What Is Hiding Under Marge Simpsons' Hair? The Secret Was Quietly Revealed Years Ago

There's not a Simpsons fan alive that can't recognize Marge Simpson's trademark blue hair, but how many know of the secret hiding underneath it. While the popular animated series has had a lot of gags about the Simpson family matriarch's tall and unusual hairstyle, one account highlights what Marge's hair was actually meant to hide.

John Ortved's 2009 book, The Simpsons: An Uncensored, Unauthorized History, is an oral history that compiles quotes from over 75 sources over the earliest days of the hit animated series. In one segment, Ortved relays a quote from former assistant to the Executive Producers Daris Paris, who spoke about creator Matt Groening's contributions.

There were times in the room when Matt would come up with the stupidest ideas. And he had this one: we were going to do an episode where Marge finally lets her hair down, and Matt's idea was that once she let it down the audience finds out she has rabbit ears, which was ridiculous. And Sam said no.

According to Paris, Groening would come up with the "stupidest ideas" in the writers room and wanted to do an episode where Marge lets her hair down and reveals that she was hiding rabbit ears the whole time. This idea was quashed by Simpsons co-developer Sam Simon.

Marge Simpson's Big Blue Hair is Hiding Bunny Ears

A Classic Tribute to One of Groening's Earlier Works, "Life in Hell"

A comic of Life in Hell by Matt Groening. A character picks flower petals, playing "She loves me, she loves me not"

Before he was known for Fox's dysfunctional family sitcom, The Simpsons, cartoonist Matt Groening was better known as the creator of "Life in Hell". The comic strip focused on several anthropomorphic rabbits and found humor in darker topics such as self-loathing and existentialism. In the late '80s, Groening was approached to make a series of cartoon shorts for The Tracey Ullman Show. While he wanted to pitch a series based on "Life in Hell", Groening discovered he'd have to rescind the publication rights to his strip. Instead, he developed and pitched an idea about the dysfunctional family, the Simpsons.

Paris' account was backed by Groening himself on the DVD commentary for the season four episode "Selma's Choice", where he said Marge’s ears were intended as a gag for the final episode of the series. While this element has never been in any of the hundreds of episodes of The Simpsons, it was referenced in The Simpsons arcade game released in 1991 with several sprites showing Marge with rabbit ears. Though they’ve yet to make a canonical appearance, the idea of Marge Simpson's secret ears goes all the way back to Groening’s first creative endeavor, “Life in Hell”.

Marge Simpsons Ears Could Be a Hilarious Tribute

Bring Matt Groening's Creation Full Circle

Marge stressed in an office from The Simpsons season 35 episode 14

The Simpsons is a ridiculous show, no doubt, but the idea of Marge having rabbit ears is a step too far for many. That being said, Groening's gag for a potential final episode (which honestly may never happen) is a great way to take the piss out of something like a finale, especially for a cultural cornerstone like The Simpsons. Even better, it's a fantastic way of crediting the idea that helped the Simpson family come to life in the first place. Because let's face it, without "Life in Hell", there wouldn't be The Simpsons.

While it's hard to say if modern-day Simpsons would commit to such an out-of-left-field gag like Marge having rabbit ears, it's a fun idea and one that utilizes Matt Groening's unconventional sense of humor while crediting the creation that helped pave the way for the beloved Springfield family. While it remains to be seen if The Simpsons' Marge is actually hiding lagomorphic ears under that beehive hairdo, it'd be a fun tip of the cap to "Life in Hell" if the producers decide to go with it.