1 God and his son Jesus are the only characters on The Simpsons to have a full set of five digits. They also have five toes on each foot. Everyone else has three fingers and a thumb on each hand, and four toes on each foot.

2 Simpsons creator Matt Groening made the characters yellow to grab the attention of channel surfers. "When you're flicking with your remote control and a flash of yellow goes by, you'll know you're watching The Simpsons," he said.

Bright idea: Matt Groening made the characters yellow so they would be instantly recognisable to channel hoppers.

3 Groening also designed the Simpson family to be immediately identifiable in silhouette - hence their distinctive hairstyles and head shapes.

4 Homer Simpson is the most downloaded satellite-navigation voice in the world. He's more popular than Darth Vader, Ali G and Brian Blessed.