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8[[caption-width-right:350:[[spoiler:Don't]] do it! [[spoiler:Don't]] do it! [[spoiler:You'll]] kill everyone!]]
9Much of the humor from the animated series ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' comes from the characters failing to recognize their stupidity, being clueless when others harshly criticize them, and so forth, so take [[DarthWiki/WhatAnIdiot these moments]] with a heavy dose of Administrivia/TropesAreTools.
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11Note: There seems to be a reoccurring theme where the characters' stupidity is increased in the Non-canon ''WesternAnimation/TreehouseOfHorror'' episodes to where they are rendered TooDumbToLive as the plot requires. As such the sub-series now has its folder of stupid decisions here.
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14[[folder:General]]
15* Early in the series' run, a popular recurring gag was "Prank Calls to Moe," where Bart would call Moe's Tavern and ask the hapless Moe for someone whose name, when yelled out, was a DoubleEntendre.\
16'''You'd Expect:''' Moe to quickly if not immediately catch on -- since he knows Bart and thus recognizes his voice--and have the police arrest him. Or, at the very least, hang up before embarrassing himself in front of his customers.\
17''' Instead:''' (1) Moe never seems to realize that it is Bart who is calling. (2) Moe falls for the joke every time (e.g., "Do I have a B. O'Problem? [[note]]B.O. problem[[/note]]"). Once someone responds or the bar laughs uproariously, Moe--rather than ending the call and immediately calling the cops--threatens the culprit with severe harm.
18** This becomes a plot point in "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS2E14PrincipalCharming Principal Charming]]" where Principal Skinner orders Bart to call his parents. Bart calls Moe's Tavern and asks for Homer.\
19'''You'd Expect:''' Moe recognizes that the caller is asking to speak to one of his regulars and to tell Homer who is actually at the bar at this time.\
20''' Instead:''' Moe asks, "Homer who?" Bart seizes the opportunity to turn it into a prank call ("Homer Sexual"), and Moe takes the bait. Only when he accidentally threatens Skinner does Moe realize that the call indeed is for Homer Simpson. And he never puts two and two together.
21** Another JustForFun/{{egregious}} lapse in Moe's intelligence comes in the Season 3 episode "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS3E11BurnsVerkaufenDerKraftwerk Burns Verkaufen der Kraftwerk]]", when (1) Moe recognizes Bart's voice (Bart having been sent to Moe's by Marge to collect Homer) and (2) Bart even announces his presence with the ''very words'' he tended to call the bar with ("Excuse me, I'm looking for …"), but instead has him sing for the bar. For bonus points, Bart mentions that he's been doing some prank calls, which Moe fails to pick up on.
22** The Season 29 episode "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS29E09GoneBoy Gone Boy]]" has a role reversal of this circumstance. Bart falls down a manhole and gets lost, finding himself in some sort of bunker. He comes across a phone.\
23'''You'd Expect:''' Bart to call the police or his parents and tell them that he fell down a manhole and ended up in a bunker so they know where to look for him. That way they can rescue him.\
24''' Instead:''' He uses it to prank call Moe.
25* In the 1990 music video "Do The Bartman", the school is having a fourth-grade dance recital, but Mrs. Krabappel has Bart put in the very back. Angered by this, he plugs his music cassette tape into the speakers and steals the show with his own "Do the Bartman" dance. Naturally, Skinner and Mrs. Krabappel are pissed at this.\
26'''You'd Expect:''' Skinner or Krabappel to just walk on stage, drag Bart off, unplug his music from the speakers, and have the recital continue. Simple as pie.\
27''' Instead:''' They try to use a VaudevilleHook to get Bart off stage, but when that fails, they just ''stand there drinking whisky in shock, and do nothing to stop Bart from disrupting the recital.''
28* In many instances throughout the series, Springfield has been established as a CrapsackWorld filled with shallow, petty, hypocritical townspeople who are quick to lash out at even the smallest things, mostly towards the Simpsons. That being said, there have been plenty of moments when the family has moved somewhere else and tried starting new lives in new surroundings.\
29''' You'd Expect:''' Them to stay in their new home and give it an honest chance, realizing they're free from their old, miserable past and so-called "friends".\
30''' Instead:''' They come up with some dumb excuse for not liking it, thanks to StatusQuoIsGod.\
31''' As A Result:''' They go back to their same old dump, dealing with the same shallow people.
32[[/folder]]
33
34[[folder:Episodic]]
35* "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS1E1SimpsonsRoastingOnAnOpenFire Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire]]"
36** Bart wants a tattoo for Christmas despite Marge's objection. At the mall, Bart sees the tattoo parlor has one of a heart with the message "mother" underneath and thinks it will convince Marge otherwise. He walks inside where the artist suspects that he is underage. Upon being asked how old he is, Bart insists that he's 21.\
37'''You'd Expect:''' The artist to immediately confirm that Bart is lying and deny him service. At the very worst, he could check Bart for proof of identification which someone his age may not even have.\
38''' Instead:''' "Get in the chair."
39** Later in the same episode, Barney tips Homer to bet the $13 that he was left with from his Mall Santa job on a greyhound race. At the racetrack, there's an announcement of a late entrant by the name of Santa's Little Helper. Homer takes this as an omen and finds out that the odds of him winning are 99/1.\
40'''You'd Expect:''' Homer to hedge his bets and split his stake, say by putting $10 on the dog originally tipped by Barney, and $3 on Santa's Little Helper. That way he'll still have something to buy presents with if the favorite wins, and if Santa's Little Helper does upset the odds, he'll have a $297 payout to look forward to.\
41''' Instead:''' Despite Bart's trying to persuade him otherwise, Homer bets the entire $13 on Santa's Little Helper, leading to a SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome when the expected Christmas miracle fails to materialize and he finishes a distant last place.
42* In the season one episode, "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS1E12KrustyGetsBusted Krusty Gets Busted]]", Sideshow Bob frames Krusty for robbery.\
43'''You'd expect:''' With how close Bob works with Krusty and thus knowing what Krusty is like, Bob would make sure not to do anything Krusty wouldn't or couldn't do.\
44''' Instead:''' He reads a magazine and uses a microwave even though Krusty is illiterate and has a pacemaker.\
45''' So:''' Lisa and Bart notice these inconsistencies, and the latter confronts Bob about them. Bob manages to throw Bart off by telling him that Krusty doesn't listen to doctors' advice and that magazines can be enjoyed even by those who can't read.\
46'''You'd then expect:''' Bob not to say anything that would tip the already skeptical Bart off that he is the true culprit.\
47''' Instead:''' He says he has big shoes to fill reminding Bart that Krusty's feet are too tiny to have been stepped on in the scene while Bob's are freakishly huge [[NiceJobFixingItVillain allowing Bart to deduce Bob as the culprit]].
48* The conflict of Season 2's "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS2E7BartVsThanksgiving Bart vs. Thanksgiving]]" begins when Bart and Lisa fight over the centerpiece Lisa made (which, keep in mind, she worked hard on) because there was no room for the turkey.\
49'''You'd Expect:''' The adults to intervene before the fight escalates any further, and let them figure out what to do with the turkey and the centerpiece. Considering how eager Homer was to carve the turkey, they could have put it where he was sitting, or otherwise let him take care of it.\
50''' Instead:''' All they do is stand there and watch the kids fight. Grampa was even getting ''excited'' watching it!\
51''' As a result:''' Bart throws the centerpiece into the fire. Homer and Marge do step in, but only after it was too late to save the centerpiece. And judging from Bart's blink-and-you'll-miss-it SlasherSmile, it was no accident. Yes, the adults' ineptitude had led to ''malicious intent''.
52* In "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS2E4TwoCarsInEveryGarageAndThreeEyesOnEveryFish Two Cars in Every Garage and Three Eyes on Every Fish]]", Mr. Burns is running for Governor to keep the Power Plant open and has forced the Simpsons into helping with his campaign. Marge, however, is supporting his opponent and is annoyed over being forced to help Burns.\
53'''You'd Expect:''' Marge to grin and bear it. After all, Mr. Burns is not only Homer's ''boss'', but is also cruel enough to plan revenge should anyone try to get in his way. [[DumbassHasAPoint Homer himself even points out that he doesn't really like it either, but if he keeps Burns happy, that means he gets to keep a roof over the family's heads]].\
54''' Instead:''' She proceeds to sabotage Mr. Burns on live TV by feeding him Blinky, the three-eyed fish that started the whole mess.\
55''' As a Result:''' Mr. Burns swears vengeance and the only reason he doesn't completely ruin the Simpsons' lives is because StatusQuoIsGod.
