The Simpsons: 20 Annoying Mistakes You Didn't Notice

18. The Simpsons Break Their Multi-State Ban All The Time

Thanks to various cross-country shenanigans, The Simpsons are banned from every state in America other than Arizona and North Carolina, as revealed in "Kill the Alligator and Run", when the family is accused of killing Florida state mascot Captain Jack the alligator (who doesn't actually die anyway) but then in subsequent episodes and seasons, episodes, the Simpsons have been to many other states such as Delaware, Missouri, Washington DC, New Jersey, California, New York, Nevada, Oregon, Vermont, Illinois, Utah, and Florida again twice.

17. Homer's Inspiration Disappears

In "And Maggie Makes Three," it is established that Homer only works at the Nuclear Power Plant to afford having three kids, and that Maggie is his inspiration to work. But that doesn't exactly fit with other episodes of the show, which shows that the wall he faces changes between a window showing piping, a map of nuclear sites around the country, a solid wall, and his plaque. And he's probably not working for hi spay-check either, given the wild discrepancies that can occur in it from month to month. In "Much Apu About Nothing", Homer's wage is revealed as $24,395.80 a year before deductions (or $18,833.88 after,) which is a pittance for a Nuclear Safety Inspector (though perhaps not exactly surprising under Mr Burns' regime). But in "American History X-cellent," Carl tells Homer that he's drinking a $60,000 bottle of wine to which Homer replies "Woohoo! I'm drinking my salary!"

16. Mr Burns - Nasty Or Nice?

Mr Burns' origin story is all over the place, especially concerning who he was before he became the megalomaniac Nuclear Power Plant owner. We've seen two different takes on his childhood - first in "Burns' Heir", he's a rich, evil child, and "Monty Can't Buy Me Love" establishes that his father took him to a picnic at age 6 (where he had his first "gay" experience), but in "Rosebud", it is shown that he grew up in a poor family as child, until a twisted, loveless billionaire took him as his heir. And then there's the issue of niceness: in "Them, Robot", Marge says that Mr. Burns was originally a nice man when he first came to Springfield, but in "Burns' Heir" again, he is shown firing his nanny as a baby, suggesting he was pretty much born evil. You can probably discount anything Grandpa Simpson says about Mr Burns' past, given that not even his family believe his stories - so that accounts for the issues created by Burns' time in the army (not to mention the major plot hole relating to Armin Tamzarian).