D'Oh! Springfield In 'Simpsons' Was Based On Town In Oregon All Along : The Two-Way : NPR D'Oh! Springfield In 'Simpsons' Was Based On Town In Oregon All Along Embed Embed D'Oh! Springfield In 'Simpsons' Was Based On Town In Oregon All Along D'Oh! Springfield In 'Simpsons' Was Based On Town In Oregon All Along Embed Embed Matt Groening has revealed the location of the real-life home of The Simpsons. AP hide caption toggle caption Matt Groening has revealed the location of the real-life home of The Simpsons. AP Ay Caramba! Simpsons creator Matt Groening has revealed the location of the real Springfield: It's in Oregon. In an interview with Smithsonian magazine , posted online Tuesday, Groening credits the name to the hit TV show Father Knows Best. The show "took place in the town of Springfield, and I was thrilled because I imagined that it was the town next to Portland, my hometown," he says. "When I grew up, I realized it was just a fictitious name. I also figured out that Springfield was one of the most common names for a city in the U.S.

In anticipation of the success of the show, I thought, 'This will be cool; everyone will think it's their Springfield.' And they do." The topic of Springfield's real location has much discussion among fans of the show, which has been on the air for more than 20 years. "I don't want to ruin it for people, you know?" Groening says. "Whenever people say it's Springfield, Ohio, or Springfield, Massachusetts, or Springfield, wherever, I always go, 'Yup, that's right.'" Article continues after sponsorship But The Associated Press says Groening said he has long given fake answers about the Simpsons' hometown, leaving open the possibility the revelation to Smithsonian magazine itself is fake. According to the AP: The show has made a running joke of hiding the true Springfield's location. In one episode, daughter Lisa points to Springfield on a map, but the animated "camera view" is blocked by son Bart's head. But there should have been plenty of clues that the characters on the Simpsons were drawn from Groening's own childhood. The names of many characters on the show — Flanders, Kearney, Lovejoy — correspond to street names in Portland, Ore.

Indeed, Groening says his goal was to "name every character after streets in Portland, but we were in a hurry so I dropped the idea." Another clue: The Simpsons live on Evergreen Terrace – also the name of the street the Groenings lived on. And, of course, Homer, Marge, Lisa and Maggie are named after Groening's parents and sisters, respectively. The town of Springfield, Ore., had already claimed the show as its own. When Niel Laudati, the community relations manager for Springfield, Ore., was told about Groening's announcement, he told the AP: "Oh, OK, we knew that." The town's Facebook page features a signed plaque from Groening when he visited the town before The Simpsons Movie was released in 2007. "Yo to Springfield Oregon – The Real Springfield!" the plaque reads. It's signed: "Your pal, Matt Groening Proud Oregonian! 2007." No clues yet as to the location of Shelbyville.

Matt Groening Reveals the Location of the Real Springfield | Arts & Culture | Smithsonian Contact Privacy Policy Terms of Use Matt Groening Reveals the Location of the Real Springfield Twenty-five years after The Simpsons made their TV debut, the show's creator talks about Homer's odyssey—and his own Matt Groening, creator of the Simpsons, was going to name the main character Matt, but didn't think it would go over well in a pitch meeting, so he changed the name to Bart. (The Simpsons™ and © 2009 TTCFFC All Rights Reserved) By Claudia De La Roca Smithsonian Magazine | Subscribe May 2012 UPDATE: "The Simpsons" responded to this interview with a new chalkboard gag before the Sunday, April 15, episode proclaiming that "The true location of Springfield is in any state but yours." Check it out . From This Story [×] CLOSE Matt Groening, creator of the Simpsons, says the town the family lives in is named after Springfield, Oregon. (The Simpsons™ and © 2009 TTCFFC All Rights Reserved) Groening was going to name the main character Matt but didn't think it would go over well in a pitch meeting, so he changed the name to Bart.

(The Simpsons™ and © 2009 TTCFFC All Rights Reserved) Is There A "Homer Simpson Effect" Among Scientists? Claudia De La Roca: So take us back to the Simpsons’ foundational moment. In 1987 you were waiting for a meeting with James Brooks and you started sketching. What were you thinking? Matt Groening: I had been drawing my weekly comic strip, “Life in Hell,” for about five years when I got a call from Jim Brooks, who was developing “The Tracey Ullman Show” for the brand-new Fox network. He wanted me to come in and pitch an idea for doing little cartoons on that show. I soon realized that whatever I pitched would not be owned by me, but would be owned by Fox, so I decided to keep my rabbits in “Life in Hell” and come up with something new. While I was waiting—I believe they kept me waiting for over an hour—I very quickly drew the Simpsons family. I basically drew my own family. My father’s name is Homer. My mother’s name is Margaret. I have a sister Lisa and another sister Maggie, so I drew all of them.

I was going to name the main character Matt, but I didn’t think it would go over well in a pitch meeting, so I changed the name to Bart. Bart. Why? Back in high school I wrote a novel about a character named Bart Simpson. I thought it was a very unusual name for a kid at the time. I had this idea of an angry father yelling “Bart,” and Bart sounds kind of like bark—like a barking dog. I thought it would sound funny. In my novel, Bart was the son of Homer Simpson. I took that name from a minor character in the novel The Day of the Locust, by Nathanael West. Since Homer was my father’s name, and I thought Simpson was a funny name in that it had the word “simp” in it, which is short for “simpleton”—I just went with it. Did your father contribute anything besides his first name? My father was a really sharp cartoonist and filmmaker.

