Original photo by Photo 12/ Alamy Stock Photo
Homer Simpson’s famed grunt has been ubiquitous both on the long-running animated series The Simpsons (which debuted in 1989) and in the collective imagination for decades now, with “D’oh!” getting its own Wikipedia article, YouTube compilations, and even a book. Yet not many people know the sound is actually a protected trademark owned by 20th Century Studios. Technically, it’s a sound mark, which the United States Patent and Trademark Office explains “identifies and distinguishes a product or service through audio rather than visual means” and "create[s] in the hearer’s mind an association” between a sound and a good or service. 20th Century Studios filed papers to trademark the sound (registration number: 3411881) in July 2001, and it was officially registered in 2008. Other examples of sound marks include the noise Darth Vader makes while breathing and that instantly recognizable Law and Order “chung chung” sound effect.
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It's a fact“D’oh” was added to the Oxford English Dictionary in 2001. It’s defined as “expressing frustration at the realization that things have turned out badly or not as planned, or that one has just said or done something foolish.”
Homer's utterance is hardly the only iconic Simpsons catchphrase — “¡Ay, caramba!” and “Okily dokily!” come to mind as well — but “D’oh!” may be the most enduring. TV Land placed it sixth on a list of the 100 greatest quotes and catchphrases in television history, ahead of such heavyweights as Fred Flintstone’s “Yabba dabba do!” and Seinfeld’s “No soup for you!”
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The “J” in Homer J. Simpson stands for ______.
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The “J” in Homer J. Simpson stands for Jay.
The true location of Springfield has never been revealed.
What state do the Simpsons live in? According to one chalkboard gag, “The true location of Springfield is in any state but yours.” Despite creator Matt Groening once saying that the town was partially based on Springfield, Oregon, the show itself has made a joke of never revealing its actual location. There have been clues along the way, most of which contradict each other, but it’s likely that there will never be a definite answer. “I don’t want to ruin it for people, you know?” Groening has said of the phenomenon. “Whenever people say it’s Springfield, Ohio, or Springfield, Massachusetts, or Springfield, wherever, I always go, ‘Yup, that’s right.’”
Michael Nordine is a writer and editor living in Denver. A native Angeleno, he has two cats and wishes he had more.
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