# So where is the Simpson's Springfield? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 13, 1999, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-where-is-the-simpsons-springfield/5335 "1999-04-13T00:35:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/original/2X/e/e489c3b7d8fce19c4b355dd4fc3f88cc39c34b87.png) [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 1999, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-where-is-the-simpsons-springfield/5335/81 "1999-06-25T14:38:00Z")
Maggie had a birthday party as well - Homer ate a bunch of the sugar letters off the cake; the family taking photographs looked like flashy-eyed Cyclopes to a befuddled and frightened Maggie; relatives wondered why nobody had been invited and Marge replies “She just doesn’t get along well with other kids”, at which point Maggie looks out the window at Baby Gerald (The Unibrow Baby) and they scowl flaming death at each other. * * * Cave Diem! Carpe Canem! ---
**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/original/2X/e/e489c3b7d8fce19c4b355dd4fc3f88cc39c34b87.png) [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 1999, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-where-is-the-simpsons-springfield/5335/82 "1999-06-25T15:08:00Z")
Jeannie : > [@](#): > > If we’re to argue this point, then let’s figure out why Homer, Marge, and the kids have never aged? Cessandra : > [@](#): > > and why the school year can end and begin again without either of the kids advancing a grade. Simple Springfield (And Riverdale, for that matter) is in a perpetual (but flawed) time loop called the Chronos Cartoonii. They keep repeating the same year. However, the changes in the outside world leak into their little chronically impaired paridise, preventing the year from repeating precisely. This leak (in Springfeild) was caused by the demon Mattgr Oening, for purposes of his own. … I put WAY too much thought into that answer… * * * ‘They couldn’t hit an Elephant from this dist…!’ Last words of General John Sedgwick ---
**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/original/2X/e/e489c3b7d8fce19c4b355dd4fc3f88cc39c34b87.png) [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 1999, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-where-is-the-simpsons-springfield/5335/83 "1999-06-26T20:51:00Z")
> [@](#): > > If we’re to argue this point, then let’s figure out why Homer, Marge, and the kids have never aged? And don’t they were mostly the same clothes. In fact, don’t most cartoons do that?And does anyone ever use a key in a cartoon? ---
**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/original/2X/e/e489c3b7d8fce19c4b355dd4fc3f88cc39c34b87.png) [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 1999, 8:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-where-is-the-simpsons-springfield/5335/84 "1999-06-27T08:57:00Z")
Bart also had a birthday, in the first or second season. His party was at Wall E. Weasel’s, where the audioanimatronic band sang, “You’re the birthday/you’re the birthday/you’re the birthday/boy or girl…” Chief Wiggum has a key that opens every lock in town, and Bart and Ralph used it to break into the abandoned prison. Obviously, cartoon characters rarely change their clothes because it’s easier to draw them that way, but that makes it more interesting when they do change. Like Homer always coming up with a ludicrously stagey outfit appropriate to his current scheme. Here’s one for the Simpsonites: Can you think of any regular/recurring character on the Simpsons who has NEVER been seen in more than one outfit? * * * Remember, I’m pulling for you; we’re all in this together. —Red Green ---
**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/original/2X/e/e489c3b7d8fce19c4b355dd4fc3f88cc39c34b87.png) [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 1999, 7:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-where-is-the-simpsons-springfield/5335/85 "1999-06-28T07:48:00Z")
[[Can you think of any regular/recurring character on the Simpsons who has NEVER been seen in more than one outfit?]] Disco Stu? ---
**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/original/2X/e/e489c3b7d8fce19c4b355dd4fc3f88cc39c34b87.png) [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 1999, 12:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-where-is-the-simpsons-springfield/5335/86 "1999-06-28T12:26:00Z")
On last night’s show, (6/27 - Homer the inventor) Homer & Bart drive to the Edison museum, and when they get on the highway they pass a road sign for the Michigan, New Jersey, Oregon, Texas exit. The show’s writers certainly have fun not letting us know which state Springfield is in. ---