He used to tape-record the family surreptitiously, either while we were driving around or at dinner, and in 1963 he and I made up a story about a brother and a sister, Lisa and Matt, having an adventure out in the woods with animals. I told it to my sister Lisa, and she in turn told it to my sister Maggie. My father recorded the telling of the story by Lisa to Maggie, and then he used it as the soundtrack to a movie. So the idea of dramatizing the family—Lisa, Maggie, Matt—I think was the inspiration for doing something kind of autobiographical with “The Simpsons.” There is an aspect of the psychodynamics of my family in which it makes sense that one of us grew up and made a cartoon out of the family and had it shown all over the world. Any other commonalities between your father and Homer Simpson? Only the love of ice cream. My dad didn’t even like doughnuts that much. The name Homer has been wall-to-wall around you—your father, your son, Homer Simpson. What does the name mean to you? My father was named after the poet Homer. My grandmother, his mother, was a voracious reader.

She named one son Homer and another son Victor Hugo. It is this basic name, but I can’t separate the name Homer from The Iliad and The Odyssey and from Odysseus, even though Homer is the teller of the tale. I think of it as a very heroic name in that Homer, even though he is getting kicked in the butt by life, he is his own small hero. OK, why do the Simpsons live in a town called Springfield? Isn’t that a little generic? Springfield was named after Springfield, Oregon. The only reason is that when I was a kid, the TV show “Father Knows Best” took place in the town of Springfield, and I was thrilled because I imagined that it was the town next to Portland, my hometown. When I grew up, I realized it was just a fictitious name. I also figured out that Springfield was one of the most common names for a city in the U.S. In anticipation of the success of the show, I thought, “This will be cool; everyone will think it’s their Springfield.” And they do. Single Page Previous Page 1 of 4 Next 1 2 3 4 Like this article?

Matt Groening admits The Simpsons home town is based on Springfield, Oregon - Telegraph TV and Radio Matt Groening admits The Simpsons home town is based on Springfield, Oregon Matt Groening, the creator of "The Simpsons," America's longest running television sitcom, has finally revealed the inspiration for the characters' fictional home town of Springfield – Oregon. The Simpsons recently celebrated its 25th anniversary Photo: AP By Nick Allen , Los Angeles 7:47PM BST 11 Apr 2012 Comments Since the animated show began in 1989 the question of which town provides the backdrop for it has been hotly debated by viewers, but remained a closely guarded secret. Groening has now confirmed he got the name from Springfield, Oregon, a town of 60,000 people which is 100 miles south of Portland, the city where he grew up. Groening told Smithsonian magazine: "Springfield was named after Springfield, Oregon.

The only reason is that when I was a kid, the TV show 'Father Knows Best' took place in the town of Springfield, and I was thrilled because I imagined that it was the town next to Portland, my home town." He also discovered that Springfield was one of the most common town names in the US – there are 34 of them – and realised that would keep people guessing. Groening said: "In anticipation of the success of the show I thought 'This will be cool, everyone will think it's their Springfield,' and they do. Related Articles The real Springfield 11 Apr 2012 "I don't want to ruin it for people, you know? Whenever people say it's Springfield, Ohio, or Springfield, Massachusetts, or Springfield, wherever, I always go 'Yup, that's right.'" Groening also revealed that he named some incidental characters in the sitcom after "lugs" who picked on him at school. "Maybe they are characters named after themselves on 'The Simpsons.'" He also had the fictional Simpson family live on his own childhood street, Evergreen Terrace in Portland, and named streets in the show after ones in Portland.

The tales of doughnut-loving father Homer Simpson, named after Groening's own father, and his dysfunctional family have become a staple of American culture. The show is broadcast in more than 100 countries and its satirical take on American middle class life has earned 27 Emmy awards. In fictional Springfield the school is falling apart, there is a constant fire at the town dump, and the mayor is corrupt. The real Springfield, Oregon is currently facing a struggling economy with average income under $40,000 and nearly one in five people living below the poverty line. There are dozens of people called Simpson living there. A statement released later on the official Homer Simpson Twitter account said: "Crap, we live in Oregon? I don't know what state we live in, but our house is worth a lot less than in 2007." The Simpsons: Interactive Map of Springfield Zesty's Pizza and Subs Discover Springfield, where live the Simpsons family; Homer, Bart, Marge, Lisa and Maggie. Roll over the places to discover a picture of it. The map of Springfield is based on the Guide to Springfield USA .

I made this interactive, the job is not finished, there are allways framegrabs to add and add some functions to the map. The Simpsons: Real location of Springfield revealed by creator Matt Groening | Daily Mail Online comments It's the town that inspired the much-loved fictional town of Springfield, but this one has 41 - not five - Simpsons living in it. After 23 seasons of tantalising secrets, Simpsons creator Matt Groening finally revealed that the town of Springfield, Oregon, was the inspiration for the show's setting. Homer, Marge, and the rest of the Simpsons clan have lived for the entirety of the show on Evergreen Terrace - incidentally, at the same address of Mr Groening's childhood home in Portland. D'oh!

