If you think The Simpson family and Ancient Greeks have nothing in common, think again, as one Tipping Point contestant baffled Ben Shepard and the internet by confusing the two
On the face it, The Simpsons family and Ancient Greeks don’t appear to have a lot in common. But a Tipping Point contestant has now stumped the internet by confusing the two, with his hilarious answer now viral online.
In an episode of the hit ITV show, presenter Ben Shepard put a tricky question in front of Dom – a player with stakes to win a hefty cash prize in the game of collecting as many counters as possible. He read: “In his epic poems, Homer often refers to nectar as the drink of the gods and which other substance as their food?”.
Contemplating this for just a couple of moments, Dom replies: “I know he likes doughnuts… I think I’ll go with… doughnuts please Ben.” The camera then pans to Ben who, for a split second, has his jaw-dropped in shock, before smiling – seemingly trying to conceal his amusement.
If you haven’t caught on already, Dom confused Homer Simpson – the classic yellow cartoon character – with Homer, the Ancient Greek. While you may not hear much of him today, Homer is believed to be the author of Odyssey – a gigantic work of poetry consisting of 24 books.
Even though Simpson slip-up was in 2021, Twitter continues to be swamped with hilarious reactions to Dom’s answer, including countless memes from the cartoon show. One person wrote: “D’oh!”, referring to the classic line ushered by Homer Simpson every time he messes up.
Another wrote: “No. No that can’t be right. No honestly, he didn’t just do that. I’m going to be cringing over that for the rest of my life.”
However, many others jumped in to defend Dom, claiming it is snobby to judge someone on their lack of Ancient Greek knowledge – especially because it isn’t taught in all schools. “I mean yeah, granted it’s hilarious,” one person said.
“But also let’s not be snobby to the point of saying nonsense like ‘and THESE people can vote’. Not everyone studies Classics as part of their education.”
Later, another added: “This is exactly what the person who wrote this question was hoping for.”
It’s easy to judge a contestant’s answer from the comfort of our living rooms – but do you think you can answer it correctly? Have a guess before scrolling down for the answer, but be warned, it isn’t obvious.
You may or may not be surprised to know that the food of the gods is ambrosia – a dessert comprised of oranges and shredded coconut. This appears in Homeric Poems as an ointment used to clean the bodies of gods.
