Whacking Day
Encyclopedia
"Whacking Day" is the twentieth episode of The Simpsons
' fourth season
, and originally aired April 29, 1993. It concerns the fictional holiday "Whacking Day", celebrated annually May 10, in which the citizens of Springfield
drive snake
s into the town square, then club them to death. The episode was written by John Swartzwelder
and directed by Jeffrey Lynch
; Barry White
, who had expressed a wish to appear in the show, guest stars as himself. It was pitched by the "animal conscious" George Meyer
who wanted to create an episode against the mistreatment of snakes. The episode includes the first appearance of Superintendent Chalmers. It features an Itchy & Scratchy
parody of Oliver Stone
's JFK
, and won a Genesis Award
.
lures Bart
, Jimbo, Kearney, Dolph and Nelson
into a utility basement with the promise of free mountain bikes and locks the door. Bart escapes through a ventilation shaft and takes Groundskeeper Willie
's tractor for a joyride, crashing into Chalmers. Having lost any chance of a promotion, Skinner expels Bart. After he is quickly expelled from a new private Christian school, Marge
decides to homeschool
Bart.
Meanwhile, Kent Brockman
announces that Springfield
's annual "Whacking Day" is approaching. Each year on May 10, the people of Springfield drive snake
s to the center of town and beat them to death. The tradition appalls Lisa
. Barry White
arrives to begin the festivities, but is disgusted when he discovers what the holiday is about. Bart learns the true origin of Whacking Day and suggests to Lisa that they lure the snakes to safety by playing music with a lot of bass and putting the stereo speakers to the ground. White helps by singing "Can't Get Enough of Your Love, Babe
," attracting hundreds of snakes into the house.
The pursuing crowd arrives, but they are soon turned around on the subject of Whacking Day by Bart's newfound knowledge. It turns out that the day was actually invented in 1924 as an excuse to beat up the Irish
. Mayor Quimby
, not knowing the city has had a change of heart, shows up with pre-whacked snakes and is booed. Skinner is impressed with Bart's efforts and welcomes him back to the school, but then realizes in horror that the bullies are still in the utility basement. Racing to the school with the mountain bikes to avoid a potential lawsuit, Skinner tells Willie if the bullies are dead, they make for Mexico. Willie agrees, but privately mutters that he will turn Skinner in at the first tollbooth.
, who was very "animal conscious," was interested in writing an episode related to an annual ritual
held in a Texan
town, where the townspeople would beat rattlesnakes with sticks. Meyer did not have time to pen the episode himself, so the idea was given to John Swartzwelder
. The subject matter of "beating snakes" worried the staff who thought that many would deem it cruel, even though the episode's message is against the mistreatment of snakes. The episode's first act was one of the shortest the staff had ever written at that time, roughly ten pages in length, but with no ideas to expand, they left it as it was. Due to this, the main plot does not start until the beginning of the second act, as the writers could not come up with much material for it. In order to speed up animation, director Jeffrey Lynch
"begged" storyboard
artists Kevin O'Brien and Steve Markowski to help him with the episode. The three spent months on the episode. Barry White
had wanted to guest star on the show, and so he was written into the plot. He sang "Can't Get Enough of Your Love, Babe
" specially for the episode, rather than using a recorded version.
The song Grampa was supposed to sing in his flashback, showing how he posed as a German cabaret singer in World War II, was "Falling in Love Again (Can't Help It)
" by Marlene Dietrich
. The staff could not get the rights to it because, according to the people who own the song, "everybody makes fun of it". Much of the flashback was pitched by Conan O'Brien
. The episode marks the first appearance of Superintendent Chalmers. The staff wanted to introduce a boss for Skinner, and Wallace Wolodarsky
pitched his name. Much of the dialogue and interactions between Skinner and Chalmers were ad-libbed by Harry Shearer
and Hank Azaria
.
short, with "guest director" Oliver Stone
, is a parody of the scene where Jack Ruby
shoots Lee Harvey Oswald
in Stone's film JFK
: someone is heard to shout, "He's got a gun!" as the screenplay draws to a close. The song "O Whacking Day" uses the same tune as the Christmas carol "O Tannenbaum
", known in English as "O Christmas Tree". Additionally, Bob Woodward
is shown to be the author of the book The Truth About Whacking Day.
