"Homer at the Bat" is a beloved baseball parody full of guest stars, but this episode of The Simpsons also contains a joke that actually saved children's lives. Originally airing on 20th February 1992, "Homer at the Bat" recently celebrated its 30th anniversary. It's one of season 3's best episodes and helped usher in The Simpsons' Golden Age, but it also likely holds greater meaning for the children whose survival depended on one specific joke in the episode.
After experiencing numerous mishaps earlier in The Simpsons season 3, "Homer at the Bat" gives the family patriarch an excellent underdog story. Using his lucky homemade baseball bat, Homer propels the Nuclear Power Plant's softball team to the championship game. However, "Home Run Homer" risks being side-lined when Mr. Burns hires famous MLB players to ensure he wins a million-dollar bet against Shelbyville's Power Plant.
Although The Simpsons' cast hated making "Homer at the Bat," the episode was acclaimed for juggling several guest stars while providing a heartfelt story involving the central family. The most memorable jokes involve Mr. Burns and the surreal accidents that befall his MLB players, but an early moment involving Homer choking on a donut inadvertently saved two children's lives. The Simpsons has had a massive impact on popular culture, but one of the greatest arguments for the sitcom's influence was recorded in the Orlando Sentinel in May 1992.
How 1992's The Simpsons Episode Saved Lives
The newspaper's headline in question reads "Mom Credits' Simpsons' With Saving Life Of Son" and describes how the 10-year-old Chris Bencze saved his choking brother by performing the Heimlich maneuver. The boy learned how to perform this action from watching "Homer at the Bat," which opens with The Simpsons' main character gorging on donuts at work. Homer ignores Lenny's warning to slow down and immediately begins choking as he staggers around the Power Plant's break room. His friends are entirely casual towards his distress, indicating this could be a frequent occurrence. Lenny lazily searches for the first aid chart and finds a poster detailing the Heimlich maneuver, featuring a man coughing up an entire lobster.
This opening donut joke is almost forgotten due to its brevity and this Simpsons episode's emphasis on MLB celebrity cameos, but its importance clearly wasn't lost on children. "Homer at the Bat" would later save another child's life when a very similar incident occurred in December 2007. British newspaper Sunday Express (via Press Reader) details that Aiden Bateman, also ten years old, saved his friend's life by performing the Heimlich maneuver he had learned from The Simpsons. School staff reportedly feared for Alex Hardy's life when he was choking on his lunch, but Aiden knew how to save him. He recalled the poster from "Homer at the Bat," noting, "It just came into my head, and I did it." As America's longest-running sitcom, The Simpsons has always been hugely influential, but these life-saving events emphasize how much the show is imprinted on contemporary culture.
"Homer at the Bat" is adored for many reasons, including Homer's tribute to The Natural, the parody song "Talkin' Softball," and Mr. Burns firing Don Mattingly over his "sideburns" - meaning most viewers likely wouldn't think twice about Homer briefly choking on a donut. The Simpsons has drawn more criticism in recent years, but small details like the season 3 Heimlich maneuver poster reinforce why it remains one of the greatest TV shows ever made.