Culture

Simpsons Exec Loves Pi, No Word Yet On Pie

Believe it or not, longtime Simpsons honcho Al Jean is quite the numbers guy. He graduated from Harvard, and when he wasn’t writing for the Lampoon, he was earning his degree in mathematics. Now, with the world having officially gone Simpsons crazy – $72 million at the box office? Seriously? – comes a Q&A with […]
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Believe it or not, longtime Simpsons honcho Al Jean is quite the numbers guy. He graduated from Harvard, and when he wasn't writing for the Lampoon, he was earning his degree in mathematics. Now, with the world having officially gone Simpsons crazy – $72 million at the box office? Seriously? – comes a Q&A with Jean in the recent issue of the journal Nature.

In the interview, Jean talks candidly about his love for science and what a thrill it is to get geeky inside jokes into the show's material. The best moment?

" ... when we did an episode where Apu was a witness in a courtroom and the lawyer asked if he had a good memory. He said, yes I do, I've memorized pi to one million decimal places, and Homer said "mmm... pi" and started drooling. We did call Caltech [the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena] to check that whatever we said the millionth decimal place was was correct."

My favorite science-centric moment? When Stephen Hawking flew away in his bad-ass helicopter-wheelchair hybrid.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bJJMdOr5WYA