| Pops Freshenmeyer
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| Character Information
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Pops Freshenmeyer is an employee at Springfield Nuclear Power Plant.
History
When Homer needed a sponsor for his bowling team, he went to see Mr. Burns, who was then experiencing ether-induced hallucinations. Burns visually portrayed Homer as Poppin' Fresh, the Pillsbury mascot, so in his elevated mood he wrote a check. Later, when Burns had recovered, he was annoyed to discover that he had written a check out "to my pal, Poppin' Fresh". Smithers used a computer to search the employee file in order to see who could have pulled off such an impersonation, coming up with two possibilities. First was Pops Freshenmeyer, whose picture was overlaid on that of Poppin' Fresh with no resemblance. Second was Homer, and when his picture was overlaid on that of Poppin' Fresh, the computer indicated a "perfect match". The probability of the computer making an error was 1 in 44 billion.[1]
Behind the Laughter
Chris Turner, in his book Planet Simpson: How a Cartoon Masterpiece Documented an Era and Defined a Generation, wrote "As of writing, there are no two words yet extant in the annals of human communications that are likely to send me into a fit of hysterical giggling as these two words: 'Pops Freshenmeyer.' Such is the extraordinary power of a great one-off gag on The Simpsons."[2]
Appearances
References
Episode – "Team Homer" (picture)
