The Simpsons
The Simpsons’opening boast a joke where Maggie gets scanned in the food market store , result it unclear what the digital scanner articulate . As well as the ever - changing running gags ( the lounge and the chalkboard ) in the iconic curtain raising , spectator see Homer misplace a piece of radioactive material , Maggie appearing to drive a machine and Bart bring his skateboard on Homer ’s parked motorcar . But one of the cutest visual gags come when Marge does n’t remark Maggie sitting among her food market , and the youngest Simpson gets scanned through the register , only to pop up whole from a newspaper publisher bag .
However , Maggie being put through the cash register is n’t the only level of involvement in this scene , as the price screen quickly flash a subtleSimpsonsEaster bollock . Inclassic seasons ofThe Simpsons , the register flashes with " 847.63 " when Maggie passes through , and this is an in - joke target toward the economist in the audience . Creator Matt Groening has previously affirm thatwhenThe Simpsonsfirst aired in 1989 , $ 847.63 was the average monthly toll of raising a child in the U.S.The Simpsonswas turning its keen satiric eye to the tremendous expense of raising children in modern society .
Maggie’s Cash Register Price Was A Satirical Flourish
The Update Version Continues The Joke Decades Later
As of 2009,The Simpsonsbegan using an update intro sequence . This adaptation has the hard currency cash register set at " 243.26 , " which changes to " 486.52 " when Maggie is added to the total - doubling the price . While Groening has yet to elaborate on this variety , it ’s perhaps logical to assume that the aim was to make the original gag more relevant to the present day . The curiosity of inflation have in mind that child - nurture has become considerably more expensive since 1989 and , therefore , the joke no longer worked in its intended context of use .
WhileThe Simpsons’opening credits could ’ve changed the cash register display with an updated bod , this too would ’ve been outdated before long . The decision to show Marge ’s total double might ’ve been made to signify that kids be a luck , but without committing to a specific number . In a one - off sport of the cash cash register jape , " Treehouse of Horror XXIV,“directed by Guillermo del Toro , Maggie ’s cost gets a temporary satanic update . In the instalment ’s gap , Stephen King joins Bart for the blackboard gag , Groundskeeper Willie is redesigned as Hellboy and Maggie ’s price interpret " 666 " to fit the Halloween fun .
Maggie ’s " Price " Over The Years
Early Duchess of Windsor
$ 847.63
The original toll of raising a child , per calendar month , in 1989 .
Modern Simpsons
$ 486.52
double the toll of the groceries
The Simpsons is a long-running animated TV series created by Matt Groening that satirically follows a working-class family in the misfit city of Springfield. Homer, a bit of a schmoe who works at a nuclear power plant, is the provider for his family, while his wife, Marge, tries to keep sanity and reason in the house to the best of her ability. Bart is a born troublemaker, and Lisa is his super-intelligent sister who finds herself surrounded by people who can’t understand her. Finally, Maggie is the mysterious baby who acts as a deus ex machina when the series calls for it. The show puts the family in several wild situations while constantly tackling socio-political and pop-culture topics set within their world, providing an often sharp critique of the subjects covered in each episode. This series first premiered in 1989 and has been a staple of Fox’s programming schedule ever since!
Treehouse of Horror XXIV
$ 666
A Halloween / Satan Easter Egg
138th Episode Spectacular
NRA4EVA
A pasquinade - this does n’t actually come up in the credit
The Simpsons'“138th Episode Spectacular " also contains a fun burlesque of theSimpsons’Maggie hard currency registry caper . Before the episode ’s commercials , an announcer asks a " trivia question " to the audience : " Inthe opening credits , what does the hard cash register say when Maggie is scanned ? " When the show return , alternatively of give therealanswer , the announcer take the screen says " NRA4EVA " and jokes aboutThe Simpsonsbeing right - annexe , parodying the show ’s true liberal leanings . Over the years , many have fallen for this laugh and believe it to be true .
Why The Simpsons Maggie Cash Register Scene Is So Iconic
The Simpsons Is Filled With Easter Egg Gags
The Maggie cash register gag obliterate inThe Sir James Young Simpson ' opening credits is not just a funny or all - too - material consequence , it ’s also a will to how much attending to detail the show ’s Godhead pay when make it . The Simpsons’references and blink - and - you’ll - overlook - it gags are not only screaming but very distinctly indicative of a project that ’s being made out of love .
The fact that this cover even to the title successiveness bear witness just how thoroughThe Simpsonsis when render its iconic firebrand of satire and liquid body substance . Maggie ’s grocery store check - out instant might be just one small example of this , but it still supports the notion of just how wellThe Simpsonsholds up as a landmark of grownup animated drollery .
The Maggie Cash Register Is Far From The Simpsons' Only Easter Egg
The Simpsons Subtly Paid Homage To Another Animated Series
TheSimpsons ' opening has review itself with new jokes over the years , and this includes the meter reading on the hard cash register when Maggie is scanned . However , The Simpsons’entire run is littered with fun Easter eggs that will take multiple rewatches before fans first see them . The recreate series often secretly referencesFuturamawith posters in bedrooms and character wearingFuturamat - shirts . Two theatrical role in the serial on the Q.T. have five finger instead oftheSimpsons ' hallmark four fingerstoo ; God and Jesus . It ’s smaller jokes like these that helped makeThe Simpsonsthe juggernaut of brio it became .
The Maggie Joke Showcases The Simpsons' Timeless Nature
The Simpsons' Long Legacy On Television Is Reflected In Its Early Gag
Along with being a fun Easter egg for fans of the show to dive into , the cash registry jest inThe Simpsonshighlights the show ’s unbelievable run on television receiver . As of 2024,The Simpsonsenters its 36th season , further cementing its record as the longest - flow American animated serial . Obviously , there was no way of predicting that the show would remain so popular for so long when it debut in 1989 , but the cash register gag is a monitor of when it all started and how long it has been around .
The original meaning behind the joke point out on something relevant to the time when the show broadcast , micturate it a fun marker of where it all began . Each time the cash cash register would ring up that total , it was as if the show was remind the audience of its beginnings and how long it has been around . Yet even if the sum is not accurate any longer , it shew how well the series has aged overall .
The Simpsonsis filled with jokes that comment on the world at the moment . While some of those jokes finally become date , it is amazing that a serial that has been around for 35 long time has aged so well . The Simpsonsalways feels like it go in the current pop culture sphere and not like some relic of a different time . Its humor has perhaps shift at time , but its overall vox and style have remained reproducible throughout its historic run , making it a timeless piece of tv history as well as a modern hit .
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The Simpsons is a long - running animate TV series created by Matt Groening that satirically follows a work - class family in the misfit urban center of Springfield . Homer , a bit of a schmoe who works at a atomic mogul plant , is the supplier for his phratry , while his married woman , Marge , seek to keep saneness and reason in the house to the near of her power . Bart is a born bad hat , and Lisa is his super - levelheaded sister who come up herself surrounded by people who ca n’t understand her . last , Maggie is the mysterious baby who act as a deus ex machina when the serial calls for it . The show puts the sept in several wild situations while constantly tackling socio - political and papa - acculturation topics set within their human beings , providing an often sharp critique of the subject encompass in each installment . This series first premiered in 1989 and has been a staple of Fox ’s computer programing schedule ever since !
