In an interview with Smithsonian Magazine, The Simpsons creator Matt Groening revealed the one and only burning question fans of the show have ever wanted to know: Where is Springfield?
Twenty five years later, Groening revealed that Springfield was named after Springfield, Oregon. He said he was inspired by the show Father Knows Best, which also took place in a town named Springfield, and it always excited him because he thought it was the Springfield next to Portland, which is his hometown. As one might’ve expected, he also stuck with the name because he found out Springfield is one of the most common names for a U.S. city, and fans will think the Simpsons’ hometown is named after their own hometown.
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.”
There it is. The most burning question deep down in the souls of most modern day men and women, answered in a random interview on the Internet. Of course, simply because it was named after Oregon, one could easily say that the town isn’t actually set in Oregon, but that’s probably as close of an answer as we’ll ever get, especially considering Groening wants fans to think its their Springfield and not some other state’s.
As a fan who has watched every single Simpsons episode, including the shorts from The Tracey Ullman Show — yes, even whatever the “new, bad episodes” are that everyone likes to talk about — I kind of don’t know what to do with myself now that this question has been answered. Watch more Simpsons, I guess.
(via Smithsonian)
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