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The Stories Behind Your 4 Favorite ‘Simpsons’ Catchphrases

Not everything was invented by the long-running cartoon series, believe it or not.

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There’s no denying that The Simpsons has had a huge impact on things since it first graced our TV screens back in 1989. A great many would even have you believe that the nearly 40-year-old cartoon series can predict future events—like people selling ferrets disguised as poodles, for instance.

Amusing as it is to entertain such ideas, not everything that exists in our world originated with The Simpsons. That includes popular catchphrases long thought to have been coined by the show, a few of which predate the series by decades. Let’s take a look at some of the more noteworthy examples below.

Originally used in the show’s second episode, “Bart the Genius,” the phrase “Eat my shorts” was ad-libbed by Nancy Cartwright during a table-read. Cartwright, who voices Bart, remembered yelling it out while she........

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