**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/original/2X/e/e489c3b7d8fce19c4b355dd4fc3f88cc39c34b87.png) [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 1999, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-where-is-the-simpsons-springfield/5335/87 "1999-06-29T20:00:00Z")
[quote] Next question…where do Beavis and Butthead live? [quote] they live in highland, texas also where mike judge (their creator)grew up. * * * i am on a never-ending quest to eliminate capital letters ---
**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/original/2X/e/e489c3b7d8fce19c4b355dd4fc3f88cc39c34b87.png) [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 1999, 7:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-where-is-the-simpsons-springfield/5335/88 "1999-06-30T07:43:00Z")
I believe that Springfield is actually in the state of Colorado. reasons: 1.It couldn’t be any where on the east coast, because in the episode where homer climbs Murderhorn Mountain, the mountain is sharp; not rounded, like the Appalaichains, so it has to be in the Rocky Mountains. It cannot be in the south, or the north for the sam reason. It has to be in the West. 1. If you recall LARAMIE CIGARETTES. there is a Ft. Laramie in Colorado. 2. The city of Springfeild always has a backdrop of mountains. Especially the episode where Lisa bets with Homer on football games, then takes him to this lookout point. 3. You keep mentioning that Grampa has to cross state line to get to a casino. Colorado borders Arizona and Utah. Both gambling states. 4. You are also mistaken about the drivin to New York. They do not drive to New York, they take a bus. 5. The CAPE FEARE episode, where Sideshow Bob tries to kill Bart, there are on a river. Springfield is on a river in Colorado. 6. Springfeild, Co. is about a ten minute drive to Two Buttes Resivoir, where, in the TV show, (the episode where Sideshow Bob gets out of jail, and builds a dam with his brother) the could build a dam. 7. Yes, Matt Groening could be from Oregon, that may be where he got the last names, but that does not mean that the show is based in Oregon. ---
**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/original/2X/e/e489c3b7d8fce19c4b355dd4fc3f88cc39c34b87.png) [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 1999, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-where-is-the-simpsons-springfield/5335/89 "1999-06-30T16:48:00Z")
I peeked at the atlas last night. There are twenty one states with a Springfield listed. There are only six with a Shelbyville. There are only four with both: IL, MO, KY, and TN. In none of them are the two adjacent, but they are reasonably close in Kentucky. ---
**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/original/2X/e/e489c3b7d8fce19c4b355dd4fc3f88cc39c34b87.png) [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 1999, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-where-is-the-simpsons-springfield/5335/90 "1999-06-30T21:27:00Z")
That would explain the presence of Cletus, the Slack-Jawed Yokel. Dunno if he ever got dressed up for anything or not, but he’d be my guess for Recurring Character Who Never Changes His Clothes. * * * Cave Diem! Carpe Canem! ---
**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/original/2X/e/e489c3b7d8fce19c4b355dd4fc3f88cc39c34b87.png) [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 1999, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-where-is-the-simpsons-springfield/5335/91 "1999-07-07T22:45:00Z")
Shouldn’t that be the Simpsons’, not Simpson’s. I see people’s mailboxes marked “The Johnson’s”. Do they mean The Johnsons live there or that it is the Johnsons’ mailbox? ---
**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/original/2X/e/e489c3b7d8fce19c4b355dd4fc3f88cc39c34b87.png) [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 1999, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-where-is-the-simpsons-springfield/5335/92 "1999-07-07T23:00:00Z")
I hate to break it to you but Utah is NOT a gambling state, they have no form of gambling, not even a lottery. * * * To deal with men by force is as impractical as to deal with nature by persuasion. ---
**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/original/2X/e/e489c3b7d8fce19c4b355dd4fc3f88cc39c34b87.png) [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 1999, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-where-is-the-simpsons-springfield/5335/93 "1999-07-07T23:50:00Z")
My goodness, this thread started in April??? Geez. There was one episode where is showed which state Springfield was in. I think this was in the 1st or 2nd season, where Lisa won an essay contest on America and traveled to read it in Washington DC. (If you still don’t know this one, this is the one where the statue of Thomas Jefferson talks to Lisa and she sees politicans as pigs eating dollar bills as slop) Anyways, I remember them showing a map where Springfield was (marked by Blinky, the 3-eyed fish 🙂 ) and it was either in South Dakota or the other states in the North Plains. Does anyone remember this episode as well? I watch the Simpsons everyday I haven’t seen this episode in the reruns at all. ---
