10 Incredibly Subtle Jokes From The Simpsons You Might Have Missed

3. Lentil Soup Recipe ('Lisa The Vegetarian')

As Lisa discovers time and time again, life can be tough for an eight-year-old moral crusader. After announcing her pro-veg agenda to her family and friends, she is met only with suspicion, puzzled looks and the occasional hamburger to the face. Fortunately, the Kwik-E-Mart has the answer. For there she finds support in no less a powerhouse couple than Paul and Linda McCartney, who, they inform us, often drop by Apu's secret rooftop garden. "Linda and I both feel strongly about animal rights,'' says Paul, ''In fact, if you play 'Maybe I'm Amazed' backwards, you'll find a recipe for a ripping lentil soup." It may sound like an absurd joke, precisely the sort of crackpot 'revelation' designed to send conspiracy theorists scrambling through their Beatles records. Okay, maybe not conspiracy theorists but, at the very least, bored and hungry vegans. Nevertheless, as the song plays over the closing credits, there does appear to be another voice. Run the recording backwards and you'll hear Paul utter ''One medium onion, chopped. Two tablespoons of vegetable oil...'' Which is all very clever and amusing but not, it has to be said, particularly subtle. After all, it's Paul who points it out. However, pay close attention to the final line of the message: ''Oh and by the way, I'm alive''. This is a sly riposte to the age-old urban legend that suggests Paul had in fact died in 1966 and was replaced by a lookalike. Sadly, reports that all Simpsons episodes contain subliminal messages confirming the existence of pop stars previously thought to have perished remain unsubstantiated. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QhYJ1s76ZLg