56* Season 2's "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS2E15OhBrotherWhereArtThou Oh Brother, Where Art Thou?]]" introduces us to Herb Powell, Homer's half-brother and the head of Powell Motors, a car company presently struggling against Japanese competition. Naturally, Herb wants to rectify this.\
57'''You'd Expect:''' Anything other than what Herb does. Perhaps get more up-to-date market research, since his executives are shown to be very out-of-touch with their consumer base.\
58''' Instead:''' Herb decides the best way to save his company is to allow Homer free reign to design the company's next car, simply because he fits the criteria of an average American, and throws all of the company's resources behind the plan.\
59'''Result:''' [[DumbassHasAPoint Even Homer himself realizes he doesn't have the know-how to be a part of such an important project]], so he confronts Herb about it.\
60'''You'd Then Expect:''' Herb to give Homer some tangible advice or find someone with actual expertise in the subject. There's no shortage of average Americans who'd have more knowledge of cars than Homer.\
61''' Instead:''' Herb just tells him to come up with something he'd like and stick to it no matter what.\
62'''Result:''' Homer comes up with many ideas that Herb's staff realize are terrible, so they call Herb up.\
63'''You'd THEN Expect:''' Herb would investigate the concerns of the professionally qualified staff..\
64''' Instead:''' He brushes it off, telling them to just blindly follow Homer's vision, regardless of what it is.\
65''' As a Result:''' With no one reining him in, Homer is allowed to design an $82,000 monstrosity of a car that only he and Bart would be willing to drive, bankrupting Herb and his company.
66* "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS3E1StarkRavingDad Stark Raving Dad]]" has Homer tasked with filling out a psychiatric form after Mr. Burns catches him wearing a pink shirt to work (no thanks to [[BrattyHalfPint Bart]]). Being [[LazyBum who he is]], Homer doesn't want to.\
67'''You'd Expect:''' Homer to give it to someone he knows is responsible, like Marge and Lisa.\
68''' Instead:''' He pawns it off to Bart, the same boy who caused him predicament in the first place. Moreover, he keeps rebuffing him when Bart turns to him for help.\
69'''Result:''' Homer promptly fails the psychological test and is sent to a mental institution, which kicks off the episode's main plot. [[NeverMyFault He even has the nerve to be mad at Bart when it was his laziness that got him stuck here.]]
70* In "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS4E10LisasFirstWord Lisa's First Word]]", shortly after giving birth to Lisa, Marge reads in a magazine that Bart might be jealous of his new sister.\
71'''You'd Expect:''' Marge would do everything she could to ensure that Bart doesn't feel jealous, either by spending time with him, or sitting down with him and explaining that Lisa is going to be getting the lion's share of attention but it doesn't mean that there won't be any love for Bart.\
72'''Instead:''' She does nothing.\
73'''The Result:''' Bart starts picking on Lisa, trying to get rid of her, and eventually deciding to run away. If Lisa hadn't spoken her first word, Homer and Marge would have lost their only son.
74* In the opening gag to the Season 4 episode "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS4E11HomersTripleBypass Homer's Triple Bypass]]", a parody of ''Series/{{COPS}}'', Chief Wiggum and the Springfield Police Department are called to a report of numerous cattle in a yard in a residential neighborhood. The National Guard(!) is called in to provide a tank to break down the door of the suspect.\
75'''You'd Expect:''' The officers to respond to the correct address--742 Evergreen Terrace (not the canon residence of the Simpson family)--even if by seeing the cattle in the yard of the suspect's address.\
76''' Instead:''' They break down the door of the neighbor's house--the one belonging to Rev. Lovejoy. As a very angry Lovejoy tries to explain to the officers that they have the wrong address, the scene shows an empty yard, before panning to the neighbor's yard, which has the cattle. The actual suspect--Snake--taunts the officers and makes his escape.
77** So now…\
78'''You'd expect''' Chief Wiggum to at least be able to read a license plate and accurately describe either Snake (a well-known criminal in Springfield, whom Wiggum and/or other officers on the force have arrested several times) or at the very least his car when putting out the all-points bulletin.\
79''' Instead:''' Wiggum fails to provide even a very vague description: "Put out an APB for a male suspect, driving a… car of some sort, heading in the direction of… you know, that place that sells chili. SuspectIsHatless. Repeat, hatless."
80* Season 4's "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS4E13SelmasChoice Selma's Choice]]": Off-screen during the events of the episode, Homer is eating his way through a gigantic submarine sandwich he brought home from a company picnic. It's too big to refrigerate and it takes at least a week and a bit to eat it. By the time it appears on the screen outside flashbacks (and even in the last flashback), it's gone so rancid that ''[[NauseaFuel it's purple with a filling of greenish muck and some mushrooms growing on it]]''.\
81'''You'd Expect:''' Homer to throw the sandwich away on the basis that it's no longer edible.\
82''' Or:''' For Marge to do so for him.\
83''' Instead:''' Marge simply warns Homer not to continue eating the sandwich and ''gives it to him''. The moment she is out of view, Homer, unfazed by the sandwich's disgusting appearance, continues to eat it.\
84'''The Result:''' Homer gets [[TheFoodPoisoningIncident severe food poisoning]] the day he's supposed to take Bart and Lisa to Duff Gardens, forcing Selma to take them instead while Marge nurses him back to health. Just to amplify the idiocy, Marge immediately recognizes what's caused the food poisoning.\
85'''Also:''' It never occurs to Homer or Marge that they should just [[CouldHaveAvoidedThisPlot cut up the sandwich into smaller pieces so it can fit in the fridge]] (although if he'd done that it would no longer have been the worlds longest sandwich).\
86'''Even Worse:'''
87-->'''Homer''': Marge, I'd like to be alone with the sandwich for a moment.\
88'''Marge''': Are you going to eat it?\
89'''Homer''': [{{beat}}] Yes.\
90(Marge immediately bins the remains of the sandwich)
91* In the episode "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS4E16Duffless Duffless]]", after leaving the Duff Brewery with a drunk Barney, Homer gets pulled over by the police and checked if he is drunk. After his blood alcohol level is found to be over the legal limit with a breathalyzer at Barney's suggestion, Homer is arrested.\
92'''You'd Expect:''' They would do the same check on Barney.\
93''' Instead:''' Chief Wiggum simply asks Barney to drive the car home without checking if he is also drunk.
94* Season 4's "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS4E22KrustyGetsKancelled Krusty Gets Kancelled]]" includes a scene where Mayor Quimby – running for re-election in a cutthroat campaign – freely admits to the press that he had looted Springfield's finances to arrange the murders of his political enemies. He diverts attention by quoting the catchphrase of ventriloquist's dummy Gabbo (the episode's VillainOfTheWeek), "I'm a bad wittle boy!" and all is forgiven.\
95'''You'd Expect:''' With several police officers standing nearby, for Quimby to quickly be arrested.\
96'''Instead''': The police ''''' do nothing''''' as the press corps and others in the large crowd cheers wildly for Quimby. Not only is he never taken into custody, but Quimby ''easily wins re-election'', even as more bodies begin surfacing in Springfield Harbor and nobody asks questions.
97* In the Season 5 episode "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS5E2CapeFeare Cape Feare]]":
98** Sideshow Bob, serving a prison sentence, is up for parole.\
99'''You'd Expect:''' That with numerous witnesses having testified against him and overwhelming evidence that he sent threatening letters to Bart (including several written in his blood), the parole board would quickly and decisively deny Bob parole.\
100'''Instead:''' Bob is paroled. Later in the episode, the Simpsons have to be placed in the Witness Protection Program.\
101'''Worse:''' The parole board sees that Bob has a tattoo saying "DIE BART DIE", and Bob claims that [[BlatantLies it's supposed to say "THE BART THE", but it's just in German, which is not entirely wrong]]. The parole board then considers this a point in Bob's favor, believing that no one who speaks German could be evil. It's as if they've never heard of [[UsefulNotes/AdolfHitler this guy]].