After 23 seasons, Simpsons creator Matt Groening finally confirmed that the Springfield in his show is based off of a town of the same name in Oregon Home sweet home: Matt Groening grew up in a house on Evergreen Terrace in Portland, Oregon - incidentally, the same address as the Simpsons The Simpsons' Springfield is home to, among other things, a nuclear plant, several watering holes, and the Kwik-E-Mart – though creator Matt Groening never confirmed where in the country it was. The admission came in an interview with Smithsonian Magazine’s May issue, published online Tuesday. Mr Groening told the magazine that he was inspired by the television show Father Knows Best, which took place in a place called Springfield. Common moniker: Creator Matt Groening said that he let his audience think that Springfield could be anywhere Pop culture history: The town of Springfield was incorporated in 1885, nearly a century before the popular show was created Springfield, Oregon, is 100 miles south of Mr Groening's hometown of Portland, and has a population of 59,000 as of the 2010 census. Mr Groening said he has long given fake answers when asked about the Simpsons' hometown.

He told the magazine it was because ‘I don’t want to ruin it for people, you know? RELATED ARTICLES Share this article Share ‘Whenever people say it’s Springfield, Ohio, or Springfield, Massachusetts, or Springfield, wherever, I always go, “Yep, that’s right.”’ The animated comedy, which has been on air a staggering 23 years, has made a running joke about Springfield’s vague location, dangling false clues in front of fans, only to contradict its information in later episodes. Mum's the word: Matt Groening, seen posing with a life-sized Bart and Homer, was famously evasive about the real location of Springfield for more than two decades Lacking: One thing the real town of Springfield doesn't have? A nuclear plant In one episode, daughter and saxophone prodigy Lisa points to Springfield on a map, but the animated ‘camera view’ is blocked by son Bart's head. In the interview, Mr Groening said that he took living in Portland – on Evergreen Terrace, no less – for granted. He said that the only reason he’s lived in Los Angeles for so long is because of his significant involvement with the entertainment industry.

'Whenever people say it’s Springfield, Ohio, or Springfield, Massachusetts, or Springfield, wherever, I always go, "Yep, that’s right."' -Matt Groening ‘Everything you can experience in Los Angeles, you can have a much better version of it in Portland- including, very basically, the air you breathe.’ The series has been on the air for 22 years, becoming the longest-running American sitcom, the longest-running American animated program and a cultural phenomenon, with colleges devoting courses to studying it. People in the real Springfield - the one in Oregon - took on the mantle of the show's hometown after Mr Groening visited before the release of the The Simpsons Movie in 2007. Small town: Kwik-E-Mart is one of the mainstays of the show The real deal: Springfield, Oregon, is about 100 miles outside of Portland, Matt Groening's home town Back then, tiny Springfield, Vermont, beat out 13 other like-named cities, including the one in Oregon, to host the movie premiere. The cities submitted videos meant to connect themselves to the fictional Springfield.

When Springfield, Oregon, community-relations manager Niel Laudati was told about Mr Groening's announcement, he said: 'Oh OK, we knew that.' The city has already incorporated the Simpsons into its own town lore. For instance, the Springfield Museum features a couch similar to the animated one shown in the show's opening credits, and a plaque marking the movie's release. Drink at Moe's: Moe's Tavern is the local watering hole for Homer and the gang, where they spend many a night putting back Duffy beers Watering hole: Springfield locals head to Jim's Landing on Main St. 'Yo to Springfield, Oregon - the real Springfield!' Mr Groening wrote. 'Your pal, Matt Groening proud Oregonian!' The Springfield depicted in The Simpsons isn't always a flattering portrait. The school is falling apart, there's a constant fire at the town dump, and Mayor Quimby is chronically, helplessly corrupt. Not to mention, the nuclear plant with sub-par safety standards. 'We kind of got past it,' Mr Laudati told the Associated Press. 'We don't dwell on the bad stuff. Obviously we don't have a nuclear power plant. We don't have a lot of stuff in the Simpsons.

'What we do have are a lot of blue-collar working families that go to church every week and eat dinner together,' Mr Laudati said. 'That is accurate.' Go nuts for donuts: Lard Lad is a parody of the Big Boy chain restaurants Hole in one: Actual Springfield locals get their sugar fixes at Master Donuts The Simpson family are named after Mr Groening's family -- father Homer (named after the Greek poet of the same name), mother Marge, and sisters Lisa and Maggie. Bart is based on the creator himself, although Mr Groening changed the name from 'Matt' to 'Bart' because he 'had this idea of an angry father yelling 'Bart.' He told the magazine that Bart sounded kind of like bark—like a barking dog, and he thought it would sound funny. The inspirations drawn from Oregon didn't just stop at the town name. Mr Groening also said he named some of the characters after streets in Portland, including Reverend Lovejoy, the school bully Kearney and the Simpsons' annoyingly loveable neighbour Ned Flanders. Even the address that America's favourite animated family live at, 632 Evergreen Terrace, is named after Mr Groening's own childhood home address.

Personal touch: Debra Gruell, Executive Director Springfield Museum, holds a plaque that was given by Matt Groening to the museum Revealing: The plaque reads: 'Yo to Springfield, Oregon - the REAL Springfield! Your pal, Matt Groening, proud Oregonian' Sofa, so good: Ms Gruell cozies on the couch with the Simpsons clan Not only that, but there are 41 'Simpsons' registered in the town limits. While there is no Homer Simpson, there is a Harold. The Simpsons was created by Mr Groening for Fox television and first aired in 1989. It is the longest-running American sitcom in history, broadcast in more than 100 countries and 50 languages, and it still attracts an average 7.7million U.S. viewers weekly. The show has witnessed incredible talent throughout its near quarter-century on television. Conan O’Brien served as a writer and producer for the show in the early 1990s, and has featured the voice talents of everyone from Steve Buscemi, Stephen Hawking, Glenn Close, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, to Simon Cowell.

