# Springfield, ??? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [January 15, 2000, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/springfield/12763 "2000-01-15T00:26:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Squee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ba9def/32.png) [@Squee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squee)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2000, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/springfield/12763/1 "2000-01-15T00:26:00Z")
I’m a huge fan of the Simpsons, and I like to think I have seen every episode, but… Have they ever revealed what state Springfield is in? My friend Erik seems to think they have (but without evidence, of course). I told him that it’s a running gag in the show. Just when they are about to say it, they cut out to something else, etc. Does anyone know? ---
**Author:** ![Kold](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/fbc32d/32.png) [@Kold](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kold)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2000, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/springfield/12763/2 "2000-01-15T00:28:00Z")
well, he Homer pointed at Chicago once… is that close enough? (uh, Springfield IS in Illinois isn’t it? or am I an idiot?). * * * ants spend 20% of their day working… [The Neo-Comintern](http://members.home.net/comintern) ---
**Author:** ![capybara](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/capybara/32/202_2.png) [@capybara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/capybara)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2000, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/springfield/12763/3 "2000-01-15T00:41:00Z")
This has already been done somewhere here. I think the consensus was that a) No, it’s nowhere in particular and that is the running gag, but. . . b) Many people feel for certain that it is Definitely near Wherever They Live. People in Illinois are sure it’s near Chicago, people in Texas are certain it is in Texas. Selective evidence will prove any of these things. Last night I saw an episode where Homer proclaims “I’m taking Bart over the state line” (to the Edison Museum)-- as they get on the freeway the ramp sign says “To New Jersey, Maine, Texas, Oregon.” ---
**Author:** ![Frankie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/258eb7/32.png) [@Frankie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frankie)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2000, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/springfield/12763/4 "2000-01-15T00:41:00Z")
Check this out… [http://www.straightdope.com/ubb/Forum3/HTML/000285.html](http://www.straightdope.com/ubb/Forum3/HTML/000285.html) or this one! [http://www.straightdope.com/ubb/Forum3/HTML/002020.html](http://www.straightdope.com/ubb/Forum3/HTML/002020.html) * * * -Frankie Lack of charisma can be fatal ---
**Author:** ![Squee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ba9def/32.png) [@Squee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squee)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2000, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/springfield/12763/5 "2000-01-15T00:49:00Z")
Thanks for the info and the links… I guess I should tried the search engine before I posted! My humble apologies to all… ---
**Author:** ![Bucky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/5f8ce5/32.png) [@Bucky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bucky)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2000, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/springfield/12763/6 "2000-01-15T00:52:00Z")
I personally believe that the Simpsons live in an alternate universe. They only have four digits on each hand, time is cyclical, and Springfield is near (1) the dessert (2) the ocean (3) the mountains (4) the boonies. So, they’re not in any state (although the motto is “Not Just Another State”). Bucky ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2000, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/springfield/12763/7 "2000-01-15T01:11:00Z")
Remember that the Simpsons also took a vacation and ended up at a spot where you can stand at the conjuntion of five states. * * * See those stars over there? That is the Little Dipper. I’d show you the Big Dipper, but my zipper is stuck. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2000, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/springfield/12763/8 "2000-01-15T02:57:00Z")
The state’s abbreviation was actually given in the show. It was NT. So maybe it’s somewhere near Microsoft. The state capital is Capital City. I’d guess Springfield was chosen because it’s a very common U.S. city name. The magazine Zigzag even had a column where a reporter visited a different Springfield each issue. * * * “East is east and west is west and if you take cranberries and stew them like applesauce they taste much more like prunes than rhubarb does.” – Marx Read “Sundials” in the new issue of Aboriginal Science Fiction. [www.sff.net/people/rothman](http://www.sff.net/people/rothman)