for "Best Television Prime Time Animated Series" in 1994. In its original American broadcast, "Whacking Day" finished tied for 25th in the weekly ratings for the week of April 26–May 2, 1993 with a Nielsen rating
of 12.2. It was the highest rated show from the Fox Network
that week. Jeffrey Lee Puckett of The Courier-Journal
cited "Whacking Day" as "the series' richest episode." He wrote: "In 22 remarkable minutes, 'Whacking Day' skewers the quality of America's educational system, self-aggrandizing politicians, greed, the mob mentality, sexuality in the age of political correctness and the whole notion of political correctness, and makes a hero of Barry White." Chris Vognar of The Dallas Morning News
noted the episode was one of the fourth season's best episodes in his review of the DVD. The show's creator Matt Groening
considers Homer's "I am evil Homer" fantasy to be one of the greatest moments in the show's history. Andrew Martin of Prefix Mag named Barry White
his fith favorite musical guest on The Simpsons out of a list of ten.
A 2003 article in the The Journal News
reported that records show genuine "Whacking Days" having taken place in Eastchester, New York
from 1665 onwards: "That one day every spring be chosen for the destroying of rattle snakes." The article quoted show runner
Al Jean
as saying: "I agree with the premise of the episode: leave the snakes alone. They didn't hurt anybody." In North Queensland
, Australia
since 2009, citizens have held an annual "Toad Day Out
", where thousands of cane toads are collected up and humanely destroyed. The event was inspired by the episode.
The Simpsons
The Simpsons is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical parody of a middle class American lifestyle epitomized by its family of the same name, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie...
The Simpsons (season 4)
The Simpsons fourth season originally aired on the Fox network between September 24, 1992 and May 13, 1993, beginning with "Kamp Krusty." The show runners for the fourth production season were Al Jean and Mike Reiss. The aired season contained two episodes which were hold-over episodes from season...
, and originally aired April 29, 1993. It concerns the fictional holiday "Whacking Day", celebrated annually May 10, in which the citizens of Springfield
Springfield (The Simpsons)
Springfield is the fictional town in which the American animated sitcom The Simpsons is set. A mid-sized town in an undetermined state of the United States, Springfield acts as a complete universe in which characters can explore the issues faced by modern society. The geography of the town and its...
drive snake
Snake
Snakes are elongate, legless, carnivorous reptiles of the suborder Serpentes that can be distinguished from legless lizards by their lack of eyelids and external ears. Like all squamates, snakes are ectothermic, amniote vertebrates covered in overlapping scales...
s into the town square, then club them to death. The episode was written by John Swartzwelder
John Swartzwelder
John Swartzwelder is an American comedy writer and novelist, best known for his work on the animated television series The Simpsons, as well as a number of novels. He is credited with writing the largest number of Simpsons episodes by a large margin...
and directed by Jeffrey Lynch
Jeffrey Lynch
Jeffrey Lynch is an American animator and graphic artist. He has worked as an animation director on The Simpsons and Futurama, and as an assistant director on Spider-Man, Spider-Man 2, Spider-Man 3 and The Iron Giant....
; Barry White
Barry White
Barry White, born Barry Eugene Carter , was an American composer and singer-songwriter.A five-time Grammy Award-winner known for his distinctive bass voice and romantic image, White's greatest success came in the 1970s as a solo singer and with the Love Unlimited Orchestra, crafting many enduring...
, who had expressed a wish to appear in the show, guest stars as himself. It was pitched by the "animal conscious" George Meyer
George Meyer
George A. Meyer is an American producer and writer. Raised in Tucson, Arizona in a Roman Catholic family, Meyer attended Harvard University. There, after becoming president of the Harvard Lampoon, he graduated in 1978 with a degree in biochemistry. Abandoning plans to attend medical school, Meyer...
who wanted to create an episode against the mistreatment of snakes. The episode includes the first appearance of Superintendent Chalmers. It features an Itchy & Scratchy
The Itchy & Scratchy Show
The Itchy & Scratchy Show is a show within a show in the animated television series The Simpsons. It usually appears as a part of The Krusty the Clown Show, watched regularly by Bart and Lisa Simpson...
parody of Oliver Stone
Oliver Stone
William Oliver Stone is an American film director, producer and screenwriter. Stone became well known in the late 1980s and the early 1990s for directing a series of films about the Vietnam War, for which he had previously participated as an infantry soldier. His work frequently focuses on...
