The Simpsons: 10 Moments More Important Than You Realised
4. Chunkylover53
Homer isn't always the world's greatest father. In fact, he's rarely ever a decent father, let alone the best on the planet. He realises this in Season 14's The Dad Who Knew Too Little, and hires a private investigator to learn more about Lisa's life.
When he's talking to the PI, Homer gives out his email address - chunkylover53@aol.com. An extended joke is made at the address' expense, but, in the real world, it's no laughing matter.
Writer Matt Selman had actually registered the chunkylover53 handle before the episode aired. He wanted to see if anybody would actually email it, and, naturally, people did. Once it had gone out, Selman checked the inbox and found that it was full.
Selman started to reply to the emails with witty responses, but this got tiring after a while and he started using a stock response.
What began as a nice bit of fan service almost got Selman in big trouble when an account with the name Chunklover53 used a fake link to an "online exclusive" episode of the show to install malware on people's computers.
That'll teach him to try and engage with his audience!