There's a few reasons behind the yellow choice
They're arguably the most famous family in television, and have been on our screens for more than three decades - but when you think about it, it's quite weird that Matt Groening decided to make
the Simpsons yellow.
Well, it turns out there was an understandable thought process behind the choice to make the Simpsons yellow - and it may have had a whole host of benefits.
Groening revealed in an interview back in 2007 that an animator came up with the idea of yellow.
He said that he wanted his cartoon to be eye-catching. When someone is flipping through channels, he wanted the bright yellow colour of the
Simpsons to catch the eye and make them go back to watch it. And so, the iconic yellow Simpsons family was created.
"An animator came up with the Simpsons’ yellow and as soon as she showed it to me I said, 'This is the answer!' When you’re flicking through channels with your remote control, and a flash of yellow goes by, you’ll know you’re watching
The Simpsons," he told
CBBC.
That wasn't the only reason behind the yellow choice though.
In his book, show writer Mike Reiss shared a lot of the show's secrets and according to him, the decision to make the family yellow was also to do with hair lines.
[caption id="attachment_366500" align="alignnone" width="2048"]
Matt Groening immediately liked the idea of the Simpsons being yellow when he saw it (Getty)[/caption]
He said: “Bart, Lisa and Maggie have no hairlines — there’s no line that separates their skin from their hair points. So the
animators chose yellow — it’s kinda skin, kinda hair.”
Furthermore, there seems to be some scientific logic and benefit behind the colour choice.
Esquire reports that the colour yellow has a unique psychological effect on the human brain, and represents optimism and joy.
It's also the most visible colour to the human eye because of the way our eyes process light, which is why taxis and warning signs are yellow.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i-7H10zweVU
So there you have it, a whole host of reasons why Springfield's most famous family have their recognisable skin colour.
Along with being yellow and it being one of the best television shows of all time,
The Simpsons has also become famous for another thing - predicting the future.
Whether it's Donald Trump's presidency, the Super Bowl lineup or
last summer's fuel shortages, it's incredible how many times the show has foreseen what's in store for humanity.
You can find a comprehensive rundown of
every eerie prediction here.
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