In the sixth season of South Park, blundering fourth-grader Butters’ alter ego Professor Chaos comes up with a series of plans to take over the world, only to find that those plots have already been exhausted by the Simpsons. The episode gave a flagrant wink to the long-running sitcom, with the familiar refrain of ‘the Simpsons already did it’ after nearly every suggested plot point in South Park. It was all yellow: Springfield resident Jack Kohler crosses Main Street Tuesday, shortly after the news was announced WHAT'S IN A NAME? JUST HOW MANY SPRINGFIELDS ARE THERE IN THE U.S.? According to the U.S. Geological Survey, there are 38 places in the U.S. bearing the name of Springfield, of which 13 are cities and 11 are towns. Wisconsin leads the pack with five Springfields, followed by New Jersey and Texas. Springfield, Alabama The Simpsons: Road Rage (PS2 Gameplay) - YouTube The Simpsons: Road Rage (PS2 Gameplay) Want to watch this again later? Sign in to add this video to a playlist. Need to report the video? Sign in to report inappropriate content. The interactive transcript could not be loaded. Loading...

Rating is available when the video has been rented. This feature is not available right now. Please try again later. Uploaded on Feb 4, 2012 The Simpsons: Road Rage is a 2001 video game based on the animated television series The Simpsons, and is part of a series of games based on the show. It was developed by Radical Entertainment and published by Electronic Arts for the PlayStation 2, the Xbox, and the GameCube. A Game Boy Advance version was released a while afterwards. The game stars Homer, Marge, Bart, and Lisa, as well as Mr. Burns and several other characters from the show. The Simpsons Road Rage is similar to the game Crazy Taxi by Sega in that the main objective is to drive picked up passengers to their destinations as fast as possible. These similarities led to Sega suing Radical Entertainment and Electronic Arts for patent infringement. Reviews of the game were generally moderate. The Simpsons Road Rage is based on the animated television series The Simpsons. In the story of the game, Mr. Burns has bought all transit systems in Springfield and has begun to create radioactive buses that threaten the public health.

Because of this the citizens of Springfield must use their own cars as a means of safer public transport and earn money in an attempt to pay back Burns to get rid of the radioactive buses and return the town back to normal. The citizens of the city (controlled by the game player) earn the money by driving around a vehicle for a given amount of time, picking up passengers and taking them to their destinations. The player receives money upon successfully dropping off each passenger, and bonuses are obtained when they are transported in a short amount of time. Players have to avoid certain hurdles, such as other vehicles and Burns's nuclear transit buses. The game contains seventeen different collectible vehicles, six starting locations, and ten different missions. In order to collect the vehicles and unlock starting locations, players must earn progressively more money for each vehicle or starting location they want to get. In order to complete missions, players must do certain things (such as protecting Krusty the Clown from a fan mob by driving him away, and getting Homer to his workplace unnoticed). At first, the only playable characters (taxi drivers) are Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa, and Grampa, but as the game progresses more characters are unlocked.

There is also a multiplayer mode in which the two players compete to pick up the same passengers and drive them to their destinations. Playstation 2 (PS2)/Xbox/Gamecube/Game Boy Advance Electronic Arts/THQ 'The Simpsons' Live In Oregon, Matt Groening Tells Smithsonian Magazine | Deadline 'The Simpsons' Live In Oregon, Matt Groening Tells Smithsonian Magazine The Simpsons The Simpsons has aired more than 500 episodes and been the subject of numerous analytic and academic examinations, so it seems there can be little mystery remaining regarding the family at the center of Fox ’s animated series that is the longest-running situation comedy in American TV history. But Simpsons creator Matt Groening did solve one of the few remaining mysteries in an interview with Smithsonian magazine: the native of Portland, Ore., revealed that the fictitious Springfield where Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie Simpson live is in fact based on a town not far from where he grew up. “Springfield was named after Springfield, Oregon,” Groening told Smithsonian. “The only reason is that when I was a kid, the TV show Father Knows Best took place in the town of Springfield, and I was thrilled because I imagined that it was the town next to Portland, my hometown.

When I grew up, I realized it was just a fictitious name. I also figured out that Springfield was one of the most common names for a city in the U.S. In anticipation of the success of the show, I thought, ‘This will be cool; everyone will think it’s their Springfield.’ And they do.” In the 2007 feature film The Simpsons Movie, Ned Flanders takes Bart to a hill top and tells him to look around at the four states that border Springfield: Ohio, Nevada, Maine and Kentucky. Springfield's State | Simpsons Wiki | Fandom powered by Wikia In The Simpsons Movie , Russ Cargill goes to see "President Schwarzenegger". Arnold Schwarzenegger was the former governor of California. In the episode " Itchy & Scratchy Land ", The Simpsons family briefly has to stop at a Fruits and Vegetables Checkpoint, causing Homer to panic (as he was apparently smuggling Fruits and Vegetables as a side job). Fruits and Vegetables Checkpoints are a very common place in California. In the episode "C.E. D'oh", Smithers mentions that Mr. Burns is going to face trouble as the U.S. Government discovered evidence that Mr.

