If we think about comic series of the last decades in which the science be very present, The Big Bang Theory It is usually the first one that comes to mind. However, there are others, such as The Simpsons, in which, without being so obvious, the scientific knowledge It is also everywhere. Not only because it is perfectly clear that the scriptwriters know the laws of physics or that they are clear about many concepts of biology. Also because they have inspired many scientists in their work.
It’s known that The Simpsons They are great predictors of the future. Many historical phenomena were seen in one of their episodes several years or even decades before they happened. And with the science something similar happens. A large number of technological inventions appeared in the series before coming into our lives. Sometimes for pure coincidence and others because some fan of the story was inspired by it.
In this article we are going to see examples of both one and the other. Some of the inventions or scientific findings that we show appeared in The Simpsons and then in real life, perhaps by simple chance. Others, however, are the result of the inspiration that this hilarious series has always exerted on the scientists.
The curious case of Tomaco de The Simpsons
In it chapter 231, broadcast in season 11 in 1999, the tomaco is mentioned. The Simpsons They have just moved to a farm and Homer decides mix the tomato plant with the tobacco plant, using radiation. The result is a plant with a bad taste, but very addictive. Practically the same as smoking. A tobacco company is about to buy the crop, but they don’t arrive in time, as a bunch of addicted animals gobble up the tobacco and destroy the plantation.
This is what happens in the series. But the tomaco also exists in real life. In fact, before the episode aired, there was talk of the possibility of a graft between both plants in an article in Scientific Americanin 1959. Both tobacco and tomatoes are solanaceous plants, hence can be grafted each other. That is, you can use a fragment of one of them and join it to the body of another, so that both propagate as a single organism. In this way, according to that article, it could be possible for the tomato to produce nicotinea substance that, beyond causing addiction to humans, is very effective in scaring away pest-forming insects.
We don’t know if this 1959 article would inspire the scriptwriters of The Simpsons. What is certain is that the episode that aired 40 years later inspired a fan of the series to finally create the tomaco. It’s about the American Rob Baur, who finally carried out this graft in 2003. The tests carried out showed that, indeed, the tomato plant contained nicotine in its leaves. He had managed to obtain the tomaco.
The sarcasm detector
In it episode 225broadcast in season 10, in 1999, the sarcasm detector invented by him Professor Frink. The device, the protagonist of numerous internet memes, is capable of detecting if a person is speaking sarcastically. And that is precisely what a artificial intelligence algorithm developed by scientists at the University of Berkeley and the University of Washington in 2016. Although these were not unconditional fans of The Simpsonsas the person responsible for the tomaco, it is more than likely that there was some inspiration in the series.
Where applicable, it is not used with voice recordings or people speaking on sitebut it is very effective with written texts. Something very curious is that the algorithm was trained in Twitter. Tweets were used that included the hashtag #sarcasmso it was clear that it was a sarcastic text. In this way, the AI incorporated the speech features that are related to sarcasm and was able to detect it in other texts in which no label was included. Furthermore, the probability of success was much greater if information from the person who had written the text was incorporated.
Beyond a possible tribute to The Simpsonsthis sarcasm detector can be very useful for to filter information useful from that which is not true, because it was mentioned in a sarcastic way.
Block the Sun, but with different objectives
In episodes 128 and 129 of The Simpsons, Mr. Burns tells Smithers of an evil plan. Aims to use a screen that blocks the sun in Springfield, so that citizens have to resort to its nuclear energy for light.
More than two decades after that episode aired, another millionaire, Bill Gates, formulated a similar plan, although with a very different objective. In collaboration with geoengineers from the Harvard University and with the support of the now president of the United States, Joe Bidenhas developed a project to block part of the solar radiation that reaches the earth through the injection into the stratosphere of aerosols of calcium or sulfur carbonate. The purpose of this project, named SCoPEx is to reduce the harmful effects of global warming.
Although it seems scientifically viable, there are no certainties about its safety, which is why there is talk of leaving it as a last resort. In addition, many detractors of the project have emerged and, logically, they relate it to the evil tycoon of The Simpsonseven without knowing if the project has some inspiration or is a simple coincidence.
The toad of The Simpsons
Continuing with Mr. Burns, there is a toad whose name is inspired by him. It is a toad gender Rhinelladiscovered in Colombia in 2010. One of those responsible for the discovery, Robert Mooreis a big fan of The Simpsonsso he did not hesitate to baptize him as Simpsons toad, seeing that his aquiline nose was very similar to that of the evil millionaire.
But his nose is not his only peculiarity. These toads are very rare for two reasons. On the one hand, because they skip the tadpole phase. The young are born already formed from the eggs. And, on the other hand, due to its size, just 3 or 4 centimeters in length.
Even so, this is a colloquial name and should not be confused with another toad, called Osornophryne simpsoniwhich was officially named that way, in honor of its discoverer, Dr. Nigel Simpson.
Lisa’s wedding
If there is a chapter of The Simpsons in which many scientific advances appear, that is undoubtedly the one at Lisa’s wedding. It represents a future in which the characters, logically, have aged. But they also use a lot of really futuristic gadgets to nineteen ninety fivethe year in which it was issued.
Among them are the watch with which her fiancé speaks on the phone and the video chat through which Lisa speaks with her mother. Also the virtual reality glasses with which Bart plays pool.
Perhaps they are not necessarily inventions inspired by The Simpsons. However, what is clear is that today the smartwatch, Skype and the Oculus Rift They are a reality, which shows that that future was much more than fiction. And that is the great superpower of The Simpsons: guess the future. It is normal that scientists want to be inspired by them.