The Simpsons: 10 Things You Didn’t Know About Lenny And Carl

Lenny and Carl are probably the most well-loved duo in The Simpsons. Sure, you might like Homer and Marge, but sometimes they live their own lives; similarly, you might enjoy the bond between Mr. Burns and Waylon Smithers, but their dynamic is a little unbalanced. Lenny and Carl, however, are inseparable. You’re rarely going to see them apart.

Despite this, there is a lot we don’t know about the pair, whether separately or together. We’ve listed ten things that you might not be aware of the famous partnership.

10 They Both Have Masters Degrees In Nuclear Physics

The very fact that Homer, Carl, and Lenny all work at the nuclear plant seems like knowledge we all have and just accept at face value.

However, while Homer blagged his, his pair of seemingly unintelligent friends have masters degrees in nuclear physics, which suggests an incredible level of intelligence. In fact, Carl is known to have an astonishing IQ of 214.

9 And Were Once In Homer’s Band

Alongside the police officer Lou (for some reason), Lenny and Carl were members of one of Homer’s earliest bands: Sadgasm.

They were once a hip-hop collective, but changed their sound to grunge while at university, releasing songs such as ‘Shave Me’ and ‘Politically Incorrect’. Lenny was on guitar; Carl was on bass.

8 And They’re Practicing Buddhists

When Lisa decides to give up on Christianity and become a devoted Buddhist, she wandered to the local temple and found Lenny and Carl to also practice the religion and teach it to Lisa.

Richard Gere is also in there for some reason, but he doesn’t continue his devotion to its teachings, unlike Lenny and Carl. The two appear in pretty much every story that involves Buddhism in some way from then on.

7 Carl Grew Up In Iceland

In a strange turn of events, it is revealed very briefly that Carl might have been born and raised in Iceland.

He once dreamily remembers his ‘Icelandic boyhood’, before this concept is quickly never mentioned again, leaving them to wonder about the true origins of the mysterious Springfieldian.

6 And Lenny Has Soviet Ancestors

While we know that Lenny himself was born in Chicago, but one slightly deeper fact is that he is the last surviving member of a Native American tribe.

Even more interesting, however, is the fact that Lenny’s grandmother spent twenty years in a POW camp in Soviet Russia, suggesting some very interesting historical connections.

5 Carl Seems To Be More Important To Mr. Burns Than Lenny

While Lenny and Carl are a consistent duo throughout the show, there are occasional moments in which other characters seem to pick favorites.

For example, when Homer is Mr. Burns’ ‘prank monkey’, he flings pudding into Lenny’s eye, much to Burns’ delight. However, when he does the same to Carl, Burns’ exclaims ‘what are you doing man, that’s Carl’ and goes to help him out.

4 Lenny Was Head Of The Plant Once

After Mr. Burns went bankrupt, Lenny was promoted to head of the power plant. Smithers didn’t enjoy Lenny’s time at the top, but this doesn’t stop Lenny from becoming the head of the plant again during ‘Lisa’s Wedding’.

Despite the fact he has been promoted to boss twice, he has also been fired twice. One of them was justified, but the second was thanks to losing a game created by Burns in which the loser would lose their job.

3 There Is A Theory That They’re Gay

It’s difficult to introduce a pair of same-sex friends into a show without claims that they might be gay arising at some point, but Carl and Lenny do seem to support the theory a little more than most might.

“It’s stuff like that makes everyone think we’re gay” is something that Carl famously explained, after Lenny said, “I don’t know where Carl ends and I begin”.

2 But They Also Might Be Half-Brothers

This is a bit of strange one, because there have actually been times in The Simpsons where we’ve met the parents of Lenny (not Carl, yet), and it hasn’t really been implied that they are also Carl’s parents.

However, when the flammable district in Springfield catches fire, Lenny claims that ‘our’ mother is working there, which really makes it sound like the two share a mother at the very least.

1 They Were Originally Very Inconsistent As Characters

Outside of their fiction characterization, there is a lot of interest surrounding the two friends behind the scenes of The Simpsons.

For example, the two appeared so infrequently at first that they didn’t have a consistent voice, while Carl’s name was once suggested to be spelled with a K.