**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/original/2X/e/e489c3b7d8fce19c4b355dd4fc3f88cc39c34b87.png) [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 1999, 1:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-where-is-the-simpsons-springfield/5335/94 "1999-07-08T13:23:00Z")
Quote: “…but Utah is NOT a gambling state, they have no form of gambling…” You can get insurance in Utah and as Maude Flanders said, “Neddy doesn’t believe in insurance- he considers it a form of gambling”. The Readers Digest Essay contest episode does NOT show where Springfield is located (unless its subliminally masked). ---
**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/original/2X/e/e489c3b7d8fce19c4b355dd4fc3f88cc39c34b87.png) [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 1999, 9:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-where-is-the-simpsons-springfield/5335/95 "1999-07-17T09:11:00Z")
I have a theory that all of the differnt traits make up the Simpson’s Springfield. ---
**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/original/2X/e/e489c3b7d8fce19c4b355dd4fc3f88cc39c34b87.png) [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 1999, 12:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-where-is-the-simpsons-springfield/5335/96 "1999-07-17T12:33:00Z")
It can’t be South Dakota. They have gambling everywhere. But in that area, entering a reservaton is generally considered crossing a state line because the laws change. ---
**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/original/2X/e/e489c3b7d8fce19c4b355dd4fc3f88cc39c34b87.png) [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 1999, 9:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-where-is-the-simpsons-springfield/5335/97 "1999-07-18T09:18:00Z")
Alright, although I feel that this ruined the fun of the whole “where is Springfield located” game, I feel compelled to point out that on one episode in which the family takes a trip, they visit the 5 corners, and each family member stands on one. The United States of America features no such landmark, the closest being the four corners in the west. For the Simpsons’ world to feature such a landmark, the lines of the states must differ from those currently observed in the US. Considering the layout of the country is different in the Simpsons’ world, perhaps the union consists of states with which we are not familiar, that is, they live in a state which encompasses land now occupied in part by several states. ---
**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/original/2X/e/e489c3b7d8fce19c4b355dd4fc3f88cc39c34b87.png) [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 1999, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-where-is-the-simpsons-springfield/5335/98 "1999-07-18T15:49:00Z")
It is on channels 61, 11 and 5. I lived in the NYC area. ---
**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/original/2X/e/e489c3b7d8fce19c4b355dd4fc3f88cc39c34b87.png) [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 1999, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-where-is-the-simpsons-springfield/5335/99 "1999-07-18T23:45:00Z")
I was discussing this thread with my boyfriend. He claims he has met the woman who does the voice of one of the characters (Bart, I think), and she told him that Springfield is supposed to be in Southern California. I personally think that’s major BS, but he swears that’s what she said. * * * The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation. – Henry David Thoreau ---
**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/original/2X/e/e489c3b7d8fce19c4b355dd4fc3f88cc39c34b87.png) [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 1999, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-where-is-the-simpsons-springfield/5335/100 "1999-07-19T03:30:00Z")
## I can’t believe this thread has lasted so long! I had no idea people put so much thought into a cartoon! This place does not exist in the physical world, only in the amazeing minds of the writers of the Simpsons does Springfield exist. “I’m not dumb. I just have a command of thoroughly useless information.” – Calvin and Hobbes [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-where-is-the-simpsons-springfield/5335.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-where-is-the-simpsons-springfield/5335.md?page=6)