Ever since it’s genesis in 1989, The Simpsons writers have been producing comical satire, but they've also been meticulously sneaking in historical references while doing so. Allusions that were once obvious may now be opaque for younger fans who are catching up via re-runs, so here are 12 perfectly accurate historical references from The Simpsons that just cannot be overlooked.
1. Remember season nine's episode, "Lisa the Skeptic," when Homer excitedly gulped down a 30-year old can of Billy Beer?
It’s actually, Billy Beer, an actual beer that was named after and promoted by Jimmy Carter's brother, Billy Carter, where after drinking, Homer stated, "we elected the wrong Carter." In 1977, the shortcoming of Falls City Brewing Company wanted to capitalize on Billy’s fame, so they approached him and offered a partnership to sell a beer that bore his name. In it’s beginning, Billy Beer flew off the shelves, but it's’ pungent taste and Billy’s tendency to get hammered at corporate events as he admitted that he still drank Pabst Blue Ribbon, an American lager beer, hurt the brand. Ergo, Falls City Brewing Company closed for good in 1978.
2. Or season ten’s episode, “D’oh-in’ in the Wind,” where they all gather at a festival in the woods?
The scene is actually mimicking a photograph taken by Burk Uzzle during the 1969 Woodstock Music Festival. Woodstock Music Festival attained audiences with numbers over 400,000, which was scheduled over three days with nothing but "peace, love, and music," on a dairy farm in upstate New York. In the episode, Abraham Simpson hollered during Jimi Hendrix’s guitar solo, “Bring on Sha-Na-Na!” At Woodstock in real life, Sha-Na-Na performed just before Hendrix, not after as Abe’s booing insinuates.
3. How about the episode in season five, “Homer’s Barbershop Quartet,” where Homer, Barney, Apu and Skinner seem to be hanging out with none other than Yoko Ono?
In this episode, Barney starts dating a Japanese conceptual artist who looks a lot like Ono. Which obviously imitates the original photograph of the Beatles as they record their eleventh album, “Abbey Road."
Fun fact, in the episode, Barney and his girlfriend, the woman who looks a lot like Yoko Ono, enter Moe’s tavern and where she orders, “a single plum floating in perfume served in a man’s hat,” and the bartender gets her exactly that.
4. Recall this young soldier?
The Simpsons is actually evoking Robert Capa’s photograph, “The Falling Soldier.” It was said to depict the death of an Iberian Federation Of Libertarian Youth (FIJL) soldier during the Spanish Civil War in September of 1936. The soldier in the photograph was later claimed to be anarchist militiaman, Federico Borrell Garcia.
5. What about the scene where the Simpsons family had lunch atop a girder high above the city?
This scene was inspired by an iconic black and white photograph, “Lunch Atop a Skyscraper,” from September 20th, 1932. The image depicts eleven construction workers, seated on a girder, eating on the 69th floor of the former RCA Building during the last months of construction. According to archivists, this photo was in fact prearranged, although it shows real construction workers, it was staged by Rockefeller Center to capitalize on its new skyscraper.
6. One of my favorites is season two’s episode, “Lisa’s Substitute,” where Martin announced the big news holding up a newspaper saying, “Simpson Defeats Prince.”
During the 1948 presidential election, former President Harry S. Truman was photographed holding up an incorrect banner headline of the Chicago Daily Tribune on November 3, 1948, as it read, “DEWEY DEFEATS TRUMAN.” President Truman won an upset victory over his Republican challenger, Thomas E. Dewey, and the newspaper was famously held up by Truman as he smiled triumphantly at the error. Arguably, the most famous headline in newspaper history, the Chicago Daily Tribune was lulled into a false sense of security that polls repeatedly predicted a Dewey victory, with over 150,000 copies printed. Truman had as low an opinion of the Tribune as it did of him, but he woke up that morning a winner.
7. How about the scene with the boys planting a totem pole on the beach?
In the historical photograph by Joe Rosenthal, “Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima,” was taken on February 23, 1945. It depicts five United States Marines and one Corpsman raising the American flag atop Mount Suribachi, during the Battle of Iwo Jima in World War II.
8. Or the episode where the people of Springfield are in line to board a helicopter?
The fall of Saigon marked the end of the Vietnam War and the capture of Saigon by Northern Vietnamese forces. The image depicts an Air America helicopter and crew member aiding evacuees up a ladder onto a rooftop in Saigon, April 29th, 1975, shortly before the city fell to Northern Vietnamese troops.
9. What’s with this random photograph of Burns and Elvis?
Yup, that’s right, even this had historical context. The framed image represents the official White House photograph of the bizarre encounter between two dead icons, President Nixon and Elvis Presley in the oval office on December 21st, 1970. During Presley’s stay at the Washington Hotel in D.C., he scribbled a letter to Nixon saying, “Sir, I can and will be of any service that I can to help the country out,” in return, Elvis wanted a federal agent badge. He wrote, “I will be here for as long as it takes to get the credentials of a federal agent.” He never got the badge.
10. Another one of my favorites is season four’s episode, “Lisa the Beauty Queen,” Lisa raises her hand in an oath, as she wins the Little Miss Springfield contest.
Lisa is actually imitating a historical photograph following the assassination of President John F. Kennedy in Dallas, Texas. This is the first inauguration of Lyndon B. Johnson as the 36th president of the United States. This picture was taken on Air Force One, only two hours after JFK's death, on the plane ride back to D.C. Also, I must point out that Marge’s attire resembles that of Jacqueline B. Kennedy’s, who is standing next to Johnson in her infamous blood-stained strawberry pink Chanel suit. The suit was never washed and is currently stored in a windowless vault, in an acid-free container, where the air is modified three times an hour to properly maintain the wool and cloth. It is kept at a temperature of 65-68 degrees, which is best for the fabric.
11. Lastly, here's Millhouse with another one of his long sad faces.
The actual photograph is nicknamed “The Weeping Frenchman,” by an unknown photographer, which conveys a Frenchman crying as the flags of fallen France are dropped and the Nazi army marched into Paris. In appeared first in print in Life Magazine in their issue on March 3rd, 1941. The caption on the photo was identified as, “a Frenchman sheds tears of patriotic grief of his country’s last regiments are exiled to Africa.”