Burns dumped nuclear waste into Legoland. The only Legoland that exists in the United States is in California, and most of the attractions seen were from the Legoland section Mini-USA, and it is also unlikely that Mr. Burns would travel a long distance just to dump nuclear waste. According to the episode "The Seven-Beer Snitch", there's a gas chamber in the Springfield prison. Only five states have a gas chamber as an option for capital punishment in their prisons: California, Arizona, Wyoming, Missouri and Maryland. This coupled with the fact that Springfield is located on an ocean and the sun sets on it seems to leave California as the only possibility. Although, in the Simpsons Jumbo Rain-Or-Shine Fun Book, there is a fill-in-the-blank story in which Lisa says, "There's a car with ____ strapped to its roof!" to which Marge responds to by saying, "They must be from California." Also there is a Waverly Hill which is a parody on Beverly Hill, in California. When Skinner drives Willie's car 2653 miles from Springfield to Orlando, if he uses conventional roads, it could put him in California, Oregon or Idaho.

In "The Canine Mutiny", it is implied that medicinal marijuana is legal. At the time (the episode first aired in 1997), only California had legalized marijuana for medical use. The town square is based on the plaza in Arcata, California. Massachusetts In the episode "'Tis the Fifteenth Season", Homer buys an electronic astrolabe at Springfield Heights Mall. One of the astrolabe's screens displays what appear to be its current latitude and longitude. These coordinates (42° N, 71° W) point to Bridgewater, MA. Also there is a Springfield, Massachusetts and a West Springfield, Massachusetts. In the episode "Behind the Laughter" the Simpsons are explicitly referred to by the narrator as "this Western Massachusetts family." Also there was a contest for The Simpsons Movie to find out what the state the Simpsons were located in based on sates with had a town called Springfield, and that state would get to have the premier of The Simpsons Movie. The city that was picked was Springfield Vermont. Chelmsford MA is also referenced several times throughout the years.

Springsfields' town hall is based on the town hall there and Zesty's Pizza which has been a landmark in the small Mass town for decades appears in the opening credits in a couple of episodes. Michigan In the episode " Duffless ", Homer's driver's license shows an address of "Springfield NT 49007". ZIP code 49007 belongs to Kalamazoo, Michigan. ("NT" is the postal abbreviation for the Northwest Territories of Canada, however.) From S4E16 "Duffless". Homer's license shows Springfield's state In the episode "3 Men and a Comic Book", Bart attempts to redeem a bottle deposit. The refund is a dime; only Michigan has a 10-cent deposit on bottles. However, in the episode Take My Wife, Sleaze , Chief Wiggum remarks to Homer "Well, uh, be that as it may, ah, the gang is wanted in eight other states and we have a little saying around here, let Michigan handle it." This dismisses the Michigan theory, as Wiggum is considered an expert on slacking off on his duties and leaving his work to be completed by others.

In the Simpsons comics story "A Tale of 2 Pen Pals," Homer tells Bart he had a "foreign" pen pal when he was a boy, who was from Michigan. Nebraska In Burns, Baby Burns , Montgomery Burns's long lost son recognizes his father on a train but is unable to board it before it moves away. He asks an attendant standing on the final carriage where it is going and is told "Springfield". The son says: "Yeah, but what state?" The guard's reply is almost inaudible, but ends in the syllable "-aska". This suggests that Springfield could be in Nebraska or Alaska. But The Simpsons Movie rules out Alaska as they move there. Implying Springfield is located in Nebraska. Additionally, in the episode "The Springfield Files", Mulder tells Scully that there has been "another unsubstantiated UFO sighting in the heartland of America", referring to Homer's close encounter with an alien. Traditionally, "The heartland of America" is applied to Eastern Nebraska, where Nebraska's Springfield exists.

Connecticut In the episode " Revenge is a Dish Best Served Three Times ", the Rich Texan on whom Homer wishes to seek revenge tells Bart that he and Homer have buried the hatchet because the two are both from Connecticut, (despite his name). It has previously been revealed that Homer was born in Springfield . In Treehouse of Horror XIII, when it is shown that the Homer clones will have spread across the entire United States, one of the faces in the first frame appears over Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut and Rhode Island. Alaska In Burns, Baby Burns , Montgomery Burns's long lost son recognizes his father on a train, but is unable to board it before it moves away. He asks an attendant standing on the final carriage where it is going and is told "Springfield". The son says: "Yeah, but what state?" The guard's reply is almost inaudible, but ends in the syllable "-aska". This suggests that Springfield could be in Nebraska or Alaska. In another episode, Lisa says West Springfield is 3x the size of Texas. Alaska is the only state larger than Texas, so it has to be in Alaska.

However, when offered free air travel to any US State, the Simpsons are told "except Alaska and Hawaii. The freak states." In "Catch'em If You Can", Homer is about to take a plane trip and complains about the airline of a previous trip. He exclaims, "What kind of an airline routes all their flights through Nome Alaska?". If they lived in Alaska, this is not so bad, if they don't live in Alaska, it is quite a long trip. In the Simpsons Movie, the Simpsons move to Alaska, which means that they don't live there. Virginia First frame of Homer Clones report Springfield has an Army base; Fort Myers, 12 miles away. It also has a nuclear power plant 80 miles away, in addition the State has 2 (albeit extinct) volcanoes. Springfield has Dulles International Airport, 27 miles away; and Richmond (the state capital) also has an airport. In Dancin' Homer , Capital City has a Second Best Western; Richmond has 4 Best Westerns. Virginia did not allow gay marriages at the time; it has been previously stated that the Simpsons' state does not allow gay marriages. Virginia has a Navy base and an Air Force base.

