Hold everything. The Simpsons may not set in the United States as we have all been led to believe — and Simpsons fan, astronomer, and Slate’s Bad Astronomy blogger, Phil Plait has a pretty ingenious reason why. It all has to do with how the show’s creators draw the Moon.
In the episode The Musk Who Fell to Earth, which aired on Jan. 25, SpaceX boss Elon Musk befriends Homer when he arrives in Springfield.
In one scene Musk gazes up at the night sky where a crescent Moon is shining above. But Plait noticed something peculiar about the Moon – it was facing the wrong way for a town supposedly in the U.S.A.
In the northern hemisphere, the tips of a waxing crescent moon point to the left, but in The Simpsons episode they point to the right.
The conclusion? The Simpsons must be set in the southern hemisphere. Mind blown.
[Slate]
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Write to Helen Regan at helen.regan@timeasia.com