102** Still, Bob can stalk the family and eventually tracks down Bart on the Simpsons' houseboat and corners him.\
103'''You'd Expect:''' Bob to simply kill Bart and complete his revenge.\
104'''Instead:''' Bob arrogantly asks Bart if he has any last requests, giving Bart the opening he needs. Bart requests that Bob sings to him the ''entire score'' of ''Theatre/HMSPinafore''. Bob complies… and the score is long enough to give the pilotless, drifting houseboat to run aground, knock Bob off the boat and stun him long enough for the authorities to arrest him.\
105'''Sidenote:''' [[spoiler: This moment gets re-explored in the [[Recap/TheSimpsonsS35E5TreehouseOfHorrorXXXIV Treehouse of Horror XXXIV segment]], ''Ei8ht'', where Bob stops his performance one word short and comes to his senses before doing what you'd expect, as Lisa watches in horror.]]
106* Season 6's "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS6E5SideshowBobRoberts Sideshow Bob Roberts]]": Republican talk show host Birchibald T. Barlow talks to Bob, who was imprisoned for trying to murder Bart the last time we saw him. Bob claims that, since he's serving time for attempted murder, [[InsaneTrollLogic he's been convicted for a crime he hasn't committed]].\
107'''You'd Expect:''' Barlow to not buy it even for a second; Bob may not have ''committed'' murder, but he would have done so if Bart hadn't foiled him.\
108''' Instead:''' Barlow sympathizes with Bob, due to the two of them both being Republicans and convinces the people of Springfield to push for his release.\
109'''The Result:''' Bob is subsequently set free, whereupon he proceeds to cheat his way to becoming Mayor of Springfield, before using his new position to antagonize the Simpson family. Fittingly, Bart and Lisa's plan to expose Bob's electoral fraud involves framing Barlow for it.
110* Season 6's "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS6E8LisaOnIce Lisa On Ice]]" has Marge go upstairs to stop Bart and Lisa from fighting. Before doing so, it's revealed she has just made a pie, and Homer is in the kitchen with her.\
111'''You'd Expect''': Knowing full well that Homer is a BigEater, Marge would either take the pie with her or put it somewhere where Homer can't reach it.\
112'''Instead''': She leaves the pie in plain sight of Homer and within his reach, merely warning him not to eat it. Of course, once Marge leaves the room, Homer eats the pie.
113* Season 6's "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS6E9HomerBadman Homer Badman]]" has Homer driving Ashley Grant, a feminist graduate student who was babysitting Bart, Maggie, and Lisa back home. Along the way, he saw the gummy Art/VenusDeMilo that he had stolen from the candy convention stuck to the seat of her pants.\
114'''You'd Expect''': For Homer to tell Ashley that she has a gummy bear stuck to her pants, in which she would immediately see it and grab it off to give it to him.\
115'''Instead''': Homer attempts to grab the gummy bear off with his hand, and when he does, Ashley turns around to see him drooling and thinks he's touching her butt. The next day, Ashley leads a group of protestors against him for sexual harassment.
116* Season 6's "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS6E23TheSpringfieldConnection The Springfield Connection]]", Marge finds Homer breaking two laws, namely buying beer for teens and being parked across three handicapped spots. When she confronts him, she tells him that if he moves his car, she'll look the other way about the beer.\
117'''You'd Expect''': Homer realizes that this is a fantastic deal for him and quickly move his car, then buy the beer.\
118'''Instead''': Homer assumes that Marge wouldn't do anything to him and steals her hat before doing an insulting impression of her.\
119'''The Result:''' Marge places him under arrest for both crimes.
120* Season 7's "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS7E2RadioactiveMan Radioactive Man]]" features some spectacularly poor decision-making from the makers of the eponymous film, but nothing can top the stupidity of the climactic scene, in which Rainier Wolfcastle (in the title role) is tied up as a wall of acid approaches.\
121'''You'd Expect:''' They'd use special effects for the acid.\
122''' Instead:''' They use a real, highly corrosive acid. Through an ''active nuclear power plant''. Oh, and they don't inform their star in advance.\
123''' To Make Matters Worse:''' This highly expensive, highly dangerous scene requires Milhouse (as Fallout Boy) to untie Wolfcastle before the acid hits.\
124'''You'd Expect:''' (1) There'd be a way for Wolfcastle to free himself if something goes wrong, and (2) they'd make sure Milhouse was ''actually on set'' and ready to do the take.\
125''' Instead:''' Milhouse is nowhere to be found, and Wolfcastle is left to look helplessly at the oncoming acid. He tries putting on safety goggles, but "[[Memes/TheSimpsons the goggles do nothing!]]"
126* Moe's subplot in [[Recap/TheSimpsonsS7E4BartSellsHisSoul "Bart Sells His Soul"]] has him convert his tavern into the family-friendly "Uncle Moe's Family Feedbag" restaurant, to expand his customer base. He's already laid out a decent amount of equipment, and good food, as well as trying to maintain a cheerful disposition to keep customers happy.\
127'''You'd Expect:''' That he'd also hire waiters and other staff to help him run the restaurant and keep him from overworking himself, something he'd actually already done before in "Flaming Moe's".\
128''' Instead:''' He tries to run the whole thing by himself.\
129''' Predictably:''' [[SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome Running an entire restaurant by himself turns out to be too much work for the put-upon Moe]], who finally [[RageBreakingPoint snaps at a little girl complaining about her cold soda]]. Needless to say, "Uncle Moe's Family Feedbag" doesn't last the night.
130* Towards the end of "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS7E11MargeBeNotProud Marge Be Not Proud]]", Bart, tired of being treated as the BlackSheep due to stealing a copy of Bonestorm, returns to Try 'n Save and has a photo of himself taken and paid for as a surprise Christmas gift for Marge. He goes home and Marge notices he's hiding something in his coat, asking him about it.\
131'''You'd Expect:''' That Bart would tell her that he has brought home a surprise for her, but she'd have to wait until Christmas to receive it.\
132''' Instead:''' He lies and claims he's hiding nothing from her, causing her to think he stole something again. He runs and she chases him before he's forced to hand the gift over, spoiling the surprise.
133* Season 7's "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS7E17HomerTheSmithers Homer the Smithers]]": Smithers has made a plan to win back his job. It involves calling Mr. Burns' mother (whom Mr. Burns hates) and transferring the call to Mr. Burns, so Smithers can stop it. \
134'''You'd Expect:''' Smithers to do it himself because he is capable. \
135'''Instead:''' He gets [[TooDumbToLive Homer]] to do it. \
136'''The Result:''' Homer poorly impersonates Mrs. Burns, and Mr. Burns finds out about Smithers' plan, so [[ButtMonkey Smithers is getting a grilling for it.]]
137* The Season 7 episode "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS7E2122ShortFilmsAboutSpringfield 22 Short Films About Springfield]]" has the "Skinner and the Superintendent" segment where Skinner invites Superintendent Chalmers over for lunch. Unfortunately, Skinner overcooks the pot roast he intended to serve.\
138'''You'd Expect:''' Skinner turns off the oven and extinguishes the burning pot roast before thinking of a way to salvage his meal.\
139''' Instead:''' He doesn't do either of these things. By the time he and Chalmers finish eating the replacement lunch, the kitchen is already in flames.\
140''' To Make Matters Worse:''' He tries to convince Chalmers that Aurora Borealis is happening in his kitchen, even as his mother yells for help.\
141'''You'd Also Expect:''' Chalmers catches on to the extremely transparent lies Skinner tells to avoid admitting how he's screwing everything up.\
142''' Instead:''' Chalmers falls for some of the most BlatantLies in the history of fiction, even as the house is being burned down right in front of him.
143* In Season 8, "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS8E7LisasDateWithDensity Lisa's Date with Density]]" features a subplot involving Homer engaging in tele-panhandling using an auto-dialler. Several examples of stupidity abound:
144** It starts with how Homer acquires the auto-dialler. While leaving the Kwik-E-Mart, Homer sees Chief Wiggum arresting a panhandler.\
145'''You'd expect:''' Wiggum to maintain possession of the auto-dialler as evidence against the scammer.\
146''' Instead:''' His crew throws it in a dumpster which Homer witnesses. Homer takes it with him and starts a panhandling scam of his own.
147** One of the Springfield residents that fall for Homer's "Happy Dude" scam is Abe.\
148'''You'd expect:''' For Abe to recognize his own son's voice and to either hang up or call his son and ask why Homer is asking people for money.\
149''' Instead:''' Abe (along with Jasper, who also knows Homer) sends money. He doesn't feel any happier, however.
