The Simpsons - Opening Chalkboard Gags

A reference to "A person's a person, no matter how small" from Horton Hears a Who!

A reference to "The Fugitive"

Bart then chops up the blackboard with an axe

A reference to USA Vice-President Dick Cheney being in the hospital with a heart condition

Originally aired on Mother's Day (May 13), 2001

To put it another way, Nancy Cartwright is not a 10-year-old boy

Which is not quite true in President Clinton's case

Unlike most, if not all, of Bart's other blackboard quotes, this one was not all caps (the "e" in "eBay" was small); also, Lisa writes "I will not do math in class" during the show

Probably a response to a gag in DABF03 when Butterfingers (which featured commercials with the Simpsons in them at one time) were thrown into a fire but wouldn't burn, and the response was "Even the fire doesn't want them"

Bart squeaks the chalk while writing this

New Orleans complained about the opening song in "Oh, Streetcar!"

Fox owner Rupert Murdoch had just purchased the Wall Street Journal

This was the first episode after 1992-93 Emmy nominations were announced, the first time the show was eligible for "Best Comedy Series", but it wasn't nominated (the show had won "Best Animated Show" Emmys in the past)

Each line becomes less and less legible; the last line is a scrawl

A reference to a Fox television series where couples were sent to an island filled with singles to test their commitment

During the episode, Marge writes "I will try to raise a better child"

This is probably a reference to The Shining, especially as this quote was not written "line by line" like the others

This appears on one line; the rest is blank

A reference to the 2000 USA Presidential election, whose winner had still not been determined when this episode first aired

A reference to an art exhibit in New York City that included a portrait of the Virgin Mary splattered with dung

This was first shown the day after President Clinton became the first elected President to be impeached (Andrew Johnson, the only other President to be impeached, became President because he was Vice-President when Lincoln was killed)

The classroom was flipped upside-down (well, rotated 180 degrees) while he was writing this

The lines are written in a medieval style, complete with large first letter - and there is a period at the end of each line

This was first shown three days after the last episode of "Seinfeld"

A reference to ex-President Clinton granting Presidential pardons to people who made donations/payments to his election campaign

This never appeared in original airings in the USA, but did in Canada

When this episode first aired, he did - Bart Simpson Peanut Butter Chocolate Crunch (along with Homer's Cinnamon Donut Cereal)

Which is a reference to it being another "clip" show

In the Moses story, Bart carves "I Will Not Deface" (actually, "I Well Knot D-Face") in hieroglyphics

He would be 21 in the 12th season if he was 10 in the first season, which ended in 1990, and he aged normally

During the episode, Principal Skinner writes "I ain't not a dorkus"

A reference to "The X-Files"

The "dirty bird" is the "celebration dance" of the Atlanta Falcons, one of the teams in the 1999 Super Bowl

A reference to Matt Groening commenting in an interview that the show was "closer to winding it up" (and then claiming he was "misquoted and misunderstood")

This was first used for the 100th new episode

A reference to the movie "The Sixth Sense" (coincidentally, Haley Joel Osment, who played the boy in the movie who could see dead people, was at one time the voice of Curly on "Hey Arnold!", which was created by Matt Groening's brother-in-law)

A reference to the "subliminal message" claim during the 2000 USA Presidential Election campaign; during a Republican commercial, the word "RAT" appeared briefly while Democrats were being mentioned

This appeared in place of the couch opening; the rest of the family runs into the classroom

Written in blood.

A reference to the holdout of the cast for more money

This was used for the third airing of 7F01 (a reference to Dan Quayle's gaffe while visiting a school)

It was mutual

Originally, "butt.com" appeared in place of "butt.butt", but it was changed as butt.com is an actual web site address; however, "butt.com" still appeared in Canada

In this episode, there are clues that are supposed to reveal who shoots Mr. Burns

In this episode, the shooter (see 2F16) is revealed