Homer Simpson is the Worst Nuclear Technician Ever

The Simpsons may in fact be the most influential depiction of the nuclear industry in media and...it's so, so wrong. D'oh!

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[IgnatiusJohnson]

I'm pretty sure that it is confirmed or at least heavily implied that Homer is effectively immune to radiation in the episode Homer Goes to College where he causes a meltdown in the classroom. As he is leaving the hall, completely glowing green from the radiation that others are fleeing from in terror, he crosses paths with a couple of nuclear clean up techs who greet him pleasantly by name. Clearly, he has been through this a few times over and it's not a big deal for him.

[walkinmn]

My gut reaction was to think "no, I don't think the Simpsons have harmed the view of nuclear energy that much" but then I remembered that one of the very popular tropes of the Simpsons is the 3 eyed fish (because nuclear radiation) and in my experience, throughout my life when people think about nuclear plants and the animals around them, the 3 eyed fish always comes into the conversation. So yeah, it would be nice to see a study but I guess it's very reasonable to think that a show as popular as The Simpsons, has influenced people's views on nuclear power in a negative way mostly.

[boxhead]

The other possibility is there is ZERO radiation.
The Caution sign has lights on the right side, which would imply its alarmed or flashing warning sign, for the event of radiation is detected in that sector. Since it is not flashing and there are no Klaxon sounding alarms blaring out "CAUTION", there is the possibility there is no radiation in the room... because maybe its a training exercise at work and that is a glow stick.

[elloowu]

Mr. Burns actually keeps homer as his safety guy because he knows how terrible he is and doesn't want a competent safety tech that would force to shut him down.

[SavageGreywolf]

"Drop and run" sounds like it would be a joke label on the Simpsons. The fact that this is deadly serious makes this material utterly terrifying.
Though in Homer's defense in throwing it out the window, wouldn't that be _exactly what your reaction should be_ if you found a Cobalt-60 rod down your shirt??

[MakerBees]

You forgot walking/running time to his car, getting out of a controlled parking lot… he was dead before noticing the rod in his shirt.

Repeated exposure probably explains his odd proportions outlined by Mythbusters wrecking ball recreation. I would say the extreme radioactive waste exposure of the whole town experiencing him randomly chucking it out the window is why everyone has mutated radiation blocking yellow skin.

[nickbensema]

My high school teacher, way back in the 1990s, said that Homer Simpson would be single handedly responsible for preventing Americans from considering nuclear power as a solution to our fossil fuel problems.

[gatomatias]

Homer is actually the nuclear safety inspector, not a simple technician, which makes everything more scary.

[CartoonHero]

"The intro shows us Homer is the worst Nuclear Technician in history"

lol so does Mr Burns in at least one episode I can think of specifically in Missionary Impossible Burns thinking Bart is Homer yells at Bart and says "you've caused 17 meltdowns in 10 years!" (he also mentions Homer selling Uranium to an enemy state but is only mad he sold it at a discount in true Mr Burns fashion)

[waldowallace]

My answer would be that Homer's coworkers are well aware of his complete incompetence. Therefore, being generally competent people have given Homer a series of busy work tasks that have no chance of havoc. The reason why no else is wearing protective gear is that nothing Homer touches is actually radioactive. :)

[connortremblay]

Gotta love how the calculations show near certain death assuming the rod is 1m away, but no. Homer has it pressed right up against his brainstem for that time frame.

[EvilCooky]

The exposure calculated in this video only takes into account the time he actually spends in his car.
But there is still a long way for Homer to go, from his workplace inside the facilities, probably through several gates and out to the parking lot, before he even reaches his car.

[BrokenLifeCycle]

I have an answer that's perfectly in line with cartoon logic:

Homer's so dumb that he doesn't even know he's dead.

[Rutherford_Inchworm_III]

The rod has "DROP & RUN" on it because it's intended to be shielded inside of a thick lead case inside of a sterilizer machine - that's what cobalt-60 is used for. There's a narrow slit in the lead casing that can be opened and closed mechanically to cast a narrow beam of intense gamma rays on whatever needs to get sterilized (bandages, packaged food, etc.)

If you can even read the writing on that rod, it means somebody has stolen or illegally-acquired a registered machine, cracked it open to get the lead casing out, then cracked open the lead casing to get the rod out. This is unfortunately a common outcome internationally and has killed multiple people (usually the junkyard workers and their families).

[frecio]

I asked my mom "How Homer avoided security?", you know every nuclear plant is supposed to have a dosimeter before the exit, my moms answer was "isn't it [the nuclear plant] from Burns?" best answer ever.

[makersmark]

Yes, but considering the fact that Homer has lived for several decades now we can all safely conclude that Homer was simply handling a glow sticks.

[powertomato]

It has an in series explaination. The rod is a recurring "character" in the show. It's "inanimate carbon rod". It is even shown in an episode to be an employe of the power plant, who outranks Homer.

[peregrinus]

The “drop and run” on the side of the container is legitimately terrifying

[hGW]

While I'm aware of the "inanimate carbon rod" recurring gag, my realistic presumption of what the glowing rod was that it's a giant tritium phosphorescence vial. Why Homer was wearing PPE around it though, presumably he was trying to look competent around a supervisor.

[seleuf]

I'm surprised Kyle calculated for Homer taking the glowstick home, but not for where he tossed it out the window. In that segment, the pov follows the glowstick out the window and we see it land by Moe's Tavern before the pov shifts focus to Bart skateboarding home from school. So really, the calculations should be from the facility to Moe's Tavern, not facility to Homer's home.

That said, we're also skipping over all the time it would take Homer to actually leave the facility, get into his car, and get out of the parking, so... maybe the ballpark calculations balance out?

Also, imagine working a mere 5 minute drive from home.

Ps. Yes, I know, it's supposedly Cobalt-60 and not a glowstick, but let me be a little silly.