150** Late one evening, Homer left the auto-dialer on to call residents who weren't home before, hung up, or hadn't been called yet. The calls continue into the early morning hours, and it disturbs many people from their sleep… including Ned Flanders, who repeatedly gets up to answer the phone, thinking it's his mother.\
151'''You'd expect:''' Ned to either unplug the phone or--knowing Homer's voice since he has listened to enough of the message to decipher who it is--to go to the Simpsons' residence and request that Homer stops calling.\
152''' Instead:''' Ned keeps the phone plugged in, certain that his mother may be trying to call him.\
153'''Even better:''' Homer doesn't seem to get that the reason Ned's telephone (and his complaining) is disturbing the peace is probably because of his auto-dialer calling the Flanders' residence repeatedly.
154** In the final act, when Chief Wiggum cites Homer for his telemarketing fraud.\
155'''You'd expect:''' A competent cop to do the same thing Wiggum did with Jimmy the Scumbag, the machine's previous owner: arrest him for fraud and, having obtained a warrant, seize the auto-dialler.\
156''' Instead:''' Wiggum (1) shoots the machine (causing damage to evidence); (2) fails to take Homer into custody; and (3) (and most glaringly) tells him to bring the auto-dialer with him on his court date. "Otherwise, I got no case, and you go scot-free, you know," says Wiggum rather sheepishly.
157** Homer's court date, where…\
158'''You'd expect:''' Homer would have destroyed the evidence (since he was allowed to keep his auto-dialer) or at the very least erase the "Happy Dude" message.\
159''' Instead:''' Homer brought it to court -- unseen in this episode -- because he is ordered by the judge (who has let him off easy) to record a new message apologizing to Springfield residents. Once he says, "I'm sorry" (in an apologetic tone), he then ''asks for more money'' [[HereWeGoAgain through his new "Sorry Dude" scam]].
160** The main plot line isn’t stupidity-free though, as shown when Lisa gives Milhouse a note to pass to Nelson in class, who reads it aloud.\
161'''You'd expect:''' Milhouse not to react in any way.\
162''' Instead:''' He reacts by wiggling his fingers, making Nelson thinks ''he’s'' the one who wrote the note, which results in Milhouse being taken to hospital.
163* [[Recap/TheSimpsonsS8E8HurricaneNeddy "Hurricane Neddy"]] sees Ned's house destroyed during a hurricane.\
164'''You'd Expect''': Ned to have insurance so he could rebuild or repair the house if something happens.\
165'''Instead''': The episode, which features Ned having a psychological breakdown after Springfield's botched attempt to rebuild his home, is because he didn't, considering it a form of gambling, hence the botched rebuilding attempt in the first place instead of professionals doing it.
166* "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS8E9ElViajeMisteriosoDeNuestroJomer The Mysterious Voyage of Homer]]" begins with Marge doing everything she can to prevent Homer from learning about the Springfield Chili Cook-Off, out of fear that he would get drunk and embarrass her there. She goes so far as to try and hide the smell of the event from Homer.\
167'''You'd Expect''': Marge to go and buy an air freshener or two for the house.\
168'''Instead''': She smokes cigarettes to try and fill the place with the smell of tobacco, behavior that Homer immediately notices as OOC for her, and then ''blows smoke into his face'' when he questions it.\
169'''Result''': Homer leaves to get some fresh air, smells chili and spices as soon as he opens the front door, and the game is up.
170* "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS8E21TheOldManAndTheLisa The Old Man and the Lisa]]", from Season 8 -- Lisa helps Mr. Burns regain his lost fortune by opening a recycling plant, with which he produces "Lil' Lisa's Slurry." The Slurry is produced from live sea creatures, which horrifies Lisa to no end.\
171'''You'd expect:''' Lisa would explain to Burns that the point of recycling is to ''benefit'' the animals so that they ''don't'' suffer at the hands of mankind. [[EvilCannotComprehendGood Granted, Burns might think that's stupid,]] but he ''was'' trying to reform earlier, so maybe it'd be worth a try.\
172''' Instead:''' Lisa immediately declares Burns to be pure evil no matter what, leaving him dumbfounded.\
173When Burns sells the plant to a fish stick company for $120 million, he decides to give her 10% of his profits.\
174'''You'd expect:''' While it's understandable that Lisa would be uncomfortable taking the money, she would realize that she could put it towards charity and other good causes, as opposed to letting it stay in Burns' heartless, miserly hands. (She actually later encourages Homer to do this in "Homer vs. Dignity" when he's in a similar situation.)\
175'''Instead:''' [[ScrewTheMoneyIHaveRules Lisa promptly tears up the check]] and Homer suffers '''[[BeyondTheImpossible four simultaneous heart attacks]]'''.\
176At the Hospital, Homer forgives Lisa for turning down the money... though he miscalculates the amount at $12,000 instead of $12 ''' million'''.\
177'''You'd expect:''' Lisa to spare her father's feelings and his heart by not correcting his math.\
178''' Instead:''' Lisa reluctantly corrects his math. Homer promptly goes into cardiac arrest.
179* "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS8E23HomersEnemy Homer's Enemy]]", from Season 8 -- The entire premise is a "What an Idiot" trope as seen from the eyes of a newcomer employee, Frank Grimes, and his encounters with Homer. Repeatedly, Grimes tries to point out to Mr. Burns and others that Homer is a poor employee, ill-suited to the job, and that his lack of qualifications, skills, ethics, and attention to the job make him not only a danger to himself and his fellow employees but Springfield (and possibly a wider region). Many situations abound:\
180'''Early on:''' Homer is at his work console when he absentmindedly grabs a flask of radioactive acid and brings the lip up to his mouth as if to drink it. Grimes is walking by, sees what is about to happen, and slaps it away; the substance spills onto the wall, causing it to become damaged, just as Mr. Burns is making his rounds.\
181'''You'd Expect:''' Burns -- who has supposedly hired Grimes for his skills and accomplishments -- to realize that Homer was about to drink a radioactive liquid, which would possibly seriously sicken or kill him; also, for Burns to finally realize that Homer is incompetent and to fire him.\
182'''You'd Also Expect:''' Burns rewards Grimes for saving Homer's life.\
183'''Instead''' of recognizing Homer's incompetence, Burns is more concerned with the damage to the wall. He reprimands Grimes, demotes him, and docks his pay.\
184Later, Homer realizes that he was being a dick towards Grimes, and tried to make amends by inviting him to a dinner in his house, apologizing for his idiocy, and asking for a second chance.\
185'''You'd Expect:''' Grimes would realize that Homer, for all his faults, is a [[JerkWithAHeartOfGold decent man at the core]], and after the dinner, try to reason with Homer by instructing him over what he should do and ''how'' to do his job, or more realistically, convince Homer to quit his job for the safety of all Springfield (including his family), or whatever, act like an adult and resolve his feud with Homer.\
186''' Or:''' That if Grimes feels that he is being treated unfairly relative to Homer (even before the acid incident, he was originally offered the position of vice president only for Burns to fill that role with a dog instead), he would just resign from the power plant and get a different job. Shelbyville is right next door, and they have their nuclear power plant -- perhaps that would be a good place to start.\
187'''Instead''': Grimes gets jealous over Homer's (relatively) luxurious life and only increases his anger towards him, and walks away in disgust.\
188'''At the same time''': A jealous Grimes vents [[TheReasonYouSuckSpeech at Homer that he doesn't deserve any of his successes]] in front of his wife and kids.\
189'''You'd Expect''': Marge and the kids would defend Homer and [[WhatTheHellHero call Grimes out for his jealousy.]]\
190'''Instead''': They just stand there and do nothing, and Bart even ''agrees'' with him.\
191'''Later:''' Grimes schemes to publicly expose Homer as a fraud by having him enter a nuclear power plant design contest... for children (doing so by giving him a flyer that has all of the references to it being a children's contest deleted). Homer takes the bait.\
192''' On contest day:''' The contestants bring in their models to be judged... along with Homer.\
193'''You'd Expect:''' For Burns, who is a contest judge, to immediately realize that Homer is not a child and disqualify him. Or at the very least, for Burns to instantly recognize the other children's models as superior to Homer's simplistic design. (Although Homer showed more technical expertise (for him) in describing how his model works.)\
194'''Instead''': Homer is praised by Mr. Burns, before the others agree and applaud him. Homer wins first place.\
195'''The end result''' causes Grimes to snap and run amok through the plant, complaining that Homer gets away with everything and wins everything, but he (Grimes) has nothing to show for his hard work and superior ethic and skills. At one point, he sees [[spoiler: some high-voltage electric wires.]]\
196'''You'd Expect:''' Even in his blind rage, for Grimes to at least show reason and know that [[spoiler: touching the wires will result in electrocution and possible death.]]\
197''' Or:''' For one of the bystanders to [[spoiler: push Grimes away from the wires]].\
198'''Instead''': [[BystanderSyndrome Nobody bothers to help Frank Grimes out]] and... [[spoiler:"Well, I don't need safety gloves because I'm Homer [[KilledMidSentence Simp—]]" '''[[KilledMidSentence ZAP!]] ''([[FuneralCut cut to Grimes' funeral]])'']]'''
199* In "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS8E2YouOnlyMoveTwice You Only Move Twice]]", another in season 8, the family moves to the town of Cypress Creek. Homer loves the place because he gets to do a job that he's competent at with a boss who is nice to him. However, his family hates the town, Bart because Springfield Elementary's lax education and his own "Underachiever and proud of it" nature have put him significantly behind the town's education standards. Thus, Bart is put in a Special Ed class with a bunch of bratty kids who cause trouble. Lisa hates the town because while she loves the town generally she's allergic to pretty much everything, while Marge hates it because the house they're living in is so automated the vast majority of the housework is done for her so she sits around all day drinking tiny amounts.\
200'''You'd Expect:''' Bart to apply himself so he can get out of the Remedial Class as soon as possible, or at least try before writing everything off, Lisa to start taking anti-allergy medication, and Marge to get a job or simply do something constructive with all the free time she has now that she doesn't have to do housework anymore.\
201''' Instead:''' None of the family does any of these things, and just tell Homer they want to go back to Springfield. As a result, Homer is forced to [[StatusQuoIsGod move back to Springfield]] to appease his family for issues that are entirely their fault, giving up a great job and house (run by a {{supervillain}}, but Mr. Burns is one too and isn't AffablyEvil like Scorpio).
