# Things in The Simpsons you thought were references, but aren't **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 3, 2012, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-in-the-simpsons-you-thought-were-references-but-arent/614670 "2012-03-03T21:12:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![grude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47774/32.png) [@grude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grude)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2012, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-in-the-simpsons-you-thought-were-references-but-arent/614670/1 "2012-03-03T21:12:53Z")
The early seasons of The Simpsons are PACKED with cultural references, even to this day I have :smack: moments going ooohhh so thats what that was! Anyway the episode where Homer grows hair and gets promoted because Burns thinks he looks like a young hotshot, all the women Homer interviews are coming on to him so Marge encourages him to hire the only male applicant an ambiguously gay guy that seems to have a thing for Homer(he kisses Homer on the lips goodbye when he quits). The whole segment seemed so odd and kinda forced into the episode I assumed it was a reference to a film or something, apparently it is not. ---
**Author:** ![TBG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c89c15/32.png) [@TBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TBG)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2012, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-in-the-simpsons-you-thought-were-references-but-arent/614670/2 "2012-03-04T01:04:16Z")
If anything it’s likely to be the other way around for me, things that were referencing something but I didn’t realize it and thought they were just being funny until years later when I saw what it was they’d been referencing. I can’t think of an example at the moment, however. ---
**Author:** ![Arkcon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/96bed5/32.png) [@Arkcon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arkcon)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2012, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-in-the-simpsons-you-thought-were-references-but-arent/614670/3 "2012-03-04T01:22:35Z")
Well, I for one am still waiting where “an onion on my belt” came from and where it was supposed to go. And I need a complete explanation, not a “Don’t go there” or a “it was an obvious gay reference” ---
**Author:** ![WarmNPrickly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/d78d45/32.png) [@WarmNPrickly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WarmNPrickly)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2012, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-in-the-simpsons-you-thought-were-references-but-arent/614670/4 "2012-03-04T01:28:41Z")
I spent many hours trying to figure out what “My cats breath smells like cat food” was an anagram for. ---
**Author:** ![G0sp3l](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c68b51/32.png) [@G0sp3l](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/G0sp3l)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2012, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-in-the-simpsons-you-thought-were-references-but-arent/614670/5 "2012-03-04T01:47:51Z")
> [@Arkcon](#): > > Well, I for one am still waiting where “an onion on my belt” came from and where it was supposed to go. And I need a complete explanation, not a “Don’t go there” or a “it was an obvious gay reference” I’m fairly certain this one is just a joke. Telling a story that doesn’t go anywhere. ---
**Author:** ![Nobody](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/94ad74/32.png) [@Nobody](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nobody)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2012, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-in-the-simpsons-you-thought-were-references-but-arent/614670/6 "2012-03-04T01:48:34Z")
Not sure if this counts, but in a Tree House of Horror episode when Homer says, “I’m the first non Brazilian to travel backwards though time” isn’t referencing anything and in fact originally was supposed to be, “I’m the first non-fictional character to travel backwards in time” [Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treehouse_of_Horror_V#Time_and_Punishment) > [@Wikipedia](#): > > The first time Homer travels back in time, he was originally supposed to state “I’m the first non-fictional character to travel backwards through time”.[4] The line was later changed from “non-fictional” to “non-Brazilian”. Groening was confused as to the reason for the change, since he liked the original so much. In fact, he did not even understand what the new line meant.[6] ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2012, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-in-the-simpsons-you-thought-were-references-but-arent/614670/7 "2012-03-04T02:04:08Z")
