Chemistry is like… The Simpsons
The world’s favourite animated family gives us an interesting way to view chemistry. Tom Husband explains
Science writer Simon Singh has recently written about the maths in the TV show The Simpsons in his book The Simpsons and their mathematical secrets. For example, in the episode ‘MoneyBart’, Lisa is seen next to a book titled eiπ + 1 = 0, a famous equation called Euler’s identity. Simon talks about how many of the show’s writers have maths degrees.
This might explain why the chemistry references in the show are neither as abundant or as accurate. In ‘Bart the Genius’, the Simpson son is seen preparing two chemicals. His teacher asks, ‘You do know what happens when you mix acids and bases, don’t you?’ ‘Of course I do!’ replies Bart. As he mixes them together, a jet of green gunk erupts from the test tube and coats the room. This terrible misrepresentation of chemistry can be explained away as creative licence, but is it possible that the show could teach us something about chemistry?
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