202* In "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS9E7TheTwoMrsNahasapeemapetilons The Two Mrs. Nahasapeemapetilons]]" Homer has Marge and the kids pretend to be Apu's family when Apu's mother comes to visit, while Homer himself hides out at the retirement home under the name of Cornelius Talmadge (he originally intended to hide out at Moe's, but Moe went on vacation). This lasted until the real Cornelius Talmadge appeared, forcing Homer to run away from the retirement home.\
203'''You'd Expect''': Homer keeps hiding out elsewhere until it's confirmed that Apu's mother had left.\
204'''Instead''': He comes back home that night to tell Marge about his time at the retirement home until Apu's mother comes in to tell them she's about to leave, thus discovering she had been fooled by a ZanyScheme up until then.
205* "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS9E10MiracleOnEvergreenTerrace Miracle on Evergreen Terrace]]":
206** At the beginning of the episode, Bart uses the "old Indian trick" (drinking water before bed) so he can look at his presents early. He ends up accidentally burning down the Christmas tree and the presents, so he takes the evidence to the backyard and buries it in the snow. By the time he's finished, it's 7:01 a.m., and the family finds the tree "missing". \
207'''You'd Expect''': Bart to tell them the truth. It's not like he can hide what happened: someone's bound to find the tree somehow in the next few days (they do), and even if they don't, the snow will eventually melt.\
208''' Or''': For Bart to tell the family that there was a fire, but claim that it started without him doing anything to cause it.\
209'''Instead''': He generates a story about how a burglar stole the tree and all of the presents, [[NiceJobBreakingItHero ultimately making the whole town think that the Simpson family scammed them later in the episode]].
210** The whole town consequently comes together to raise a large amount of money and a new Christmas tree to save the Simpsons' Christmas, and encourage them to buy something wild.\
211'''You'd Expect:''' That the Simpsons would use the money to replace the presents so that they can have the lovely Christmas morning they were denied, which shouldn't eat into the donations ''too'' much, and they would've been able to return most of the money when the truth emerged.\
212'''Instead''': Homer decides to buy a car, even though the family ''already'' has two cars, and due to his stupidity ends up paying $3,000 more than it's actually worth, with only Bart voicing any objection. Homer then drives the car onto a frozen lake in order to avoid traffic, and the car promptly melts the ice, falls into the lake, and blows up, leaving them with nothing.
213** Now that all of Springfield thinks the Simpsons scammed them, and make them pariahs...\
214'''You'd Expect:''' Any one of them to realize that Homer, Marge, Lisa, and Maggie don't deserve to suffer GuiltByAssociation for what is entirely Bart's wrongdoing, especially those who had witnessed one or more of Bart's previous shenanigans. Bart even admitted ''on live TV'' that he acted alone.\
215''' Instead:''' It never occurs to any of them, and they seem resigned to sharing punishment for Bart's actions.\
216'''You'd also expect:''' Homer and Marge would explain that they had only just discovered that Bart had lied about the tree seconds before the interview, and they were rightfully angry.\
217'''Instead:''' They don't.\
218'''The result:''' The entire town thinks that the entire family was in on the scam from the very beginning, resulting in them being ostracized, harassed, and eventually robbed to pay back the money the townspeople gave them.
219* At the beginning of ''[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS9E20TheTroubleWithTrillions The Trouble With Trillions]]'', it's tax season. \
220'''You'd Expect:''' Marge to do the tax returns. \
221''' Instead:''' Marge puts the tax forms on Homer's to-do pile, something Homer never looks at.\
222''' Then:''' Homer, after being reminded by Lisa that he has to pay his taxes every year, rushes to complete his tax forms, getting all kinds of details wrong, and rushes to the post office to mail them. \
223''' As A Result:''' Homer is arrested for fraud by the IRS.
224* The subplot in ''[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS10E7LisaGetsAnA Lisa Gets an A]]'' concerns Homer and his new pet, a lobster named Pinchy, whom [[AdoptTheFood Homer saved from the boiler]]. One day, Homer decides to bath Pinchy.\
225'''You'd Expect''': Homer would make sure the water's not too hot for Pinchy, and not leave him unsupervised.\
226''' Instead:''' Homer decides to leave Pinchy alone to have a "nice, hot bath." Homer doesn't realize why that's careless until Bart notices the smell of cooked Pinchy.
227* In "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS10E15MargeSimpsonInScreamingYellowHonkers Marge Simpson in: "Screaming Yellow Honkers"]]" from Season 10, Superintendent Chalmers and Principal Skinner, in an act for the Springfield Elementary School talent show, are about to perform WhosOnFirst.\
228'''You'd Expect:''' The act to be performed properly, as it had been rehearsed. And [[DontExplainTheJoke neither of the two to explain the joke]].\
229''' Instead:''' Skinner botches the joke by explaining that it's not a question that Chalmers is asking, "but rather a player with the unlikely name of 'Who' is on first." Chalmers [[LampshadeHanging lampshades]] this by answering disgustedly, "Six seconds into our routine and you blew it."
230* "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS10E20TheOldManAndTheCStudent The Old Man and the "C" Student]]":
231** Lisa's letter to the International Olympic Committee gets Springfield the next Olympics. The town greets them at a ceremony in Springfield Elementary, which includes a comedy show by Bart. Principal Skinner got a preview of the act during rehearsals ... and it's an un-PC routine with offending jokes about the IOC reps' countries.\
232'''You'd Expect:''' Principal Skinner to get Bart to rewrite the act with good, clean material. Or to not let him perform at all. That way, if Bart were to defy him and perform the uncensored act, Skinner would have an excuse.\
233''' Instead:''' He allows the act to proceed unaltered. This naturally offends the IOC, who promptly strips Springfield of the Games (also banning them from ever hosting the Games) and awards them to Shelbyville. Skinner promptly assigns ''the entire student body'' 20 hours of community service [[NeverMyFault just to save face]].
234** In a twist on the "snakes in the peanut brittle can" prank, Homer puts a spring inside a can of nuts. Lenny opens it and a spring pops out, [[EyeScream lodging in his eye]]. Moe asks Homer to leave his bar, and Homer attempts to cheer him up by him offering a can of nuts.\
235'''You'd Expect:''' Moe not to fall for the very same prank.\
236''' Instead:''' He opens the can directly in his face, causing the spring inside to get stuck in his eye.