That might be the most misunderstood joke in the history of the show, **Nobody**. I remember people used to speculate that the “non-Brazilian” thing is a reference to Carlos Casteneda. I know I definitely accepted that explanation the first time I heard it. In hindsight and thanks to Wikipedia, I see Castaneda wasn’t Brazilian (he was from Peru) and his Don Juan character was Mexican, so there’s no way any allusion to Castaneda was intended. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2012, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-in-the-simpsons-you-thought-were-references-but-arent/614670/8 "2012-03-04T02:27:40Z")
There was the one where Homer became a bootlegger. Federal agent Rex Banner comes in to help clean up the town. When he arrives he reads two telegrams. The first is from Mayor Quimby and says “Springfield needs you.” The second one says “Rexy, Daisy had puppies!” I always thought that second one was a reference to something, but damned if I know what. ---
**Author:** ![Nobody](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/94ad74/32.png) [@Nobody](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nobody)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2012, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-in-the-simpsons-you-thought-were-references-but-arent/614670/9 "2012-03-04T03:12:28Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > That might be the most misunderstood joke in the history of the show, **Nobody**. I remember people used to speculate that the “non-Brazilian” thing is a reference to Carlos Casteneda. I know I definitely accepted that explanation the first time I heard it. In hindsight and thanks to Wikipedia, I see Castaneda wasn’t Brazilian (he was from Peru) and his Don Juan character was Mexican, so there’s no way any allusion to Castaneda was intended. I have the box set of that season and listening to the commentary they said the line doesn’t mean anything. **Robot Arm** - I think the second one is just supposed to be a joke about his tough guy image. ---
**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:** [March 4, 2012, 4:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-in-the-simpsons-you-thought-were-references-but-arent/614670/10 "2012-03-04T04:12:37Z")
> [@Nobody](#): > > I have the box set of that season and listening to the commentary they said the line doesn’t mean anything.. Not surprised. It wasn’t supposed to refer to anything. That’s what made it so funny: the non-sequitur. Sometimes things are funnier if you don’t know what they’re referring to. There was the running gag in **Get Smart** where Max would see, say, a five-story-tall arrow, and say, “That’s the second biggest arrow I’ve ever seen.” The joke wasn’t that he was referring to a real arrow, but that something so big isn’t the biggest he’s seen. Any reference would have ruined the joke. ---
**Author:** ![F.U.Shakespeare](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/aca169/32.png) [@F.U.Shakespeare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/F.U.Shakespeare)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2012, 12:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-in-the-simpsons-you-thought-were-references-but-arent/614670/11 "2012-03-04T12:07:28Z")
Burns and Smithers were watching a broadcast of Boobarella (an allusion to Elvira, Mistress of the Dark, who was herself a plagiarization of Vampira), and Burns remarked to Smithers, “You know Bill in accounting? That’s his daughter”. At first I assumed there was a meaning to this, but I’m pretty sure it’s just a throwaway line. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2012, 12:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-in-the-simpsons-you-thought-were-references-but-arent/614670/12 "2012-03-04T12:18:29Z")
> [@grude](#): > > Anyway the episode where Homer grows hair and gets promoted because Burns thinks he looks like a young hotshot, all the women Homer interviews are coming on to him so Marge encourages him to hire the only male applicant an ambiguously gay guy that seems to have a thing for Homer(he kisses Homer on the lips goodbye when he quits). The whole segment seemed so odd and kinda forced into the episode I assumed it was a reference to a film or something, apparently it is not. Harvey Fierstein voiced the character in question - I always assumed he was pretty much just playing himself. [QUOTE=Arkcon] Well, I for one am still waiting where “an onion on my belt” came from and where it was supposed to go. And I need a complete explanation, not a “Don’t go there” or a “it was an obvious gay reference” [/QUOTE] Well, it _was_ the style at the time. ---
**Author:** ![Tarwater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/9de0a6/32.png) [@Tarwater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tarwater)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2012, 12:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-in-the-simpsons-you-thought-were-references-but-arent/614670/13 "2012-03-04T12:28:14Z")
Bart saying, “Hello, mother,” while flying a kite at night in the episode “Bart of Darkness.” The image is so striking and peculiar, and the sensation I get from it so familiar, that I know it just has be a reference to something. ---
