New Simpsons joke found in episode by a fan 31 years after it first aired

A hidden joke in The Simpsons has been uncovered by a fan 31 years after it was first aired on television.

The joke from an episode in season 3 named “The Otto Show” was intentionally obscured by the creators but has now been unearthed thanks to some clever audio processing.

A clip was shared on Twitter by professional video editor Ewzzy Rayburn and showed Marge giving Homer a lecture before he was about to take his children to a Spinal Tap concert. Viewers see the interaction from Homer’s point of view, revealing that he can’t hear her because of tinnitus ringing in his ears.

While Homer having tinnitus is the main joke, the creators revealed in the DVD commentary that they spent a long time working on what Marge was saying, despite knowing they were going to obscure it beyond comprehension.

Now, three decades on Rayburn has finally uncovered what Marge was lecturing Homer about.

She said: “Well alright, but make sure they [Bart and Lisa] don't pick up any of the band's attitudes toward women, liquor, religion, politics... really anything.”

Sign up to our new free Indy100 weekly newsletter

In the thread, Rayburn explained how it was done, explaining that he used Adobe Audition and the information it provided to erase some parts of the audio and raise the volume of others to finally hear what Marge had been saying.

Other Twitter users shared their gratitude to Rayburn for uncovering a years-long joke from the much-loved TV show.

One fan wrote: “Finding a new joke buried in a season 3 episode feels like a genuine gift.”

Another argued: “Oh wow. That could have been a classic line but you couldn’t hear it at all.”

Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.