237* In the season 11 premiere "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS11E1BeyondBlunderdome Beyond Blunderdome]]", special guest star Creator/MelGibson has mounted a remake of the Creator/JimmyStewart classic ''Film/MrSmithGoesToWashington''. Despite getting a positive response from test audiences and the assurance of the producers that he's got a hit on his hands, Mel can't shake the feeling that something's wrong with the film, believing that the test audiences like him too much to give him honest criticism. He then reads a very negative review from Homer, who was part of the test audience as a prize he won but is angry that it wasn't the prize he wanted, and because Mel was flirting with Marge earlier.\
238'''You'd expect:''' Mel would dismiss the ridiculous letter for the absurd and misplaced piece of anger that it is, or that he would listen to the producers who tell him that it's a load of nonsense.\
239''' Instead:''' Mel thinks that Homer is the "one guy with the guts to tell [me] the truth", tracks Homer down and asks him to be a consultant on the film, which leads to Mel retooling the ending of the film to replace the original impassioned speech about liberty with an ultra-violent and bloody climax at the advice of Homer, despite the producers trying to warn him that he's destroying his film.\
240'''Result:''' Homer and Mel's actions lead to a very bad reaction from audiences when the film is released months later with the new ending and Mel is completely surprised to find that audiences - especially the Springfield residents who served as the film's test audience - hate it. Mel even ends up getting hit with a defamation lawsuit from Creator/JimmyStewart's granddaughter. In the end, at least Mel finally realizes that Homer is just a stupid jerk and not the one honest critic he thought he was and angrily kicks Homer out of his limo when Homer tries to give him career advice on how to bounce back from the fiasco (Homer even suggests that Mel do an ''Franchise/IndianaJones'' film, despite that franchise being headlined by Creator/HarrisonFord).
241* At the end of "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS12E20ChildrenOfALesserClod Children of a Lesser Clod]]", Bart and Lisa, out of revenge for Homer treating the kids at his new daycare better than he ever treated them, show a series of home movies at an award ceremony that paint him in an extremely poor light.\
242'''You'd expect:''' Homer to not do anything that would prove the videos true and perhaps try to explain them away.\
243''' Instead:''' Homer strangles Bart on stage.\
244'''Result:''' The crowd is utterly horrified and all of them pull their children out of Homer's daycare.
245* In "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS14E12ImSpellingAsFastAsICan I'm Spelling as Fast as I Can]]," the host of Spellympics, George Plimpton, offers Lisa a bribe in the form of a full scholarship to any Seven Sisters college of her choice ([[RunningGag and a hot plate!]]) if she throws the final match of the spelling bee so that a more crowd-pleasing contestant can win in her stead. Being the sort who's prone to HonorBeforeReason, Lisa is naturally torn between dirtying her hands for a better future or being honest in the face of corruption. \
246'''You'd Expect:''' That Lisa would realize she's just been handed a XanatosGambit on a silver platter. She could preserve her honor and honestly try to win the Spellympics without making her intentions to do so clear. If she wins it, then she stands up to the corrupt committee, but if she loses, then she gets her scholarship as long as the host thinks she threw the match. Either way, she wins.\
247''' Instead:''' Lisa loudly proclaims she will not dive as instructed and defiantly attempts to correctly spell her given word.\
248'''Result''': She ends up misspelling her word unintentionally, loses the spelling bee, and gets nothing from the host.
249* In "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS15E8MargeVsSSCCATAG Marge vs Singles, Seniors, Childless, Couples, and Teens, and Gays]]", Satan Himself decides to sign Marge's pro-family initiative. \
250'''You'd Expect:''' Satan chooses a benign disguise to tempt Marge to sign his check. \
251''' Instead:''' Satan disguises himself as a tobacco lobbyist, then reveals his true identity before Marge gets to sign the check. For obvious reasons, she doesn't take up the offer.
252* In "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS15E22FraudcastNews Fraudcast News"]], Mr. Burns cuts off the electricity in the Simpsons' home in an attempt to stop Lisa from printing her newspaper. Lisa tells Homer about it, and Homer walks in with two batteries and holds them up to her, telling her they have to power everything in the house.\
253'''You'd Expect''': Homer to let Lisa take the batteries so she can finish printing.\
254'''Instead''': He puts them in a boombox and starts singing "Wannabe" by Music/TheSpiceGirls. The batteries die shortly afterward, and Homer comments, "That was WorthIt."
255* In "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS16E11OnAClearDayICantSeeMySister On A Clear Day I Can't See My Sister]]", [[DisproportionateRetribution Lisa gets a restraining order against Bart after he pulls some pranks on her during a field trip]]. Marge takes Bart and Lisa to court to have Lisa's restraining order removed.\
256 '''You'd expect''': Bart to testify that [[DisproportionateRetribution his actions were never this severe]] and how Lisa has been abusing the restraining order to torment him with a poking device by following him around (which in real-life would be illegal as it is a clear violation to the restraining order).\
257 '''Instead''': Bart [[NeverMyFault insists he didn't do anything wrong]] and even insults [[HangingJudge Judge Constance Harm]].\
258 ''' As a Result''': Judge Harm angrily increases the restraining order from 20 feet ([[TheMetricSystemIsHereToStay 6 meters]]) to ''200 feet'' ([[TheMetricSystemIsHereToStay 61 meters]]), which forces Bart to live in a tent on the Simpsons' backyard and be taught inside a tool shed while in school to follow the order.
259* In "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS16E21TheFatherTheSonAndTheHolyGuestStar The Father, The Son, And The Holy Guest Star]]", Willie has sabotaged the medieval festival at Springfield Elementary but Skinner believes [[NotMeThisTime Bart]] is to blame.\
260'''You'd expect''': Bart wouldn't say anything that sounds rude and that way, in the worst-case scenario, Skinner would just declare him innocent until proven guilty. \
261'''Instead''': Bart makes an insulting remark at Skinner and this results in him getting the blame for the prank and getting expelled.
262* In the Season 17 episode "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS17E11WereOnTheRoadToDohwhere We're on the Road to D'ohwhere]]", Homer has driven his car through a rail guard and is about to fall off of a cliff. He notices Bart coming over to the cliff and pleads with him to push the car's bumper down so he can save himself. Despite Bart getting him into trouble earlier on in the episode, Homer is currently at risk of death in his current situation.\
263'''You'd expect''': Homer would wait until he is safe to reprimand Bart again.\
264'''Instead''': He threatens to kill Bart before his car is pushed down all the way and he has backed it up.\
265'''Result''': Bart pushes the bumper back up, putting Homer in danger again.\
266'''Even Worse''': When Homer says he was kidding and tries pleading with Bart to push the car down again, Bart complies until Homer threatens Bart again. The whole back and forth goes exactly as you would expect.
267* In Season 17's "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS17E21TheMonkeySuit The Monkey Suit]]", Ned Flanders and Reverend Lovejoy blackmail Seymour Skinner into teaching creationism at Springfield Elementary School. Lisa brings this up at a town meeting.\
268'''You'd expect:''' Lisa can point out that creationism is not science, that it makes no sense to teach it at normal school when it is already taught at Sunday school, or even that it is unconstitutional (as it would mean a public (government-sponsored) school favoring one or more religions against others, something that goes against the First Amendment).\
269''' Instead:''' She just asks people to vote on choosing between creationism and evolution. Naturally, the people of Springfield choose the former, and it is soon forbidden to teach the theory of evolution at all.
270* In "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS17E8TheItalianBob The Italian Bob]]", the family once again encounters Sideshow Bob, who at this point has a new life, being the mayor of a small Italian village, and even has a family. He convinces them he's changed and offers to help them fix their car in exchange for not telling the town about his criminal history. They agree, and later on, celebrate with a big feast, complete with wine for everyone.\
271'''You'd Expect:''' Them to not let Lisa have any, given she's only eight as {{lampshade|Hanging}}d by Marge.\
272''' Instead:''' Bob insists on it, telling her not to "be so Olive Garden".\
273''' As A Result:''' Lisa drunkenly blabs about his reputation in America, even making jokes about it.\
274''' It Gets Worse:''' When Bob tries to push Lisa away, she stumbles around and accidentally rips off his clothes.\
275'''You'd Expect:''' Him not to wear his prison uniform underneath his suit. Even if he was left in his underwear, he'd still have his identity intact.\
276''' Instead:''' Of course he has it on and reluctantly tells everyone the truth.\
277''' As A Result:''' Not only is he banned from the village, he falls back into his old habits and tries to kill the Simpsons, only this time, with his family joining in.
278* Season 18's "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS18E11RevengeIsADishBestServedThreeTimes Revenge Is a Dish Best Served Three Times]]" has Homer seeking revenge on the Rich Texan for cutting him off. His wife and kids try to stop him by telling him stories that discourage revenge, starting with Marge's story of the Count of Monte Cristo. Turns out Homer was jamming to Jamaican beats and missed out on the whole story.\
279'''You'd Expect:''' Marge to hold her tongue. At least this way, he's too distracted to think about revenge.\
280''' Instead:''' "Weren't you listening? I just told you a whole revenge story!" [[HereWeGoAgain This reminds Homer that he has revenge to carry out]].
