Today we launch “Second Thoughts,” Aaron Keck’s daily commentary that seeks to uncover new ideas and perspectives we haven’t considered on issues we’re all talking about. Listen for it during Aaron’s show on WCHL.

It’s one of the greatest TV shows of all time: “The Simpsons.”

Debuting back in 1989, it’s still going strong after 27 seasons. Of course one of its most distinctive features is the elaborate world it’s built over the years, with dozens and dozens of beloved characters.

But have you ever wondered: of all the people in Springfield, who have been the most prominently featured on the show?

Listen to Aaron’s commentary.

 

A man named Todd Schneider did. And if you can believe it, Todd Schneider went through every single episode of The Simpsons and painstakingly counted every word uttered by every character to see who’s spoken the most.

Here are his findings.

No surprise: number 1 by a landslide is Homer, who’s spoken more than 250,000 words over the years – twice as many as anyone else. Coming in second is Marge, followed by Bart and Lisa.

Who’s number 5? As it turns out, the fifth-most prominent character in Simpsons history is C. Montgomery Burns.

After Mr. Burns, here’s the rest of the top ten:

6) Moe Szyslak
7) Principal Skinner
8) Ned Flanders
9) Krusty the Clown
10) Grandpa Simpson

Did you notice they’re all dudes? After all that research, Todd Schneider concluded that “The Simpsons” is a surprisingly male-dominated show. 75 percent of the lines in Simpsons history have been spoken by male characters – and other than Marge and Lisa, the only other female character in the top 20 is Edna Krabappel, at number 19.

Although perhaps that’s not surprising. After all, one of the most prominent female characters in the Simpsons is Maggie, who never speaks at all.

Or rather she does – but when she does, she always fails the Bechdel test! Not including Treehouse of Horror episodes and other characters’ hallucinations, Maggie’s only spoken three words in the whole series, and all of them refer to guys: “Daddy,” “Moe,” and “Daddily-doodily,” when she thought Ned Flanders was her father.