's JFK
JFK (film)
JFK is a 1991 American film directed by Oliver Stone. It examines the events leading to the assassination of President John F. Kennedy and alleged subsequent cover-up, through the eyes of former New Orleans district attorney Jim Garrison .Garrison filed charges against New Orleans businessman Clay...
, and won a Genesis Award
Genesis Awards
The Genesis Awards are awarded annually to individuals in the major news and entertainment media for producing outstanding works which raise public awareness of animal issues. Presented by The Humane Society of the United States, the awards show takes place every March in California...
.
Plot
During an inspection by Superintendent Chalmers, Principal SkinnerSeymour Skinner
Principal W. Seymour Skinner is a fictional character in the American animated sitcom The Simpsons. He is voiced by Harry Shearer. Born in Capitol City, he is the principal of Springfield Elementary School...
lures Bart
Bart Simpson
Bartholomew JoJo "Bart" Simpson is a fictional main character in the animated television series The Simpsons and part of the Simpson family. He is voiced by actress Nancy Cartwright and first appeared on television in The Tracey Ullman Show short "Good Night" on April 19, 1987...
, Jimbo, Kearney, Dolph and Nelson
Nelson Muntz
Nelson Mandela Muntz is a fictional character and bully from the animated TV series The Simpsons. He is voiced by Nancy Cartwright. Nelson was introduced in Season 1's "Bart the General" as a bully but later turned into a friend of Bart Simpson, who is best identified by his signature laugh .-Role...
into a utility basement with the promise of free mountain bikes and locks the door. Bart escapes through a ventilation shaft and takes Groundskeeper Willie
Groundskeeper Willie
William McDougal, usually referred to as Groundskeeper Willie, is a recurring character on The Simpsons, voiced by Dan Castellaneta. He is head groundskeeper at Springfield Elementary School. Willie is a Scottish immigrant, almost feral in nature and immensely proud of his homeland...
's tractor for a joyride, crashing into Chalmers. Having lost any chance of a promotion, Skinner expels Bart. After he is quickly expelled from a new private Christian school, Marge
Marge Simpson
Marjorie "Marge" Simpson is a fictional main character in the animated television series The Simpsons and part of the eponymous family. She is voiced by actress Julie Kavner and first appeared on television in The Tracey Ullman Show short "Good Night" on April 19, 1987...
decides to homeschool
Homeschooling
Homeschooling or homeschool is the education of children at home, typically by parents but sometimes by tutors, rather than in other formal settings of public or private school...
Bart.
Meanwhile, Kent Brockman
Kent Brockman
Kent Brockman is a fictional character in the animated television series The Simpsons. He is voiced by Harry Shearer and first appeared in the episode "Krusty Gets Busted"...
announces that Springfield
Springfield (The Simpsons)
Springfield is the fictional town in which the American animated sitcom The Simpsons is set. A mid-sized town in an undetermined state of the United States, Springfield acts as a complete universe in which characters can explore the issues faced by modern society. The geography of the town and its...
's annual "Whacking Day" is approaching. Each year on May 10, the people of Springfield drive snake
Snake
Snakes are elongate, legless, carnivorous reptiles of the suborder Serpentes that can be distinguished from legless lizards by their lack of eyelids and external ears. Like all squamates, snakes are ectothermic, amniote vertebrates covered in overlapping scales...
s to the center of town and beat them to death. The tradition appalls Lisa
Lisa Simpson
Lisa Marie Simpson is a fictional main character in the animated television series The Simpsons. She is the middle child of the Simpson family. Voiced by Yeardley Smith, Lisa first appeared on television in The Tracey Ullman Show short "Good Night" on April 19, 1987. Cartoonist Matt Groening...
. Barry White
Barry White
Barry White, born Barry Eugene Carter , was an American composer and singer-songwriter.A five-time Grammy Award-winner known for his distinctive bass voice and romantic image, White's greatest success came in the 1970s as a solo singer and with the Love Unlimited Orchestra, crafting many enduring...
arrives to begin the festivities, but is disgusted when he discovers what the holiday is about. Bart learns the true origin of Whacking Day and suggests to Lisa that they lure the snakes to safety by playing music with a lot of bass and putting the stereo speakers to the ground. White helps by singing "Can't Get Enough of Your Love, Babe
Can't Get Enough of Your Love, Babe
"Can't Get Enough of Your Love, Babe" is a song written, recorded and produced by Barry White. Released as the first single from White's album Can't Get Enough in 1974, the song topped the Billboard Hot 100 and U.S. R&B chart and has since become one of White's signature tunes. It was his second...
