLY wrong. The dear professor had problems like “the pickle matrix” to contend with, something Homer didn’t think of when he tried to steal Frink’s invention.[...]

Debigulator

Uses this invention to shrink Lisa so she can mingle with the tiny people who worship her as their God. (Eedle-blay!)
But when Lisa needs to return to normal size…(Hoyvin Mayvin!)

Link via Digg | Image: FOX

Embiggen: To make bigger or grow in size; a perfectly cromulent word

This graceful word can be attributed to town founder Jebediah Springfield. As the town motto goes, “A noble spirit embiggens the smallest man.” The word is used repeatedly throughout the 7th season episode in which all of Springfield comes down with a major case of Jebeditis (another excellent candidate for this list) during the town’s bicentennial celebration. Adding credibility to the word is the fact that it has appeared in numerous scientific publications since the episode aired.

Simpsons fans can’t think of “embiggen” without thinking of the other fake word used to describe it: cromulent. Clearly, this word should be included on this list as well – if it weren’t for the fact that the Webster’s American dictionary added it to their “New Millenium” edition a few years ago. The official definition: fine, acceptable.

Link via Digg | Image: Fox

Such is the dream of Glyn Stott, a Simpsons fan from Merthyr Tydfil, UK, who hopes to be entered into the Guinness Book of World Records for watching all 451 episodes of The Simpsons, back to back, without resting:

His six-day feat will be overseen by officials to ensure he does not fall asleep.

Mr Stott, from Merthyr Tydfil, South Wales, said: “I’m a huge fan of the show and I’ve seen every episode but watching them continuously for almost a week will be a feat of endurance.

“The judges have to make sure my eyes are firmly fixed on the screen – I have to be seen to be concentrating all the way through.”

The current record for non-stop television watching is four days, set by an American viewer.

Link | Image: Fox

The Estonian station TV3 recreated the introduction to The Simpsons as though the show took place in an Estonian village.

via The Presurfer | Company Website

Stained glass artist Joseph Cavalieri created panels based on The Simpsons. The series is called “Missing Episode” and mixes that TV show with the work of 17th Century French poet Jean de La Fontaine. Pictured above is “The Death in the Playground”.

Link via Popped Culture

How do you improve the world’s best classic artworks? Simpsonize ‘em! That’s what illustrator David Barton did … and the results turn out awesome!

I particularly like the Apu Dali, as inspired by Philippe Halsman’s Tilted Head (Portrait of Salvador Dalí).

Link – via design:related

Previously on Neatorama: Famous Works of Art, Simpsons-Style

Mr. Burns from ‘The Simpsons’ notched 25 write-in votes on Election Day for New York mayor. The Simpsons favorite character to hate, Homer Simpson’s billionaire boss, collected the most write-in votes for NYC Mayor.

More good stuff from Gotham’s mayoral election and the angry voters trying to make a point, according to the New York Daily News, "Rodney Dangerfield, who died in 2004, received a write-in vote."

Mad Magazine icon Alfred E. Newman, Fantastic Four arch-villain Victor Von Doom, Mickey Mouse, and Sleeping Beauty also received write-in.

Link

Image:Fox

Bart’s Blackboard is an archive of every sentence that Bart Simpson has been forced to write on the blackboard in the opening sequence to The Simpsons. So far, there are six seasons loaded in this ongoing project.

Link via J-Walk Blog

Photo: Design Fetish

In 1997, home developer Kaufman & Broad built a house in Henderson, Nevada that looks exactly like the house that the Simpson family lives in, both inside and outside, including furniture and pictures on the walls. From an article in The Las Vegas Sun, written at the time of construction:

“The Simpsons”, the satirical, animated clan who put the phrases “Doh!” and “Eat my shorts” into the national vernacular, are celebrating their 10th year on television. And in true Simpson fashion, the producers of the show are doing the unexpected – recreating the family’s two-story domicile right down to the throw rugs. Builder Kaufman & Broad has taken the 724 Evergreen Terrace address out of two dimensions and cast it in three, placing it smack dab in the middle of Henderson, Nev., in a housing development appropriately called “Springfield.”

News Story and Gallery via GearFuse

The Itchy & Scratch Show is a “show within a show” featured on The Simpsons. If you are at all familiar with it, you’ll enjoy today’s Lunchtime Quiz at mental_floss. See if you can decide which title is an episode of Itchy & Scratchy, and which are actual names of horror films. It’s not easy! I scored only 50%. Link

I can’t get enough of this: The Simpsons theme song, the a cappella version sung by Canvas. Hit play or go to Link [YouTube] – via Land-O-Links

“This is the biggest and most adhesive honor The Simpsons has ever received,” said Matt Groening, creator and executive producer of The Simpsons.

Link -via J-Walk Blog

Of all the brilliant characters the writers of The Simpsons have gifted to popular culture over the years, Ralph Wiggum is one of the few who make me giddily happy to the point of embarrassment. Something about his absurdist oddballism speaks to everything fundamentally great about inspired comedy writing.

How much do you know about Ralph Wiggum? Since I don’t watch TV, I didn’t even try the quiz. You, no doubt, will do better. Link

(Links open in a new browser window/tab)

	Green Tie in Front of a Green Screen TMJ4 weatherman Scott Steele found out why you're not supposed to wear a green tie when giving the weather in front of a green screen: The news director told me to get a power tie, I just didn't realize how powerful it is ... It certainly made the weather report more interesting, perhaps all weathermen should wear green ties! Link
	Backwards Beethoven What happen if you play Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata Fur Elise backwards? Here's Sean Wesche on the piano: Link Previously on Neatorama: Singing Backwards
	Yoshimoto Cube Forget Rubik's Cube - here's the Yoshimoto Cube, or if you want to get all technical, the transformation fo two stellated rhombic dodecahedron from a cube. Philip Brocoum explains: Link
	Bob Munden: Fastest Gunman Ever Here's Bob Munden, the self-proclaimed fastest gun who ever lived: Now in terms of time, Bob, how quick was that? I draw, cock, level, fire the gun and hit what I'm shooting at in less than 2 one-hundredth of one second ... Link
	Simpsons Duet: 2 Guys 1 Piano Here's Steven Worbey and Kevin Farrell of Katzenjammer (lit. cat's wail in German), playing the theme of The Simpsons. They're pretty awesome! Link

For more the web's most interesting videos, check out: VideoSift.

I can’t imagine the time it must have taken to put this together! Even if you don’t care that much about the map itself, it’s worth it just to go through and read the clever names of some of the establishments – the Texas Cheesecake Depository cracks me up.

Link via Instructables.

Remember our post about Jar Jar Bink carved out of a jicama? Well, the guy who did that made another one. This time, it’s Side Show Bob of the TV series The Simpsons , carved out of a Mexican Turnip! Link – Thanks Ken!