After sharing my previous article, I received some flack from Twitter users and Facebook commenters, who are still in denial that The Simpsons are from Illinois. One of the main arguments from these dissenters is that the show's creator, Matt Groening, said in an interview with the Smithsonian that The Simpsons is set in Oregon. Those people failed to note what Matt Groening actually said in his interview with the Smithsonian, which was: "Springfield was named after Springfield, Oregon." And despite my attempts to clarify this in my last article, they completely wrote it off and all of its totally convincing points. So, to reiterate my previous point: Groening went on to clarify his quote in the Smithsonian interview and said that his statements were misrepresented in a later interview with TV Guide:
"I never said Springfield was in Oregon."
There you have it, folks.
Now, not all of the responses to my article were negative; in fact, here's one of my favorites:
That's right, Hank-freaking-Azaria said I made a good case. For those of you who are wondering "Why do I care what the guy from The Birdcage has to say about The Simpsons?"
Well, because over 100 Simpsons characters are voiced by him, from Moe Szyslak to Chief Wiggum.
For those of you who still aren't convinced that the Simpsons live in Illinois, here are a few more reasons that'll hopefully persuade you.
1. Elected officials and candidates for public office who love to overpromise, and the end results are catastrophic.
2. It floods so much that you can take your boat out into the streets:
3. Our mayors like to get down and boogie:
4. Down-and-out salesman Gil Gunderson (affectionately known as "Ol' Gil) shows off the Saluki Strut* with Bart and Homer, and he's just 2 credits short from being a Southern Illinois University graduate:
5. Emergency budget meetings where drastic cuts are needed? Check:
6. Sad Cubs fans? Check:
(via SBnation.com)
7. For those of you who still think the Simpsons live in Oregon, try this one on for size: Self-service gas stations are illegal in the state of Oregon, but not in Illinois:
8. Two-story outhouse? Check.
Two-story outhouse in Gays, Illinois
9. Where else can you find this many giant promotional statues?
10. Hullabalooza sounds an awful lot like Lollapolooza...
Note: While Lollapolooza was originally a music festival that toured across the country, it became a weekend destination festival set in Grant Park, Chicago after its revival.
11. Teacher strikes? Check.
Photo: Atomazul / Shutterstock.com
12. Lots of corn fields? Check.
13. Same-sex marriage is legal? Check.
14. In Illinois, it's almost a right of passage to have worked at Dairy Queen at some point in your life:
Also, the first Dairy Queen was in Joliet, Ill.
15. There is a Moe's Tavern in Illinois, and they serve the famous "Flaming Moe" drink:
16. Simpsons superhero, Radioactive Man, is a pretty close doppelganger for Superman, whose home is Metropolis, Illinois:
17. Reputation for drinking? Check:
18. Shady school contracts? Check:
19. El Barto graffiti:
20. Illinois is in the heartland of America:
21. Unfair school funding determined by zip code:
22. Overall, our state's schools are underfunded:
- Take our "12 Ways You Know You're From Illinois" test and see if you make the native Illinoisan grade.
- But wait! We've got a second part of that quiz too. Click here and test your Illinois knowledge.
- How well do you know Illinois? Test your knowledge of Illinois history here!
- Travel these 10 creepy Illinois roads...If you dare!
- 8 abandoned Illinois sites that will creep you out