The MOST concrete clue that I have ever seen drives home the conclusion that they are not from any real state in the US, and it could make the argument that they are, in actuality, from Canada.
Watching the episode "Mr. Lisa Goes to Washington" I kept a close eye on the map as they were traveling around the country displaying different contestants give their speech. When it pans back to Lisa's speech, the map crosses over a section where 4-states (territories?) meet at a single point, with Springfield in the one at the Northwest corner. Anyone who paid the slightest bit of attention in grade school geography knows that this implies it could only be Utah. However, that precludes the assumption that it is in the US, and that overrules a fact that is hidden in the same clip.
Just as the map is fading from the shot of the map over to Lisa giving her speech, the abbreviation "NT" is displayed the same as a state's abbreviation would be displayed on the map. It goes by far too quickly and is so faded that you can't make it out unless you pause the video at the perfect time. The catch here is that there is no US state with the abbreviation NT, however this is the abbreviation of the Northwest Territories in Canada. Far fetched, right? Well take a look at a map. The Northwest Territory just happens to also be in the Northwest corner of a 4-province intersection.
Unfortunately, this argument falls apart in the exact same episode. A clip later on shows a man lobbying to demolish Springfield National Forest. The map he is showing depicting the forest has Springfield U.S.A. written in big letters on the bottom. Interestingly, it shows a Springfield Lake which holds a striking resemblance to the Springfield Lake just south of Springfield Illinois. There are a lot of other clues dispersed throughout the episodes that indicate this is the true state, but there are also clues that say it cannot be in Illinois, including one where Homer points to Springfield Illinois on a map as his home town, but Lisa tells him he's wrong.
I thought it was interesting that someone stated earlier that a fictional state named North Tacoma was credited by David Silverman as the "actual" home of the Simpsons. In all reality, this makes the most sense. As so many people have pointed out, there are conflicting "facts" about the Simpsons home state that can only be justified with a fictional state. In one episode, the Simpsons are holding hands while each one of them is standing in a different state, including Maggie. This means that they were standing in 5-different states that came together at the same point! That's only possible if we create a fictional state. There are MANY other "facts" that support the claim that Springfield is in a fictional state. All you need to do is scroll through this site to see all the conflicting arguments.
North Tacoma fits the bill, from the earlier explanation that the state's postal abbreviation is NT. So now the real question becomes, where would North Tacoma's boundaries be drawn?
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The MOST concrete clue that I have ever seen drives home the conclusion that they are not from any real state in the US, and it could make the argument that they are, in actuality, from Canada.
Watching the episode "Mr. Lisa Goes to Washington" I kept a close eye on the map as they were traveling around the country displaying different contestants give their speech. When it pans back to Lisa's speech, the map crosses over a section where 4-states (territories?) meet at a single point, with Springfield in the one at the Northwest corner. Anyone who paid the slightest bit of attention in grade school geography knows that this implies it could only be Utah. However, that precludes the assumption that it is in the US, and that overrules a fact that is hidden in the same clip.
Just as the map is fading from the shot of the map over to Lisa giving her speech, the abbreviation "NT" is displayed the same as a state's abbreviation would be displayed on the map. It goes by far too quickly and is so faded that you can't make it out unless you pause the video at the perfect time. The catch here is that there is no US state with the abbreviation NT, however this is the abbreviation of the Northwest Territories in Canada. Far fetched, right? Well take a look at a map. The Northwest Territory just happens to also be in the Northwest corner of a 4-province intersection.
Unfortunately, this argument falls apart in the exact same episode. A clip later on shows a man lobbying to demolish Springfield National Forest. The map he is showing depicting the forest has Springfield U.S.A. written in big letters on the bottom. Interestingly, it shows a Springfield Lake which holds a striking resemblance to the Springfield Lake just south of Springfield Illinois. There are a lot of other clues dispersed throughout the episodes that indicate this is the true state, but there are also clues that say it cannot be in Illinois, including one where Homer points to Springfield Illinois on a map as his home town, but Lisa tells him he's wrong.
I thought it was interesting that someone stated earlier that a fictional state named North Tacoma was credited by David Silverman as the "actual" home of the Simpsons. In all reality, this makes the most sense. As so many people have pointed out, there are conflicting "facts" about the Simpsons home state that can only be justified with a fictional state. In one episode, the Simpsons are holding hands while each one of them is standing in a different state, including Maggie. This means that they were standing in 5-different states that came together at the same point! That's only possible if we create a fictional state. There are MANY other "facts" that support the claim that Springfield is in a fictional state. All you need to do is scroll through this site to see all the conflicting arguments.
North Tacoma fits the bill, from the earlier explanation that the state's postal abbreviation is NT. So now the real question becomes, where would North Tacoma's boundaries be drawn?