," attracting hundreds of snakes into the house.
The pursuing crowd arrives, but they are soon turned around on the subject of Whacking Day by Bart's newfound knowledge. It turns out that the day was actually invented in 1924 as an excuse to beat up the Irish
Irish people
The Irish people are an ethnic group who originate in Ireland, an island in northwestern Europe. Ireland has been populated for around 9,000 years , with the Irish people's earliest ancestors recorded having legends of being descended from groups such as the Nemedians, Fomorians, Fir Bolg, Tuatha...
. Mayor Quimby
Joe Quimby
Mayor Joseph "Joe" Quimby, nicknamed "Diamond Joe," is a recurring character from the animated television series The Simpsons. He is voiced by Dan Castellaneta, and first appeared in the episode "Bart Gets an F". A member of the Democratic Party, Quimby is the mayor of Springfield, and is a...
, not knowing the city has had a change of heart, shows up with pre-whacked snakes and is booed. Skinner is impressed with Bart's efforts and welcomes him back to the school, but then realizes in horror that the bullies are still in the utility basement. Racing to the school with the mountain bikes to avoid a potential lawsuit, Skinner tells Willie if the bullies are dead, they make for Mexico. Willie agrees, but privately mutters that he will turn Skinner in at the first tollbooth.
Production
Writer George MeyerGeorge Meyer
George A. Meyer is an American producer and writer. Raised in Tucson, Arizona in a Roman Catholic family, Meyer attended Harvard University. There, after becoming president of the Harvard Lampoon, he graduated in 1978 with a degree in biochemistry. Abandoning plans to attend medical school, Meyer...
, who was very "animal conscious," was interested in writing an episode related to an annual ritual
Rattlesnake Round-Up
Rattlesnake Round-Ups, also known as Rattlesnake Rodeos are events common in the rural Midwest and Southern United States, where the primary attractions are captured wild rattlesnakes which are sold, displayed, and often killed for food or to create animal products such as snakeskin. Typically a...
held in a Texan
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
town, where the townspeople would beat rattlesnakes with sticks. Meyer did not have time to pen the episode himself, so the idea was given to John Swartzwelder
John Swartzwelder
John Swartzwelder is an American comedy writer and novelist, best known for his work on the animated television series The Simpsons, as well as a number of novels. He is credited with writing the largest number of Simpsons episodes by a large margin...
. The subject matter of "beating snakes" worried the staff who thought that many would deem it cruel, even though the episode's message is against the mistreatment of snakes. The episode's first act was one of the shortest the staff had ever written at that time, roughly ten pages in length, but with no ideas to expand, they left it as it was. Due to this, the main plot does not start until the beginning of the second act, as the writers could not come up with much material for it. In order to speed up animation, director Jeffrey Lynch
Jeffrey Lynch
Jeffrey Lynch is an American animator and graphic artist. He has worked as an animation director on The Simpsons and Futurama, and as an assistant director on Spider-Man, Spider-Man 2, Spider-Man 3 and The Iron Giant....
"begged" storyboard
Storyboard
Storyboards are graphic organizers in the form of illustrations or images displayed in sequence for the purpose of pre-visualizing a motion picture, animation, motion graphic or interactive media sequence....
artists Kevin O'Brien and Steve Markowski to help him with the episode. The three spent months on the episode. Barry White
Barry White
Barry White, born Barry Eugene Carter , was an American composer and singer-songwriter.A five-time Grammy Award-winner known for his distinctive bass voice and romantic image, White's greatest success came in the 1970s as a solo singer and with the Love Unlimited Orchestra, crafting many enduring...
had wanted to guest star on the show, and so he was written into the plot. He sang "Can't Get Enough of Your Love, Babe
Can't Get Enough of Your Love, Babe
"Can't Get Enough of Your Love, Babe" is a song written, recorded and produced by Barry White. Released as the first single from White's album Can't Get Enough in 1974, the song topped the Billboard Hot 100 and U.S. R&B chart and has since become one of White's signature tunes. It was his second...
" specially for the episode, rather than using a recorded version.
