--- title: The Simpsons Predicted the Higgs Boson Mass Years Ago description: “'The Simpsons' is the most mathematical TV show on prime-time television in history,” author Simon Singh says canonical: https://time.com/3731370/homer-simpson-higgs-boson/ author: Nolan Feeney article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-03-04T13:05:26.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-22T04:53:51.325Z article:section: Entertainment og:title: Apparently 'The Simpsons' Discovered the Higgs Boson Particle Before Everyone Else og:description: According to this author, at least og:url: https://time.com/3731370/homer-simpson-higgs-boson/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: TIME og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Apparently 'The Simpsons' Discovered the Higgs Boson Particle Before Everyone Else twitter:description: According to this author, at least twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- # Apparently _The Simpsons_ Discovered the Higgs Boson Particle Before Everyone Else > Sponsored content. 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Terms and conditions apply. * Savings buckets are a feature of Ally Bank's Savings Account. * No ATM fees from Ally Bank at Allpoint and Moneypass ATMs plus we reimburse for fees charged by other ATM owners nationwide up to $10 per statement cycle. * Early direct deposit offers eligible direct deposits up to two days sooner. * Spending buckets are a feature of Ally Bank's Spending Account. ## Video: See the Real Life People Who Inspired the Simpsons [Watch (HLS stream): See the Real Life People Who Inspired the Simpsons](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/ckFGPY1s.m3u8) (1:33)  _Published 2014-08-21. Even some of the Simpson's more animated characters come from real-life people._  by [Nolan Feeney](https://time.com/author/nolan-feeney/)  ## Nolan Feeney Mar 4, 2015 1:05 PM UTC  by [Nolan Feeney](https://time.com/author/nolan-feeney/)  ## Nolan Feeney Mar 4, 2015 1:05 PM UTC Before it was discovered in 2012, scientists spent decades searching for the elusive Higgs boson particle, which helps explain how everything in the universe has mass. [But according to one author](http://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/how-homer-simpson-discovered-the-higgs-boson-over-a-decade-before-scientists-10079006.html), someone else predicted the mass of the Higgs boson particle years before physicists identified it: Homer Simpson. Yes, the doltish patriarch of the country’s best-known animated family, came awfully close to stumbling upon one of the most important scientific breakthroughs of recent years—so says Simon Singh, the author of the 2013 book _The Simpsons and Their Mathematical Secrets_. In the 1998 episode “The Wizard of Evergreen Terrace,” Homer decides to become an inventor and is pictured in front of a blackboard with a complex equation in one scene. “That equation predicts the mass of the Higgs boson,” Singh told the _Independent_. “If you work it out, you get the mass of a Higgs boson that’s only a bit larger than the nano-mass of a Higgs boson actually is. It’s kind of amazing as Homer makes this prediction 14 years before it was discovered.” But Singh isn’t totally surprised by the show’s affinity for math and scientist: “_The Simpsons_ is the most mathematical TV show on prime-time television in history,” he said. “A lot of the writers on _The Simpsons_ are mathematicians.” \[[_The Independent_](http://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/how-homer-simpson-discovered-the-higgs-boson-over-a-decade-before-scientists-10079006.html)\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3731370/homer-simpson-higgs-boson/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3731370/homer-simpson-higgs-boson/"},"headline":"Apparently The Simpsons Discovered the Higgs Boson Particle Before Everyone Else","datePublished":"2015-03-04T13:05:26.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T04:53:51.325Z","description":"The Simpsons is the most mathematical TV show on prime-time television in history,” author says","url":"https://time.com/3731370/homer-simpson-higgs-boson/","keywords":["Television","The Simpsons"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Nolan Feeney","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/nolan-feeney/"}],"articleSection":"Entertainment","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/entertainment/","name":"Entertainment"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3731370/homer-simpson-higgs-boson/","name":"Apparently The Simpsons Discovered the Higgs Boson Particle Before Everyone Else"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"See the Real Life People Who Inspired the Simpsons","description":"Even some of the Simpson's more animated characters come from real-life people.","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/ckFGPY1s/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2014-08-21T21:26:56.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/ckFGPY1s.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/3731370/homer-simpson-higgs-boson/","duration":"PT1M33S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/3731370/homer-simpson-higgs-boson/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```