**Author:** ![SiXSwordS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/49beb7/32.png) [@SiXSwordS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SiXSwordS)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2012, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-in-the-simpsons-you-thought-were-references-but-arent/614670/14 "2012-03-04T14:00:09Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > It wasn’t supposed to refer to anything. That’s what made it so funny: the non-sequitur. In a similar vein, I always thought the: “Watch out! They’re ruffled!” line was a twisted reference, ---
**Author:** ![Lamia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Lamia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamia)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2012, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-in-the-simpsons-you-thought-were-references-but-arent/614670/15 "2012-03-04T16:20:51Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > That might be the most misunderstood joke in the history of the show, **Nobody**. I remember people used to speculate that the “non-Brazilian” thing is a reference to Carlos Casteneda. I previously had the vague idea it might be some sort of reference to the Terry Gilliam science-fiction movie _Brazil_, which is neither about time-travel nor Brazil/Brazilians, but Homer’s an idiot so goodness knows what he might have gotten out of a movie like _Brazil_. ---
**Author:** ![Quimby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/22d042/32.png) [@Quimby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quimby)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2012, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-in-the-simpsons-you-thought-were-references-but-arent/614670/16 "2012-03-04T16:58:23Z")
Years ago when I was more active on Usenet, I would read the Simpsons newsgroup and after every episode, they would compile a list of references for the episode and the end result would always be they would list every single joke because if the premise of the joke was even similar to something else, they would call it a reference. Sometimes it’s just a joke. That said, my entry to this thread is from the Bobo episode. There is a sequence where Homar almost has a vision of the teddy bear. It is vague now because I haven’t seen it in awhile but it has to do with a fish tank and a unique musical score. I was sure it was a reference to something but it wasn’t. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2012, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-in-the-simpsons-you-thought-were-references-but-arent/614670/17 "2012-03-04T17:30:35Z")
There was the episode _[Itchy & Scratchy: The Movie](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Itchy_%26_Scratchy:_The_Movie)_. The final scene where Homer and Bart are walking together in the future seems to me to be a reference to something, like they’re imitating a well-known scene from a movie. But apparently it isn’t. ---
**Author:** ![Svejk\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ea666f/32.png) [@Svejk\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Svejk_1)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2012, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-in-the-simpsons-you-thought-were-references-but-arent/614670/18 "2012-03-04T18:37:27Z")
In _Homer’s triple bypass_, there’s the following exchange (link to [SNPP](http://www.snpp.com/episodes/9F09.html)) ``` [at the gas station] Homer: I keep hearing this horrible irregular thumping noise. ``` Attendant: It’s your heart. And I think it’s on it’s last thump. Homer: Oh, I thought it was my transmission. [drives away happily] Kid: Where’s he going? Attendant: You remember that old Plymouth we just couldn’t fix? Kid: We’re going to sell him to Mr. Nikopopolous?! Attendant: You’re a dull boy, Billy. – Missing the point, “Homer’s Triple Bypass” I always thought that must have been a reference to something, because it is just so non sequitur, but apparently it references nothing but itself. ---
**Author:** ![Nobody](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/94ad74/32.png) [@Nobody](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nobody)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2012, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-in-the-simpsons-you-thought-were-references-but-arent/614670/19 "2012-03-04T18:50:02Z")
> [@Tarwater](#): > > Bart saying, “Hello, mother,” while flying a kite at night in the episode “Bart of Darkness.” The image is so striking and peculiar, and the sensation I get from it so familiar, that I know it just has be a reference to something. I never saw the movie, but I always assumed it was from _The Good Son_. Maybe someone who’s seen the movie will chime in and tell me if I’m right or not. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2012, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-in-the-simpsons-you-thought-were-references-but-arent/614670/20 "2012-03-04T20:16:20Z")
Heck, the episode about backyard pools ends with Martin, humiliated because his own pool collapsed from overcrowding and having his bathing suit torn off by Nelson, singing “The summer winds / came blowing in / from across the sea…” in a sad jazztone. What does it mean? Beats the hell outta me. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-in-the-simpsons-you-thought-were-references-but-arent/614670.md?page=2)