In Treehouse of Horror XIII , when it is shown that the Homer clones will have spread through the entire United States, one of the faces appears in Virginia in the first frame. Possible suggestion that leads to the affirmation that Spring Field is in Virginia. Season 13 Episode 22. Fat Tony and the mob are headed to Homer's house in a cinematic view that shows Interstate 95 . If you use this as a basis, Interstate 95 cuts right through present day Springfield, Virginia. The state of Tennessee is the south (southwest) border of Virginia. Springfield is on the water of Potamic River, at Ft. Belvoir (now a museum). The Springfield CDP is recognized by the U.S. Census Bureau with a population of 30,484 as of the 2010 census. (Source: Mateo Bynumato avid Simpson's fan) Moe has mentioned that American Rock singer Dave Grohl was once mugged in Springfield. [8] Given that Grohl grew up in a place called Spirngfield in Virginia, this could be considered the correct state.

Missouri In A Tale of Two Springfields , as well as the dubiously canonical videogame Simpsons: Hit and Run , it is revealed that Springfield's area code is 636. Missouri has this area code. The new area code, 939, is in Puerto Rico. Also, the Simpsons' address, 742 Evergreen Terrace is an actual address in Savannah, Missouri. In "The Simpson Movie", the town attempts to sneak out in front of Russ Cargil up a rope holding a bomb intended to blow up the town. The town raises an old KBBL radio tower up to climb toward the rope. According to the FCC, KBBL is located in Springfield, MO. In The City of New York vs. Homer Simpson , Homer tells the rest of the family, "...So if anyone asks we are sophisticated millionaires from the Ozarks." Springfield, Missouri is located within the Ozarks and is commonly referred to as the Queen City of the Ozarks. In Bart on the Road , Bart, Milhouse, Nelson, and Martin pass through Branson, Missouri on their way to Knoxville, Tennessee.

Although it isn't the most direct path, it is possible to take 65 South straight to Branson Missouri and take 160 East to get into Tennessee and from there to Knoxville. In several episodes, Shelbyville has made an appearance as Springfield's twin city. Missouri has both a Shelbyville and a Springfield. However, Grampa Simpson has an inveterate, unexplained hatred of Missouri, implying that it is not his own state. That said, he also claims that Missouri represents the "last time I vote to admit a new state." Missouri was admitted to the Union in 1821, which would make Grampa over 200 years old, so all of his opinions on Missouri may be the result of his senility. South Dakota Based on the episode " Mr. Lisa Goes to Washington ", it is easy to argue that the Simpsons are from South Dakota.

Midway through this episode we see Congressmen Bob Arnold offered and accepting a bribe from a logging company which wants to clear-cut " Springfield National Forest ." Congressmen Bob Arnold also poses for a photo shoot with Lisa Simpson (it is presumed that he takes part in the photo shoot to boost his popularity in his district – and that the only reason he is seeing Lisa is because she is from this very same district). After the photo shoot the picture is shown back in Springfield in The Springfield Shopper newspaper which Moe reads to Barney (additional evidence that Congressmen Bob Arnold is Springfield’s congressman). In response, Barney says, "If I ever vote it’ll be for him. (Belch)" The 'proof' that the Simpsons are from Springfield, South Dakota comes toward the end of the episode. An FBI agent, in a successful attempt to set up Congressmen Bob Arnold, poses as an “oil company" executive who wants to drill for oil in Teddy Roosevelt’s head on Mount Rushmore and offers Congressmen Bob Arnold a bribe to get permission to do so. Just so there is no confusion there is an amusing picture showing what this might look like.

On the one hand, it would seemingly make sense to be bribing the congressman that actually represents the district which includes Mount Rushmore, thereby placing Springfield in South Dakota. However, South Dakota can also be ruled out since congressman Bob Arnold could be on a natural resources committee in congress and simply knows the lay of the land. Still this doesn't change the fact that the Simpsons are in Congressman Arnold's district. In the episode Kill The Alligator And Run at the end when the family are looking at the map they decide to visit North Dakota and Bart says he always wanted to see Mount Rushmore but is then told by Lisa that it's in South Dakota and we can clearly see from the map that the family are banned from the state. In the episode Poppa's Got a Brand New Badge , it is shown the Population of Springfield is around 30,000. Springfield, South Dakota has a population of is 792. Illinois In the episode Blood Feud , a thank you letter from Mr. Burns has a return address of "1000 Mammon Ln, Springfield" with scribbles following which could be construed as "IL, 22617".

In one of the episode intros, where the screen zooms out of the universe from the Simpsons' house, it zooms out of Illinois, and there is a real city named Springfield in Illinois. There is also a real city named Shelbyville in Illinois, 63.6 miles away from Springfield, IL. This page also suggests that they may be from Springfield, IL. In Bart vs. Lisa vs. the Third Grade, when the satellite signal is emitting, it is coming from Springfield, Illinois. The public square found in the Simpson's "Springfield" is very similar to that of one in Springfield, Illinois. At the center of the square, is a statue of Abraham Lincoln, much like that of Jebediah Springfield. In one episode, an "Abraham Lincoln Squirrel" was found and murdered in Springfield. Illinois is considered Lincoln's home, and so this could widely encourage the Illinois theory. In Treehouse of Horror XIII, when it is shown that by tomorrow the Homer clones will spread through the entire United States, one of the faces in the first frame was in Illinois. Springfield, Illinois is located on Lake Springfield. There is also a Shelbyville in central Illinois, the same region of the state as Springfield.

