Michael Jackson lent his voice to a character during a Season 3 episode. Viewers were left thinking it was an impersonator, since Jackson was credited as "John Jay Smith."

The famous comedian and talk show host didn't get his start on any random show. After 'SNL,' he was featured as a writer and producer on 'The Simpsons'

from 1991-1993.

Marge Simpson wasn't just a stay at home mom. In fact, she got work as a Playboy model. She was the first ever cartoon character to model for

the magazine.

In Arabic countries, 'The Simpsons' looks quite different. One of the major changes is the fact that Homer drinks soda instead of classic Duff Beer.

The song, 'Do the Bartman' was an international hit, rocketing to the top of the charts in both the UK and Australia. Strangely, it didn't hit the top in

the US. 

Creator Mat Groening is in love with the episode "Bart the Daredevil." Why? Because it features a scene of Homer flying over a gorge while strapped to a

gurney—which he got strapped to after trying to skateboard over the gorge. 

In almost every single establishing shot of Homer's workplace, the power plant, there's the sound of a crow cawing. Now you'll never not be able to hear it.

“A Totally Fun Thing Bart Will Never Do Again,” the nineteenth episode of Season 23, marks a momentous occasion in 'Simpsons' history: they have visited all of the continents

on Earth. 

The opening credits always feature a scene of the family sitting on the couch. It changes for each episode and is adjusted based on the running time of the

episode.

His email address, ChunkyLover53@aol.com, was featured in an episode, and if you write to it, you will get an automated reply. 

Homer was originally going to be the secret identity of Krusty the Clown. That's why they look so similar. However, the subplot was dropped after creator Matt Groening deemed

it "too complicated."

The addition of the the word "meh" to the American lexicon (and especially the gosh darn dictionary) is thanks to an episode of 'The Simpsons' where Bart and

Lisa both use it to show indifference. 

Arnold Schwarzenegger caricature McBain appears throughout the run of the show in the form of movie clips. Added together and rearranged, these clips form a full movie.  

Producer Al Jean wants the final scene of 'The Simpsons' to be the family arriving at a Christmas pageant. This would mirror the opening of the show, making "the

whole series a continuous loop," according to Jean.

Simpsons writers are responsible for creating this word; their efforts to make up a word that sounded like it could be real resulted in the word being added

to the dictionary.

The majority of Simpsons characters being yellow wasn't a random style choice. Creator Groening specifically wanted them yellow so they would pop on TV and draw in viewers.

It turns out, through some insane twist of fate and confusing marriages, the Simpsons are actually related to Mr. Burns. You'd need a genealogist to say how exactly,

though. 

Creator Matt Groening named all of the family members after his own family. His parents are named Homer and Marge and his sisters are Lisa and Maggie. He

opted to change the boy's name to Bart, though. 

Many of the characters that appear in the series were named after streets in Portland, the city where Groening grew up. There's even a map to help you

find them. 

Out of all of the Simpsons family, Homer is the only character to have a bit of dialogue in every single episode.

Originally, Mr. Smithers, Burn's assistant, was animated as black. This was actually a production error and the character was meant to be yellow. The show didn't have the money

to correct the issue so he mysteriously changed skin tone later. 

Creator Matt Groening has said that he designed each Simpson family member so that they could be identified by just their silhouette. 

Show producers actually have a clause in their contracts that allows them to avoid network tampering, which leads to relentless jokes about the likes of Fox News, part

of the network of channels the show airs on. 

Like most cartoon characters, The Simpsons are animated without a fifth finger. There is one exception, however—God. He gets all five because, presumably, he's all mighty.

The onetime First Lady famously called the show stupid in 1990. This got her a personal response from Marge Simpson herself, where she asked FLOTUS to be less judgy.

In the original opening credits, Maggie is scanned at the grocery and costs $847.63. Apparently, this was the monthly cost of a baby in the early '90s.

Writers never planned to keep Lisa a vegetarian after the episode "Lisa the Vegetarian." However, Paul and Linda McCartney (guests in the episode) only agreed to appear if

it was a permanent character trait.

Creator Matt Groening extended his personal name choices to the extended Simpsons as well. Patty is the name of his actual aunt. No word on where Selma came from.

A phone-in campaign was run during the summer after the famous cliffhanger. Not a single person who called the 1-800 number guessed correctly. 

A prize was going to be awarded to whoever first guessed the culprit, and when no one did, a random caller was chosen. Turns out the woman didn't watch the show.

She opted for cash instead of the intended prize—being animated into the show.

Way back in 1996, 'The Simpsons' surpassed 'The Flintstones' as the longest-running animated TV show airing in a primetime slot. Since then, it's become one of the longest shows, period.

The concept of each episode is born from a pitch. Writers will bring a minute's worth of material to the meeting and present it. From there, the group will go

over the idea and flesh it out (or axe it). 

When it first started, the show had one writer's room. By the ninth season, the staff had grown to the point where they had 2 different rooms designated

for writing the show. This allows production to move much faster. 

Each week, the cast and crew gets together to read the script. The thing is, the entire cast is almost never present. The read through is done through a

combination of speaker phone calls and stand in acting.

Homer Simpson's voice actor Dan Castellaneta based his annoyed grunt noise (D'oh!") on noises form Laurie and Hardy movies.

Castellaneta originally yelled "D'oh!" in a really drawn out fashion. Since 'The Simpsons' originally aired as one-minute shorts, he was asked to speed it up. 

The show's producers take their sweet, sweet time with these (in a good way). Production on each episode takes anywhere between six to eight months, depending on length and content. 

Matt Groening's father was the exact opposite of Homer in every way. He played basketball, had an English degree, and was soft-spoken.

In animated form, it's easy to forget that Homer's comical child-strangling would not be as cute in real life. Rest easy—IRL Homer was not one for that kind

of punishment. 

Headline: Famous composer writes famous theme song. Not exactly mind blowing. Slightly more mind blowing? He wrote the dang thing in A COUPLE OF HOURS.