My Simpsons Theories

If you're anywhere between the ages of ten and a thousand, you probably have a great appreciation for The Simpsons. Every fan has pointed out a plot hole or presented a theory to a friend at some point in their life. In this case I have one of each, and they've been in my head for a while now.

Bart could not possibly have saved Aunt Selma from Sideshow Bob unless he is a time traveler.

Here's a plot excerpt form the Wikipedia article of the episode "Black Widower":

At the wedding, most of the Springfield appears to be in attendance, including Krusty the Clown and incompetent Police Cheif Wiggum. Selma later sends the Simpsons a videotape of her honeymoon and Bob, which includes his tirade over the absence of a gas fireplace in his hotel room that he had requested. She retires one evening to watch McGyver in their suite, and while Bob is downstairs having a drink, the hotel room explodes behind him. Bob feigns a frantic phone call to the front desk about the accident.

Find the continuity error?

In the honeymoon scene, two things are taking place...

• Selma is recording the honeymoon with a circa 1995 video camera
• The Simpsons are watching this happen on their TV at home

...at the same time. The technology to directly stream live video from a camera to the next town over would not exist for another few years. Thus, the only explanation is that Bart jumped back in time on his way to Shelbyville.

The Simpsons live in Springfield, Virginia

Yes I know, which state they live in is intentionally ambiguous officially classified. One of the episodes even flat-out said that they live in Kentucky, but in a really subtle, tongue-in-cheek way so that you don't notice.

So why do I think this?

Season 2 Episode 5, "Dancin' Homer". Specifically, the lyrics to Tony Bennett's song Capitol City. When I saw the episode as a child, I just assumed that it meant the capital of the country. But of course, in the spirit of the show, we all know that it could be any capital city of any state.

But then there's this line:

You'll caper like a stupid clown when you chance to see 4th Street and D

My dad is from Washington D.C. All my life I've known that its streets are named after letters, numbers, and states. Well, it turns out that Washington does have a 4th Street and D Street, and this is it. There's a store called The Art Gallery, and something called The Washington Design Center. So what does this have to do with Springfield?

On their way back, they pass two road signs - a big SPRINGFIELD, and a big 15. That means 15 miles to Springfield. And guess what - the numbers match.

Twelve-year-old me, you didn't have Google Maps, so how do you figure this out? Oh right, my mom lived there when she met my dad. Thanks, parents - I knew you'd come in handy for this blog some day.

So now I'm going to totally Life of Pi you and blow up my own theory. On the way to Washingtol City, they actually pass another road sign that says '220 miles'. THE TIGER WAS THE KID THE WHOLE TIME!

But isn't my story better?