# Location of Springfield narrowed down! **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 7, 2003, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/location-of-springfield-narrowed-down/147191 "2003-01-07T22:30:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![tracer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tracer/32/20578_2.png) [@tracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tracer)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2003, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/location-of-springfield-narrowed-down/147191/1 "2003-01-07T22:30:29Z")
One of the greatest, long-standing mysteries of our time is: Of the fourteen cities of Springfield in the U.S., which one is the home of the Simpsons? Well, in this week’s thrill-packed exciting all-new episode of _ **The Simpsons** _, Mrs. Crabopple is shown driving out of Springfield toward Orlando, Florida. Right after she’s out of town, she is shown driving past the following road sign: > [@](#): > > Orlando - 2653 mi. This means that the Springfield that the Simpsons live in must be 2653 miles away from Orlando! That narrows down the possibilities considerably! Of course, since it was a road sign, that means that Springfield would have to be 2653 miles of **driving distance** away from Orlando, FL, not 2653 miles in a straight line on a map. Anyone want to check Mapquest for the driving distances between Orlando, FL, and the various U.S. cities of Springfield? ---
**Author:** ![Mighty\_Maximino](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e95f7d/32.png) [@Mighty\_Maximino](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mighty_Maximino)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2003, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/location-of-springfield-narrowed-down/147191/2 "2003-01-07T23:20:14Z")
I noticed that too, but I was more distracted that they _were going back to Florida_. I kind of expected them to end up back on a chain gang, or that dude with the whip to show up, or something. ---
**Author:** ![Lobsang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobsang/32/4067_2.png) [@Lobsang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobsang)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2003, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/location-of-springfield-narrowed-down/147191/3 "2003-01-07T23:28:54Z")
I told everyone how to find springfield last time a thread like this appeared but no-one listened… Watch the episode where Maggie is an alien and daughter of (either kodos or the other one), the episode with Jerry Springer in. There is a scene where maggies pacifier (sod that, call it what it’s meant to be called - **dummy** ) transmits her location to the aliens. This cuts to a view of America with rings of transmittance. find the centre of any one of those rings. and you’ve got springfield! not only springfield but evergreen terrace if you are acurate enough (superimpose a real map of America onto a screen cap from that scene if you cannot figure out which state it is by looking. ---
**Author:** ![Lobsang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobsang/32/4067_2.png) [@Lobsang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobsang)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2003, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/location-of-springfield-narrowed-down/147191/4 "2003-01-07T23:31:39Z")
Assuming Matt groening is consistent/honest - and didn’t just randomly pick a point on the map from which to radiate the rings. ---
**Author:** ![Lobsang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobsang/32/4067_2.png) [@Lobsang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobsang)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2003, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/location-of-springfield-narrowed-down/147191/5 "2003-01-07T23:35:06Z")
If _was_ careless with the facts in that episode then how can we be sure he wasn’t careless with choosing a/the location. Springfield may as well be on pluto. ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2003, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/location-of-springfield-narrowed-down/147191/6 "2003-01-08T01:23:04Z")
Well, remember, Halloween episodes don’t necessarily have continuity, so you can’t really trust that. Besides, if it’s in driving distance of Florida, it also has to be in driving distance of Vegas…(remember when Homer and Ned get married?) ---
**Author:** ![bdgr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a87d85/32.png) [@bdgr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bdgr)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2003, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/location-of-springfield-narrowed-down/147191/7 "2003-01-08T02:16:36Z")
There is no evergreen terrace listed in any of the springfields in mapquest ---
**Author:** ![carlotta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/898d66/32.png) [@carlotta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carlotta)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2003, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/location-of-springfield-narrowed-down/147191/8 "2003-01-08T03:23:07Z")
I have always harbored a secret suspicion that Springfield was in some way connected with Williamsburg, VA, where I once lived. This was based on two episodes–One where Homer and Barney ditch work to tour the Duff Brewery, clearly a reference to the Busch Brewery in Williamsburg which you could tour and which did include free beer. The other I remember less clearly, but Marge was homeschooling Bart because he’d been kicked out of school, and her field trip was to “Old Towne Springfield” which looked very inspired by Colonial Williamsburg. ---
