Tag: springfield

“Sorry, mom. The mob has spoken.”

From: The Simpsons

Genre: Cartoons, Television

Who said it?: Bart Simpson

The story behind the quote: This week’s quote comes from one of the episodes of The Simpsons. As one of the longest running shows ever (and since I’ve already used a lot of Simpsons quotes in the past), this show needs no introduction anymore.

The quote comes from 4th season episode entitled “Marge vs. The Monorail.” When the town of Springfield suddenly becomes flush with cash, the town holds a meeting in order to decide how to use the money. While there are suggestions on how to use the money to improve Springfield, a quick talking shyster named Lyle Lanley persuades everyone to use the funds to buy a slick monorail. During the end of the song number, Marge Simpson laments that main street is still full of potholes. However, her son, Bart Simpson, slyly remarks that the town has already made the ill-fated decision to go build the monorail.

Geek wisdom: Sometimes, the most popular decision is not the correct one. There are going to be times when the most prudent choice might be unpopular but, ultimately, still the right one. So always keep an open mind to other thoughts and ideas.

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“So, professor, would you say it’s time for everyone to panic?”

From: The Simpsons

Genre: Cartoons, Television

Who said it?: Kent Brockman

The story behind the quote: This week’s quote comes from the longest running animated series in the United States, The Simpsons. And, with the current situation affecting the world thanks to the coronavirus outbreak, it’s a rather apt quote.

The quote comes from the 11th episode of the 5th season of The Simpsons. The episode is entitled Homer the Vigilante, wherein a spree of cat burglaries occur in the town of Springfield. Kent Brockman (voiced by Harry Shearer) who quickly heighten the fears the citizens of the town by insinuating that the cat burglaries will escalate into mass murders. He then turns to a professor and delivers the quote, to which the professor agrees.

Later, when the entire population is hunting down a mysterious treasure, Kent Brockman then escalates the issue again.

Geek wisdom: In times of crisis, it’s always best to try to keep a cool head. If you panic, you will be prone to do more unsafe and even dangerous actions that may do more harm than good. This goes for everyone, especially for the citizens and the people who are supposed to protect them.

“You tried your best and you failed miserably. The lesson is, never try.”

From: The Simpsons

Genre: Cartoons, Television

Who said it?: Homer Simpsons

The story behind the quote: This week’s quote comes from the longest running animated series in the United States, The Simpsons. The show has been on for 29 straight seasons and counting and is a general smorgasbord for quotes.

The quote comes from the 18th episode of the 5th season, Burns’ Heir. In the episode, Mr. Burns has a near death experience and decides to hold an audition for all the kids in Springfield to become his heir. The Simpsons has their kids, Lisa and Bart Simpson try out but they fail to pass the audition. The kids are heartbroken and Marge asks Homer Simpson to cheer his kids up. Unfortunately, he doesn’t do a good job…

 

Geek wisdom: Homer Simpsons’ reaction is probably one we’re all familiar with. We try something once and, when we initially fail at whatever it is, we give up. This isn’t the way to get better at anything. If anything, this is a call for us to pick ourselves up and try again to get better at whatever it is.

Oh, and because of this “pep talk,” Bart Simpson pulls a prank at Mr. Burns house, which does get him signed as the heir apparent.

“Won’t somebody please think of the children?”

From: The Simpsons

Genre: Cartoons, Television

Who said it?: Helen Lovejoy

The story behind the quote: This week’s quote was actually popularized by The Simpsons. However, it is important to note that this wasn’t the first time it was used. In fact, the quote was already a rather cliche argumentative point way before it was popularized by the popular cartoon.

In the episode entitled “Much Apu About Nothing,” a bear wanders into the town by accident. Although the animal is immediately taken care of by the town’s authorities, Homer Simpson gets the other townsfolk rally to get Mayor Quimby to create a “bear patrol.” This does cause taxes to increase, which, once again, Homer Simpson and some people to go to city hall to lower taxes. Mayor Quimby, in the hopes of shifting blame to something else, says that the problem of higher taxes is due to illegal immigrants.

Throughout all this, Helen Lovejoy yells out the quote, exclaiming that the children need protection from the bears… and illegal immigrants.

Geek wisdom: Parents love their children and only want the best for them and to protect them from any harm. However, sometimes, they can get a little too overprotective which can be just as harmful to their kids as they will not be able to grow up and experience the world as it is. Sometimes, you have to let go and let them commit their own mistakes so they can learn from them.

“Me fail English? That’s unpossible!”

From: The Simpsons

Genre: Cartoons, Television

Who said it?: Ralph Wiggum

The story behind the quote: GeekWisdom has been running for more than a year now and I’ve never posted a quote from one of the longest running series of all time. The Simpsons has been on air for over 24 seasons, had a feature-length film and has entered pop culture consciousness but this is the first time a quote is being posted here. One of the reasons is because I can’t embed most of the Simpsons video clips on YouTube. Another is, well, nothing really is super memorable from the main cast… but I forgot about Ralph Wiggum.

Ralph is the dim-witted son of the dim-witted Police Chief of Springfield, Clancy Wiggum. He tends to do incredibly odd things that are pretty stupid and he has the tendency to make unrelated comments with the situation he’s in. Unfortunately, it seems that he’s pretty much in the dark about his clue about how clueless he really is.

In the clip below, Principal Skinner is announcing the children who are failing in English. Ralph is overjoyed and actually thinks he won something. When Principal Skinner corrects Ralph, he smiles and expresses disbelief since he thinks he’s really great in speaking the language.

Geek wisdom: We can be extremely ignorant of our own… ignorance. We like to believe that we are so totally awesome and great. However, it’s totally possible that we’ve put ourselves on an extremely high pedestal and actually fail to see our own… well, failures.

It’s easy to be blind to our own weaknesses. We sometimes have to take a long, hard and impartial look at ourselves to really see who we are.