The song Grampa was supposed to sing in his flashback, showing how he posed as a German cabaret singer in World War II, was "Falling in Love Again (Can't Help It)
Falling in Love Again (Can't Help It)
"Falling in Love Again " is the English language name for a 1930 German song composed by Friedrich Hollaender as Ich bin von Kopf bis Fuß auf Liebe eingestellt...
" by Marlene Dietrich
Marlene Dietrich
Marlene Dietrich was a German-American actress and singer.Dietrich remained popular throughout her long career by continually re-inventing herself, professionally and characteristically. In the Berlin of the 1920s, she acted on the stage and in silent films...
. The staff could not get the rights to it because, according to the people who own the song, "everybody makes fun of it". Much of the flashback was pitched by Conan O'Brien
Conan O'Brien
Conan Christopher O'Brien is an American television host, comedian, writer, producer and performer. Since November 2010 he has hosted Conan, a late-night talk show that airs on the American cable television station TBS....
. The episode marks the first appearance of Superintendent Chalmers. The staff wanted to introduce a boss for Skinner, and Wallace Wolodarsky
Wallace Wolodarsky
Wallace Wolodarsky is an American television writer and director. He wrote for The Simpsons during the first four seasons; all of his episodes were co-written with former writing partner Jay Kogen...
pitched his name. Much of the dialogue and interactions between Skinner and Chalmers were ad-libbed by Harry Shearer
Harry Shearer
Harry Julius Shearer is an American actor, comedian, writer, voice artist, musician, author, radio host and director. He is known for his long-running role on The Simpsons, his work on Saturday Night Live, the comedy band Spinal Tap and his radio program Le Show...
and Hank Azaria
Hank Azaria
Henry Albert "Hank" Azaria is an American film, television and stage actor, director, voice actor, and comedian. He is noted for being one of the principal voice actors on the animated television series The Simpsons , on which he performs the voices of Moe Szyslak, Apu Nahasapeemapetilon, Chief...
.
Cultural references
The untitled Itchy & ScratchyThe Itchy & Scratchy Show
The Itchy & Scratchy Show is a show within a show in the animated television series The Simpsons. It usually appears as a part of The Krusty the Clown Show, watched regularly by Bart and Lisa Simpson...
short, with "guest director" Oliver Stone
Oliver Stone
William Oliver Stone is an American film director, producer and screenwriter. Stone became well known in the late 1980s and the early 1990s for directing a series of films about the Vietnam War, for which he had previously participated as an infantry soldier. His work frequently focuses on...
, is a parody of the scene where Jack Ruby
Jack Ruby
Jacob Leon Rubenstein , who legally changed his name to Jack Leon Ruby in 1947, was convicted of the November 24, 1963 murder of Lee Harvey Oswald, the alleged assassin of President John F. Kennedy. Ruby, who was originally from Chicago, Illinois, was then a nightclub operator in Dallas, Texas...
shoots Lee Harvey Oswald
Lee Harvey Oswald
Lee Harvey Oswald was, according to four government investigations,These were investigations by: the Federal Bureau of Investigation , the Warren Commission , the House Select Committee on Assassinations , and the Dallas Police Department. the sniper who assassinated John F...
in Stone's film JFK
JFK (film)
JFK is a 1991 American film directed by Oliver Stone. It examines the events leading to the assassination of President John F. Kennedy and alleged subsequent cover-up, through the eyes of former New Orleans district attorney Jim Garrison .Garrison filed charges against New Orleans businessman Clay...
: someone is heard to shout, "He's got a gun!" as the screenplay draws to a close. The song "O Whacking Day" uses the same tune as the Christmas carol "O Tannenbaum
O Tannenbaum
"O Tannenbaum", or, in its English version, "O Christmas Tree", is a Christmas carol of German origin.A Tannenbaum is a fir tree or Christmas tree...
", known in English as "O Christmas Tree". Additionally, Bob Woodward
Bob Woodward
Robert Upshur Woodward is an American investigative journalist and non-fiction author. He has worked for The Washington Post since 1971 as a reporter, and is currently an associate editor of the Post....
is shown to be the author of the book The Truth About Whacking Day.
