"The Simpsons" creator Matt Groening is finally spilling the beans on the inspiration behind the long-running animated show's setting. The writers have often made jokes about the anonymous locale Homer and his family call home, but now Groening tells "Smithsonian" magazine the town was actually named after Springfield, Oregon. He explains that he picked the name because one of his favorite shows as a kid, "Father Knows Best," was set in Springfield, and he just assumed it was the city next to his hometown of Portland, Oregon. Groening says he was thrilled as a child, but eventually learned that the television town was fictitious, and that Springfield was one of the most common city names in the U.S. So when he started work on "The Simpsons," he picked the name in hopes that everyone watching would think the show was taking place in "their Springfield."