**Author:** ![Lissa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/85f322/32.png) [@Lissa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lissa)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2003, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/location-of-springfield-narrowed-down/147191/9 "2003-01-08T03:34:10Z")
> [@](#): > > There is a scene where maggies pacifier (sod that, call it what it’s meant to be called - dummy) transmits her location to the aliens. This cuts to a view of America with rings of transmittance. find the centre of any one of those rings. and you’ve got springfield! Wasn’t it Louisiana? Perhaps it wasn’t this episode I’m thinking of, but I remember one in which the “rings of transmittance” originated from somewhere around New Orleans-- right on the Gulf Coast. ---
**Author:** ![clayton\_e](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c57346/32.png) [@clayton\_e](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clayton_e)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2003, 4:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/location-of-springfield-narrowed-down/147191/10 "2003-01-08T04:13:16Z")
I once figured out roughly where it could have been by some of the following facts (I can’t remember them all): 1. Driving distance to very large trees (not specifically redwood) due to the Scorpio episode. 2. West of the Mississippi river (missile from France passes over the U.S. and clearly over the Mississippi river) 3. Costal (Lighthouse shown in several episodes) 4. On a freight train route (when sending away the real “Seymour Skinner” a freight train is shown) 5. Capital city 50 (I think that’s the #) miles. So I looked at some maps and the only place that these facts all lined up was in Washington State. Not sure if it’s right… But with a little bit too much time on my hands let me give it a shot. ---
**Author:** ![sleeping](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/839c29/32.png) [@sleeping](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sleeping)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2003, 4:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/location-of-springfield-narrowed-down/147191/11 "2003-01-08T04:24:51Z")
I specifically recall that in one episode (one of the later ones, say, in 2000) there was a narrator at the end who said, “…and so ends another adventure for this northern Nebraska family.” ---
**Author:** ![thirdshiftgrottoslack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a9a28c/32.png) [@thirdshiftgrottoslack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thirdshiftgrottoslack)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2003, 4:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/location-of-springfield-narrowed-down/147191/12 "2003-01-08T04:27:28Z")
they said springfield was in kentucky in one episode. like that means anything. ---
**Author:** ![Tertius01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e99b99/32.png) [@Tertius01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tertius01)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2003, 4:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/location-of-springfield-narrowed-down/147191/13 "2003-01-08T04:32:13Z")
Isn’t the whole point that they change the state its in every time any specific information is given? Springfield is Everytown. ---
**Author:** ![Raymond\_Luxury\_Yacht](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/raymond_luxury_yacht/32/4099_2.png) [@Raymond\_Luxury\_Yacht](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raymond_Luxury_Yacht)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2003, 4:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/location-of-springfield-narrowed-down/147191/14 "2003-01-08T04:47:31Z")
[reality check]Uh, Springfield is fictional. Made up. The state which Springfield is in is therefore also fictional.[/reality check] ---
**Author:** ![BrightEyes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/2acd7d/32.png) [@BrightEyes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrightEyes)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2003, 5:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/location-of-springfield-narrowed-down/147191/15 "2003-01-08T05:09:31Z")
why do people care about insignficant details like that? is your view of springfield going to be ruined or something by having springfield set in maine or colorado or california? :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Wumpus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8c91f0/32.png) [@Wumpus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wumpus)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2003, 5:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/location-of-springfield-narrowed-down/147191/16 "2003-01-08T05:10:48Z")
Book me flight to the state that Springfield is in! ---
**Author:** ![Smeghead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2003, 5:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/location-of-springfield-narrowed-down/147191/17 "2003-01-08T05:46:45Z")
Um, yeah. It’s also right next to Mount Springfield and Springfield Gulch, which should help considerably. Not to mention being next to West Springfield, which is three times the size of Texas. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2003, 6:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/location-of-springfield-narrowed-down/147191/18 "2003-01-08T06:02:38Z")
“… Evergreen Terrace, Springfield Oh-Hi-Ya Marge!” ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2003, 6:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/location-of-springfield-narrowed-down/147191/19 "2003-01-08T06:14:35Z")
It’s also located between a vast, hard-pan desert and a seacoast rough enough to require a lighthouse. A major river runs through it, large enough to build a town-endangering dam. It’s near a large, old-growth pine forest. Local weather patterns include blizzards, tornados, and hurricanes. I think it’s in North Calakotaware. ---
**Author:** ![TWDuke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e495f1/32.png) [@TWDuke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TWDuke)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2003, 6:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/location-of-springfield-narrowed-down/147191/20 "2003-01-08T06:27:49Z")
It’s in that state with the motto, “Not just another state.” With a capitol in Capitol City, of course. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/location-of-springfield-narrowed-down/147191.md?page=2)