"Most people watch The Simpsons to laugh. And, perhaps, feel a little superior to the animated family who are Springfield's best known, if often most dysfunctional citizens."

"But Simon Singh, the Cambridge-trained physicist and best-selling author, watches the show not just for laughs, but also for the ... math? In his new book, The Simpsons and Their Mathematical Secrets, he argues that the writers and producers have woven a lot of math into The Simpsons — and into a highly honored show from the same team,  Futurama."

"Singh is no stranger to math; his first book was about French mathematician Pierre de Fermat's famous unsolved theorem. And the idea of hidden mathematical knowledge encoded in the adventures of Homer and Bart seems far-fetched, but Singh assures NPR's Scott Simon it's true. "I was watching The Simpsons one day, an episode called 'The Wizard of Evergreen Terrace,' and there on a blackboard behind Homer was an equation that directly relates to Fermat's last theorem. And I don't miss things like that.'"