Springfield

There are a lot of theories on what state the Simpsons live in. Lets just be clear that it is Oregon. Matt Groening grew up in Oregon. He used the names of lots of streets (e.g., Flanders Ave) in Portland in his show. Granted because every state has a city called Springfield, it could in theory be in any of them. But it isn't. I heard about a guy who had a class with Matt Groening in Oregon a long time ago. One of their classes had a really old, skinny professor. After someone would make a presentation, the professor would touch his fingers together and slowly say "excellent". For those reasons and a lot more, Matt clearly modeled the location after Oregon.

But my main point is that if I didn't know better, and I do, I would have said it was Kentucky. Driving between Louisville and Lexington, you pass signs for Kentucky cities that are Simpsonesque. First of all, there is Simpsonville, Ky. But there is also a Springfield, Capitol City, and Shelbyville - all Simpsons cities. Excellent.

Here's something fun. Several months ago, while in Chicago, I saw and took a picture of this famous painting. There also happens to be a Simpsons version of it. Excellent.