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The Simpsons biggest mysteries have been revealed
The Simpsons has been a family favourite for nearly 30 years.
But despite its huge popularity, there are some questions that have just left viewers scratching their heads.
Why are the characters yellow? What celebrity refused to do a cameo? And how were the usual names of Homer, Marge and Bart born…?
Well now the answer to those burning questions have FINALLY been revealed thanks to a new book by Mike Reiss, a writer who has worked on the show since its launch in 1989.
Holding nothing back, Mike explains that the signature yellow skin the cartoon family have rocked for nearly three decades, was actually a complete accident.
“Bart, Lisa and Maggie have no hairlines — there’s no line that separates their skin from their hair points,” he writes in Springfield Confidential: Jokes, Secrets, and Outright Lies.
“So the animators chose yellow — it’s kinda skin, kinda hair.”
Woah. Our minds are blown.
Over the 636 episodes that have aired to date, there have been some mega cameo appearances.
The likes of Barry White, the now late Stephen Hawking and two time Academy Award winner Meryl Streep have all voiced characters in the hit show.
But not all the stars producers have approached have been keen, with Mike revealing they tried, and failed, to get Bruce Springsteen on several times over the years.
Tom Cruise apparently also declined as well as Aussie hearthrobs Liam and Chris Hemsworth.
We’re devastated.
The lifelong contributor to the cheeky cartoon also divulged how the iconic characters got their unusual names.
Creator Matt Groening used his parents as inspiration for the fictional couple, Homer and Marge.
While Lisa and Maggie were named after Matt’s sisters.
However Bart was a complete fabrication, a mastermind of his own invention.
There were also other major reveals, including the fact the town’s name of Springfield was “borrowed” from a 1950s sitcom Father Knows Best, being specifically chosen for its “generic blandness”.
And if you’ve ever wondered why you only see the word, ‘The Simps’ coming through the clouds during the show’s opening credits, it turns out it’s deliberate.
“You see the first half of the family’s name, ‘The Simps,’ before the rest of the word,” Mike says.
“So what? Well, ‘Simps’ is short for simpletons — stupid people — like the ones you’re about to see in the show.”
So there you have it, all the Simpson secrets have been spilled.
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