281* In the infamous "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS18E18TheBoysOfBummer The Boys of Bummer]]", the Little League Championship game against Shelbyville is DownToTheLastPlay, and Bart misses a pop fly, costing the game. [[SoreLoser This awakens a really ugly side of the people of Springfield,]] [[FelonyMisdemeanor who relentlessly boo and harass Bart for days,]] [[DrivenToSuicide culminating in him attempting suicide]], and [[NoSympathy they keep harassing him even after he's hospitalized for it]]. It's a good thing Marge [[ShamingTheMob tore into all of Springfield for their actions]], but after that...\
282'''You'd expect:''' ...That everyone would pull together to issue Bart a town-wide apology, telling him that they should never have taken the ball game so seriously.\
283''' Instead:''' They all immediately decide that the only way to make amends is to re-stage the game so that Bart wins. The thing is, Bart still ends up losing the game, prompting everyone to make something up so that it doesn't count, allowing Bart to try again... and again... and again...\
284'''You'd Then Expect:''' Bart may be BookDumb, but even he would eventually get wise to these constant re-dos, and ''that's'' when the town apologizes for taking the game too seriously.\
285'''Instead:''' The ruse goes on for damn near ''24 hours'' until Bart ''finally'' catches the ball.\
286'''End Result:''' [[DistantFinale Well into old age,]] Bart's ego depends on this win, and he completely breaks down when Milhouse suggests that the game was staged until it's taken back.
287* In "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS19E20AllAboutLisa All About Lisa]]", Bart and Homer enter an auction, where the rare Kissing Lincolns penny makes an appearance. Unfortunately, [[CurbStompBattle Mr. Burns outbids them with $10 million]]. When Mr. Burns refuses to hand over the penny so that Bart could finish his collection, Homer asks for some change for a nickel to "buy a gumball" for his son.\
288'''You’d Expect''': Mr. Burns to tell Smithers to drive off immediately. Or for Mr. Burns to look at his pennies closely before giving Homer change.\
289'''Instead''': Mr. Burns ends up giving him four cents without even looking. By the time he realizes that he traded away the Kissing Lincolns penny, Smithers has already driven away, meaning that Mr. Burns ''threw away $10 million for nothing''!
290* In the subplot of the 20th season episode "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS20E17TheGoodTheSadAndTheDrugly The Good, the Sad, and the Drugly]]", Lisa looks up a website for a school project that covers what Springfield will be like 50 years in the future, and it says a BadFuture is in store.\
291'''You'd Expect''': Lisa to give it some deep thought and disregard the website as fraudulent (or a spoof ''a la'' Website/TheOnion) since the predictions it makes are too absurd and apocalyptic to have any basis.\
292'''Instead''': She believes everything the website says, hook, line, and sinker.
293* In the Season 20 episode "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS20E13GoneMaggieGone Gone Maggie Gone]]", Maggie is proven to be the solution to world peace, provided she lives in a nunnery.\
294'''You'd Expect:''' Marge to do the mature thing and allow her child to stay there since a nunnery isn't that bad of a place to be. Plus, a small price to pay for world peace, right?\
295''' Besides:''' Nobody said that Marge (and the rest of the family by extension) couldn't live in the monastery as well if she wanted to be with Maggie, right?\
296''' Instead:''' Marge goes all "She's mine and no one else's" and keeps her. No explanation beyond [[HypocriticalHumor "God would never ask anyone to give up their child for the good of the world"]] [[LampshadeHanging is given]]. This is fairly annoying since she learns that her children have to leave their nest in almost every episode about her. A MAJOR {{Flanderization}} of her MamaBear attitude to be sure.\
297'''Bonus Points:''' Homer somehow concludes that [[{{Jerkass}} Bart]] could qualify for a ReplacementGoldfish. Cue to the entire church becoming hell.
298* In "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS20E12NoLoanAgainNaturally No Loan Again, Naturally]]" from Season 20, Homer and Marge are in a state of depression due to no longer being able to afford their mortgage payment. Homer especially, since he is DrivenToSuicide and planning to hang himself from a tree outside the house. Bart and Lisa are there to witness it.\
299'''You'd expect''': Bart and Lisa to stop Homer from going through with it.\
300'''Instead''': They just stand there and watch him hang himself. Granted, [[BungledSuicide the tree falls over from Homer's weight]], but still...
301* In "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS20E2LostVerizon Lost Verizon]]" from Season 20, Bart gets a mobile phone, and Marge (under the advice of Creator/DenisLeary, the phone's owner) activates its GPS tracker, allowing her to keep track of Bart and [[MyBelovedSmother stopping him from doing anything she doesn't like]]. Lisa tells Bart what has been going on, and Bart manages to take the tracker out and tie it to a bird. Suddenly, Marge begins to see Bart moving at speeds impossible for a child to achieve (how did it work without being connected to a battery, anyway?).\
302'''You'd Expect:''' Marge to figure out that Bart has found the tracker and done something with it.\
303''' Instead:''' She thinks Bart is running away and proceeds to take Homer, Lisa, and Maggie on a road trip... to Peru.
304* Season 21's "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS21E22TheBobNextDoor The Bob Next Door]]". It is revealed late in the episode that Sideshow Bob has surgically swapped faces with his prison cellmate, Walt Warren, to get himself released in Walt's place. Walt realizes that Bob is going after Bart again and attempts to warn the authorities, but the transplant has left him unable to speak properly, resulting in him getting put in a straitjacket and shut in a padded cell. He resorts to repeatedly writing his warning on the wall of his cell.\
305'''You'd Expect:''' Walt would write something like "Sideshow Bob has escaped" or "Sideshow Bob has my face", or anything else that explains clearly what's happened.\
306''' Instead:''' He writes "Bart Simpson will die". Predictably it gets mistaken for a threat to Bart's life, and Walt has to resort to breaking himself out to save Bart. Marge {{lampshade|Hanging}}s this:
307--> '''Marge:''' You have to admit, "Bart Simpson Will Die" was kinda open to interpretation.\
308'''Walt:''' I'm not a writer.
309* In Season 22's "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS22E3MoneyBART MoneyBart]]", Lisa becomes the coach of Bart's Little League Baseball team. She manages to guide the team to success with her use of sabermetrics, but Bart becomes resentful at her for this, believing her to be taking the fun out of the game. It gets to the point that Bart ignores Lisa's instructions to let the pitcher walk him, and ends up hitting a home run, winning the game.\
310'''You'd Expect:''' Lisa to just let this slide. Even if things didn't go the way she planned, her team still won, right?\
311''' Instead:''' She throws Bart off the team. This turns all the other players against her, creates a feud within the Simpson family, and means that Bart isn't available when Lisa needs him.
312* In Season 23's [[Recap/TheSimpsonsS23E19ATotallyFunThingBartWillNeverDoAgain A Totally Fun Thing Bart Will Never Do Again]], Bart decides to indefinitely extend his family's one-week cruise by faking a pandemic on the mainland with the help of a DirectToVideo sci-fi movie. The result is ApocalypseAnarchy on the high seas. Fortunately, actor Treat Williams, who starred in the film as the character who announced the "pandemic", is on the cruise.\
313'''You'd Expect''': Williams to speak up immediately.\
314'''Instead''': Williams [[FailedASpotCheck fails to recognize]] ''himself'', so he doesn't speak up until Lisa exposes Bart's deception. When the other passengers [[CouldHaveAvoidedThisPlot ask him why he didn't recognize himself]], he says [[ButForMeItWasTuesday it's because he did a lot of movies]].
315* In the Season 25 episode, "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS25E13TheManWhoGrewTooMuch The Man Who Grew Too Much]]", Lisa finds out the person who tried to kill the Simpsons, Sideshow Bob, is cultured and knows famous poets, authors, and artists. Bob asks Lisa to visit him again, calling her the best Simpson out of the cesspool.\
316'''You'd Expect''': Lisa to completely reject it, or refuse politely, or visit with a bit of suspicion since this is the same person who tried to kill her family. Who knows, Bob might try to go crazy and try to kill them again.\
317'''Instead''': She says someone with a cultured mind and brain can't be evil. And she even said "He only tried to kill Bart", ignoring the fact that Bob was trying to kill all of the Simpsons in some episodes, framed Krusty for armed robbery, and tried to NUKE Springfield on one occasion. Sure, Lisa does ask if he was plotting revenge, but then she stops caring until she sees her new "friend" lift an art piece that is supposed to be too heavy to lift alone. She later finds out what his real plan was, and surprise surprise, Bob tries to kill Bart and Lisa again.
