Bart vs. Australia/References

Episode	References	Gags	Appearances	Gallery	Quotes	Credits

◄ Homie the Clown

Bart vs. Australia

Homer vs. Patty and Selma ►

Cultural References

• The segment involving Adolf Hitler refers to a conspiracy theory that he survived World War II and escaped to Argentina. However, Hitler is shown appearing the same as he did when he was in power. Had Hitler indeed survived, he would have been 105 years of age at the time the episode aired.

• While taunting Bruno Dundridge on the phone, Bart says, "Hey, I think I hear a dingo eating your baby." This is a joke about the Azaria Chamberlain disappearance.

• "That's not a knife: This is a knife!" is a famous line from the film Crocodile Dundee.

• During the chase scene from the Australian Parliament, a Mad Max motorcycle gang member can be seen in the crowd.
• During the slide show presentation, a slide with plan "B" depicting Fidel Castro in crosshairs is seen (which the government official promptly eats). This was a reference to a conspiracy theory that the U.S. Government, after the failure of the Bay of Pigs Invasion, attempted to have Fidel Castro assassinated.
• The bullfrogs destroying the Australian's crops is a possible reference to Cane Toads which were introduced to Australia and destroyed many of Australia's plants.

Trivia

• Despite Homer being very much against the Australians' proposed "booting" punishment, a very similar looking boot struck Bart in the butt in "Burns' Heir". That time Homer found it hilarious.

• While The Simpsons is prone to some errors simply for comic effect, in this particular episode, the supposed scientific knowledge of drains flowing differently in the Southern Hemisphere is actually a myth. The Coriolis effect is indeed accurate, but it is only seen large systems such as eddys, whirlpools in the ocean, and cyclonic storms such as hurricanes and tornadoes. For small-scale cases such as drains and toilets, there are too many other more-important factors for the effect to make a difference (spin imparted by water's flow, angle, fritction, etc.).

• Contrary to the implication in the last shot of the episode, koalas would not do any harm in America. They would either be quickly hunted down and killed (as they are slow-moving animals) or they would die of hunger, due to the fact that they only eat eucalyptus leaves.

• It would later be revealed that the Simpsons' ancestors were exiled from Australia.

Goofs

• Why didn't Marge or Homer answer the phone at night instead of waking up Bart?
• Why would the operator connect Bart to someone in Australia at random?
• Why didn't Marge and/or Homer notice the mail from Australia Bart was getting?