There is an Evergreen Court Lane in Springfield, Illinois. In the movie, Ned says that Ohio, Nevada, Maine and Kentucky all border Springfield. Illinois borders one of these states. Springfield has often been shown on a (presumed) ocean. Illinois does not border an ocean, but does in fact touch Lake Michigan, which could possibly appear similar to an ocean. This is also strongly suggested in Season 24; Episode 17, What Animated Women Want, when the camera rapidly zooms out of Springfield, showing that the city is probably near Chicago, definitely in Illinois. In season 7; Episode 16, Lisa the Iconoclast, when members of Springfield are digging up the grave of Jebadiah Springfield (looking for a literal silver tongue), Groundskeeper Willie tosses a shovel-full of dirt onto the eternal flame of Adlai Stevenson. Adlai Stevenson (likely referring to Adlai Stevenson II) was a former Democratic governor of Illinois and ran for president in 1952 and 1956. Utah In the episode Mr.

Lisa Goes to Washington during the reading of the competition essays, a map of the United States is shown, and pans to different locations to show other competitors speaking. Just before Lisa is shown, the map shows the state Springfield is located in (signified by a Blinky on the map). The state is the north-western-most state of four states whose boundaries intersect at a single point. There is only one point in the United States where this occurs, and the northwestern of the four states is Utah. However in the episode Little Big Girl Bart and Darcy move to Utah to get married so it can't be in Utah. In the episode "Kill Gil: Volumes 1 & 2", the Utah Jazz of the NBA can be seen getting ready to play. Although, the Jazz could possibly be the visiting team. In the episode Radioactive Man, they are looking for a place to film Radioactive man. In a listing, Springfield is listen under "Film Utah". North Dakota In " Moe Letter Blues " Moe mentions moving to Springfield because its zip code on a calculator spells "boobs". This would mean the zip code is 58008, assigned to Barney, North Dakota.

But, in Kill the Alligator and Run, the family says they are still welcome in North Dakota, Bart saying he wants to move to the Dakotas, proving they don't live there. Indiana In The Simpsons Movie , Flanders says that Springfield borders Ohio, Nevada, Maine, and Kentucky; Indiana borders two of those four states. Springfield has often been shown on a (presumed) ocean. Indiana does not border an ocean, but does in fact touch Lake Michigan, which could possibly appear similar to an ocean. West Virginia In The Simpsons Movie , Flanders says that Springfield borders Ohio, Nevada, Maine, and Kentucky; West Virginia borders two of those four states. New Hampshire The map at the end of Kill the Alligator and Run suggests that the Simpsons live somewhere in New England. The Southeastern tip of New Hampshire borders the ocean, and Springfield's proximity to the ocean rather than a lake is referenced in some episodes. When Homer goes to vote in the 2012 election, a Romney campaign banner reads "I Have A House In Your State"; though it's more likely a vague exaggeration of Romney's wealth, Romney did in fact own a house in New Hampshire at the time.

New Hampshire also has a nuclear powerplant in the southern coastal region of the state. Wisconsin In Mother Simpson , Bart and Lisa look at Mona's driver's license and her name was Mona Simpson on the Wisconsin license. However, this could have been fake, as she was on the run from the police. Tennessee In Coming To Homerica , Milhouse states they are in Tennessee Titans territory as he and Bart walk past the Ogdenvillians, that have moved to Springfield, wearing Minnesota Vikings jerseys. Regions One of the couch gags (which cannot be considered canon) zoomed out and showed the Simpsons' house in Springfield, Illinois. While Springfield, Illinois has a Shelbyville 50 miles to the southeast, and a nuclear power plant 40 miles to the north-east, there has not been any indication that it is 'the' Springfield, and could be coincidental. However, The Simpsons does make an indirect reference to the Illinois city; in the episode where Homer is in a graveyard at night digging a plot, discarded dirt covers up the grave of Adlai Stevenson (a prominent Illinois politician and two-time US presidential candidate, buried in Bloomington, Illinois, 50 miles to the northeast). In the episode " G.I.

(Annoyed Grunt) ", the Squeaky-voiced Teen quits his job to go work at "Jolly Tamale" which is a small but somewhat popular Mexican restaurant in Springfield, Illinois. The Simpsons' street, Evergreen Terrace , is a notoriously poor section of Springfield, Illinois. The couch gag sequence of The Simpsons episodes entitled " The Ziff Who Came to Dinner ", On a Clear Day I Can't See My Sister ", and " Eternal Moonshine of the Simpson Mind " again left the location of Springfield something of a mystery. The sequence featured a "zooming out" from the Simpson household to a satellite view, then a solar system view, and so on in a parody of the 1977 documentary short Powers of Ten. The sequence contained plenty of cloud cover, but put Springfield somewhere in the Midwest, probably near the Mississippi River (Iowa, or maybe Missouri). The latter location is also suggested in the episode " Lisa the Tree Hugger " in which Lisa tries to protect the oldest tree in Springfield. To do so, she climbs a giant sequoia tree to prevent a team from cutting it down. When looking down on Springfield she sees a structure resembling the Gateway Arch in St.

Louis, Missouri (but also the Space Needle in Seattle, Washington) In the background, the Statue of Liberty in New York, and the Eiffel Tower in Paris, France can also be seen, along with a large river. It should be noted that the Eiffel Tower appears to be closer than the Statue of Liberty, which is impossible. In the episode " Marge vs. the Monorail ", Springfield Monorail salesman Lyle Lanley proclaims "I've sold Springfield Monorail systems to Brockway , Ogdenville , and North Haverbrook ! And, by gum, it put them on the map!" He then holds up a map of the U.S. where Brockway, Ogdenville and North Haverbrook are the only cities shown. Marge then later drives to nearby North Haverbrook (where everybody resents there being a Springfield Monorail there, despite the sign at the city limits saying "Where the Springfield Monorail is KING!"). The map shows North Haverbrook in the Midwest, approximately in Iowa.