318* In the season 33 episode, ''Bart's In Jail'', Homer was tricked into the Cutlife Knives pyramid scheme. After Lisa shows him the news that the Cutlife CEO was arrested, Homer realizes his stupidity and makes a pyre of the knife boxes as a monument to his stupidity. But later, compounding his stupidity, when Homer could unload the knives on a security guard:\
319'''You'd Expect:''' Considering it seemed hopeless that Homer would sell all those boxes of knives he got in the pyramid scheme, he'd take advantage of the opportunity and sell the knives to the security guard.\
320''' Instead:''' Homer sells the guard on the idea that he can scam others into ordering knives, without taking his offer to buy them.
321[[/folder]]
322[[folder:Treehouse of Horror]]
323* In "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS3E7TreehouseOfHorrorII Treehouse of Horror II]]", during Lisa's Dream, the family purchases a Monkey's Paw, which grants wishes [[BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor with caveats]] that drives much of the segment's plot, such as Bart wishing for fame and fortune (to the extent where people get sick of them) and Lisa wishing for world peace (which garners the attention of Kang and Kodos to conquer the Earth with ease). It's then Homer's turn to wish.\
324'''You'd Expect:''' Homer wishes to undo everything since buying the Monkey's Paw.\
325''' Or:''' He would at least wish for a solution to the Kang and Kodos invasion.\
326''' Instead:''' Homer wishes for a turkey sandwich. At least he attempts to counter any loopholes the Monkey's Paw might inflict, but then [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking the turkey turns out to be dry]].\
327'''Result:''' Homer attempts to toss away the Monkey's Paw, but then hands it over to Flanders. Flanders immediately wishes for a solution to get rid of Kang and Kodos, resulting in weaponized [[BuffySpeak boards with nails through them]].\
328'''Additionally''': Flanders is later seen with a huge castle, and Homer gripes about not having a Monkey's Paw. We don't see if the castle came with any catches.
329* "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS5E5TreehouseOfHorrorIV Treehouse of Horror IV]]":
330** In the first segment, Homer decides on a whim to sell his soul for a doughnut, however just as he's down to the last piece, it's revealed that he keeps his soul if he doesn't finish the whole thing.\
331'''You'd Expect:''' Homer (or really, Marge or one of the kids) throws the doughnut away, preventing the devil from taking his soul.\
332''' Instead:''' They keep the doughnut piece in the fridge; when Homer goes to the kitchen at night for food, the predictable happens. Homer manages to keep his soul but gets a giant doughnut for a head.
333** In the third segment, Chief Wiggum is investigating a series of attacks. He correctly assumes that the culprit is a supernatural creature.\
334'''You'd Expect''': Given that the victims were drained of their blood, have teeth marks on their necks and a black cape was left on the scene of one attack, Wiggum would conclude that a vampire is the culprit.\
335'''Instead''': Wiggum concludes that the culprit is a mummy.
336** Later in the third segment, Bart and Lisa are confronted by vampires in Mr. Burns's lair. They escape. Along the way, Bart notices a lever with a sign that says "Super Happy Fun-Slide."\
337'''You'd Expect''': Bart would smell the obvious SchmuckBait and run.\
338'''Instead''': Bart pulls the lever and goes down the SurpriseSlideStaircase back to the vampires and is turned by Mr. Burns.
339* "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS17E4TreehouseOfHorrorXVI Treehouse of Horror XVI]]":
340** "Bartificial Intelligence": Bart brags to Lisa that he's going to try to jump from the balcony to the pool. Lisa is reading but not too bothered.\
341'''You'd Expect''': She would pull her brother in and stop him from doing something so stupid.\
342'''Instead''': She tells him it would be TooDumbToLive and doesn't react when he attempts the jump backward, which lands him in a coma.
343** "Survival of the Fattest": Mr. Burns and Smithers invite Springfield's men on a hunt. They then reveal they're hunting the guests, as TheMostDangerousGame. Burns's lawyer, one of the guests, protests this, and Burns asks him if he can make it legal.\
344'''You'd Expect''': The lawyer realizes that he shouldn't be enabling his boss to murder him. He ought to stall for time so that the men can get out and get help, or lie and say that Burns can't kill them all without getting arrested or sued by their families.\
345'''Instead''': He doesn't. [[TooDumbToLive The lawyer draws up the legal papers that Mr. Burns needs to avoid litigation]]. Mr. Burns then kills him.
346* "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS25E2TreehouseOfHorrorXXIV Treehouse of Horror XXIV]]":
347** "Oh the Places You'll D'oh!": The Simpsons kids are sick with the mumps, and in this world, Marge is a single mother. She has made arrangements to go to a Halloween party.\
348'''You'd Expect''': She'd hire a competent babysitter to watch over the kids and make sure they don't binge on candy.\
349'''Instead''': Grandpa is the only one watching over the kids. This is the same Grandpa who is senile and forgets to take his medicine.\
350'''The Result''': Adult Fear of the worst kind ensues: a stranger called the Fat in the Hat comes by, overpowers Grandpa, and takes the kids on a wild Halloween journey. While he cures them of their mumps and keeps his promise to find them candy, the kids are terrified of his violence and mayhem. When they escape him and run home, he corners them in the house and threatens them. Also, thanks to the Fat in the Hat curing them, [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking all the kids stuff their faces with candy]].
351** "Dead and Shoulders": Bart spends the entire day kite-flying to mess with pilots at the nearby airport, and is left alone after Milhouse suffers an allergic reaction and paramedics rescue him. He soon gets tired of holding the kite string as evening falls.\
352'''You'd Expect''': He would tie it around his wrist or to a nearby tree.\
353'''Instead''': He ties it around his neck.\
354'''The Result''': Bart gets decapitated and the rest of the short ensues when his head is sewn onto Lisa's body.
355[[/folder]]
356[[folder:Movie]]
357* The premise of [[WesternAnimation/TheSimpsonsMovie the movie]] is that the entire town gets sealed inside a gigantic glass dome by the EPA, thanks to Homer polluting Lake Springfield.\
358'''You'd Expect:''' At least one of the townspeople would think to dig their way under the dome.\
359'''Instead:''' None of them do. Granted, the EPA did fortify the land around the dome after the Simpsons escaped, but that doesn't change the fact that the idea didn't occur to anyone before then.\
360'''Even Worse:''' The entire town sees the Simpsons escape by going through a sinkhole tunnel underground and out to the outside of the dome. They STILL never get the idea to dig their way out. This is lampshaded in the episode "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS22E6TheFoolMonty The Fool Monty]]" when Burns plans to put another dome over the town in revenge for what the residents had been doing to him.
361* Earlier in the film, when Homer is taking Spider Pig/Harry Plopper's waste silo to be disposed, he gets a call from Lenny telling him that they're giving away free donuts at the shop but they're going fast.\
362'''You'd Expect:''' Homer to go to the donut shop first and THEN dispose of the silo.\
363'''Or:''' Homer to ask Lenny to save him some donuts.\
364'''Instead:''' He goes and dumps the silo in the recently cleaned up Springfield Lake right when the EPA was investigating Springfield's pollution. The lake is now so badly polluted that Springfield is sealed under a giant glass dome.
365* After Homer is exposed as the man who polluted Lake Springfield to the point of sealing off the whole city, an angry mob of citizens marches to the Simpson home...except the house is right behind them and they're marching the wrong way.\
366'''You'd Expect''': Homer gets the family together to figure out a plan on how to escape the mob.\
367'''Instead''': He can't help but brag about the mob's stupidity by calling them out loudly outside an ''open'' window, '''where the mob can hear him'''. The mob turns around, notices Homer outside the window, and surrounds the house, leaving the family with no place to go. You know you've hit rock bottom when you top people's idiocy with your own.
368* Bart, Lisa, Marge and Maggie are on the train on their way back to Springfield & the EPA are keeping track of what everyone is saying by using hidden microphones.\
369'''You'd Expect''': The group to stay quiet during the train ride back to Springfield.\
370'''Instead''': They run their mouths.\
371'''Predictably''': They all end up captured and placed back inside the dome.\
372'''That said''': Lisa was at least smart enough to lampshade the EPA and their microphones, but Marge simply dismissed it.
373[[/folder]]

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