Reception
For "consciousness-raising on behalf of animal issues," the episode was awarded the Genesis AwardGenesis Awards
The Genesis Awards are awarded annually to individuals in the major news and entertainment media for producing outstanding works which raise public awareness of animal issues. Presented by The Humane Society of the United States, the awards show takes place every March in California...
for "Best Television Prime Time Animated Series" in 1994. In its original American broadcast, "Whacking Day" finished tied for 25th in the weekly ratings for the week of April 26–May 2, 1993 with a Nielsen rating
Nielsen Ratings
Nielsen ratings are the audience measurement systems developed by Nielsen Media Research, in an effort to determine the audience size and composition of television programming in the United States...
of 12.2. It was the highest rated show from the Fox Network
Fox Broadcasting Company
Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly referred to as Fox Network or simply Fox , is an American commercial broadcasting television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Launched on October 9, 1986, Fox was the highest-rated broadcast network in the...
that week. Jeffrey Lee Puckett of The Courier-Journal
The Courier-Journal
The Courier-Journal, locally called "The C-J", is the main newspaper for the city of Louisville, Kentucky, USA. According to the 1999 Editor & Publisher International Yearbook, the paper is the 48th largest daily paper in the United States and the single largest in Kentucky.- Origins :The...
cited "Whacking Day" as "the series' richest episode." He wrote: "In 22 remarkable minutes, 'Whacking Day' skewers the quality of America's educational system, self-aggrandizing politicians, greed, the mob mentality, sexuality in the age of political correctness and the whole notion of political correctness, and makes a hero of Barry White." Chris Vognar of The Dallas Morning News
The Dallas Morning News
The Dallas Morning News is the major daily newspaper serving the Dallas, Texas area, with a circulation of 264,459 subscribers, the Audit Bureau of Circulations reported in September 2010...
noted the episode was one of the fourth season's best episodes in his review of the DVD. The show's creator Matt Groening
Matt Groening
Matthew Abram "Matt" Groening is an American cartoonist, screenwriter, and producer. He is the creator of the comic strip Life in Hell as well as two successful television series, The Simpsons and Futurama....
considers Homer's "I am evil Homer" fantasy to be one of the greatest moments in the show's history. Andrew Martin of Prefix Mag named Barry White
Barry White
Barry White, born Barry Eugene Carter , was an American composer and singer-songwriter.A five-time Grammy Award-winner known for his distinctive bass voice and romantic image, White's greatest success came in the 1970s as a solo singer and with the Love Unlimited Orchestra, crafting many enduring...
his fith favorite musical guest on The Simpsons out of a list of ten.
A 2003 article in the The Journal News
The Journal News
The Journal News is a newspaper in New York serving the suburban New York City counties of Westchester, Rockland, and Putnam, a region known as the Lower Hudson Valley. It is owned by the Gannett Company, Inc. The Journal News was created through a merger of several daily community newspapers...
reported that records show genuine "Whacking Days" having taken place in Eastchester, New York
Eastchester (town), New York
Eastchester is a town in Westchester County, New York, United States. The population was 32,363 at the 2010 census. The town includes the villages of Bronxville and Tuckahoe.The Town of Eastchester is in the south part of the county.- History :...
from 1665 onwards: "That one day every spring be chosen for the destroying of rattle snakes." The article quoted show runner
Show runner
Showrunner is a term of art originating in the United States and Canadian television industry referring to the person who is responsible for the day-to-day operation of a television seriesalthough such persons generally are credited as an executive producer...
Al Jean
Al Jean
Al Jean is an award-winning American screenwriter and producer, best known for his work on The Simpsons. He was born and raised in Detroit, Michigan and graduated from Harvard University in 1981. Jean began his writing career in the 1980s with fellow Harvard alum Mike Reiss...
as saying: "I agree with the premise of the episode: leave the snakes alone. They didn't hurt anybody." In North Queensland
North Queensland
North Queensland or the Northern Region is the northern part of the state of Queensland in Australia. Queensland is a massive state, larger than most countries, and the tropical northern part of it has been historically remote and undeveloped, resulting in a distinctive regional character and...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
since 2009, citizens have held an annual "Toad Day Out
Toad Day Out
Toad Day Out is a pest control event which takes place in Queensland, Australia on the 29 March each year. Its focus is to reduce the population of the invasive species Cane Toad. The toads are caught live and unharmed...
", where thousands of cane toads are collected up and humanely destroyed. The event was inspired by the episode.
External links
- "Whacking Day" at The Simpsons.com