However, the same map shows Ogdenville in the southwest around the California-Arizona border, despite a later episode " Coming to Homerica " showing that Ogdenville is Springfield's neighbor. It should be noted that since the Springfield Monorail seller was a fraud, the map may not be accurate and made to make sure all three cities fit on the map. In the episode " Scenes from the Class Struggle in Springfield ", the Simpsons go to the Ogdenville outlet mall to get a new television. The sign in Springfield indicates that it is only '90 miles' to Ogdenville. When Lyle Lanley holds up the map, Ogdenville is in New Mexico and Brockway appears to be in South Carolina). In the episode " Mr. Lisa Goes to Washington ", when it is Lisa's turn to speak, it shows a map where Springfield is in "Illinois". In the episode " The Springfield Files ", Mulder tells Scully that there has been "another unsubstantiated UFO sighting in the heartland of America", referring to Homer's close encounter with an alien; so, for that episode, Springfield was presumably somewhere in the Midwest. Homer suggests that Springfield is within a state bordering the Great Lakes.

He said: Oh, why did I take it the wedding ring off? ... Oh, right! To see if I could skip it across Lake Michigan. However, this is only slightly relevant - he could have been visiting the state at the time. The Simpsons address, 742 Evergreen Terrace , is an actual address in Savannah, Missouri. West of the Mississippi In several episodes the radio and television stations in Springfield use the call sign KBBL . All radio and television station call signs west of the Mississippi River, except for few grandfathered stations, begin with the letter K while stations east of the Mississippi River begin with the letter W.

This implies then that Springfield must be west of the Mississippi River because its television station uses the call sign KBBL, television being non-existent at the time of creation of the K and W call sign system, unless the stations in question operate on a dual-license arrangement (an owner of a grandfathered radio station that later received a license for a sister television station), as in KYW-AM radio station and KYW-TV/KYW-DT television stations, in Philadelphia, KDKA-AM and KDKA-TV in Pittsburgh, both of which are in Pennsylvania, and WDAY-FM, WDAY-AM, and WDAY-TV/WDAY-DT in Fargo and WDAZ-TV/WDAZ-DT in Grand Forks, North Dakota. Also, when the Simpsons get to Delaware on a train, they pass the Mississippi River, meaning they live somewhere west of it. East coast Springfield, Massachusetts is referenced by the "Springfield Memorial Bridge" which separates Springfield from West Springfield in the cartoon and in Massachusetts. Another Massachusetts reference is that Mayor Quimby and his political machine have similarities to the powerful Kennedy family, including the mayor and his family's thick Boston accent even though Springfield, Massachusetts natives DO NOT have the famous New England accent.

Of Simpsons writers and producers, more of them attended college in Massachusetts than any other state. A segment on WFXT revealed that Springfield's city hall is actually copied from that of Chelmsford, Massachusetts. This however, could simply mean nothing. The bridge could be a coincidence, and Quimby may not have grown up in Springfield. In the episode " Mother Simpson ", Homer discovers that the tombstone he always thought belonged to his mother actually belongs to Walt Whitman (causing Homer to pummel said tombstone and curse "Leaves of Grass, my ass!"). Walt Whitman is buried in Harleigh Cemetery, Camden, New Jersey. In the episode " Bart the Fink ", when Bart questions the local bankers about the check he gave to Krusty, a phone call is made to New York at 2:01 PM, then to Cayman Islands at 2:02 PM. Afterwards, a fax is made to Washington D.C at 2:03 PM, and Krusty is arrested in Springfield at 2:04 PM. The first three places are all in UTC-5 time zone when the Northern Hemisphere is in winter, when the episode was first aired.

And assuming the sequence of events is meant to show how quickly the authority reacts to tax evasion, that would put Springfield in the North American Eastern Time Zone. In the episode " Lisa the Iconoclast ", it is revealed that settlers founded Springfield in 1796, which was before the Louisiana Purchase. Therefore, Springfield must be east of the Mississippi River. In the episode " Poppa's Got a Brand New Badge ", the character Fat Tony drives into downtown Springfield past a highway identification sign that very closely resembles United States Interstate signs, and bears the route number 95. The real I-95 is a major north-south route along the east coast of the United States. It should be noted however, that this was a parody of The Sopranos, which takes place in New Jersey, through which I-95 runs. However, The Simpsons cannot take place in New Jersey, as Homer and Bart must drive extensively to reach the Edison National Historic Site. In the episode " Old Yeller-Belly ", the Amish build a treehouse for the Simpsons, indicating that Springfield is in either Ohio or Pennsylvania. Also, Milhouse's mother mentions Mechanicsburg; there is a Mechanicsburg in both Ohio and Pennsylvania.

There is a Springfield in Virginia through which I-95 runs; while there is no Mechanicsburg in Virginia, there are four communities named Mechanicsville. In the episode "Bart of War", a Mohican says his tribe's land stretched from " Krusty Burger to Gary's Waterbed Warehouse " while he indicated parts of Springfield. In one episode, "Bart's Comet", a comet is threatening to strike Springfield. Professor Frink devises a plan in which a rocket is fired at the comet. The rocket is shown being launched from the Springfield Armory , which was established in Springfield, Massachusetts during the Revolutionary War, and still exists as a historical museum.

Question: In which town is the cartoon series 'The Simpsons' based around?
Answer: Springfield