If you’re a huge fan of The Simpsons, you know there are plenty of hidden jokes in each season and there’s a reason this animated sitcom has been running for over 30 years.

However, this might be their cleverest joke yet, and possibly the funniest and pettiest inside joke we’ve heard in quite some time.

You may have noticed that the incredibly wealthy C. Montgomery Burns, or simply “Mr. Burns,” always answers his phone with “Ahoy-hoy.” While this is certainly memorable and an important part of the character at this point, it’s more than just a simple quirk.

The real reason Mr Burns says “Ahoy-hoy”

The story behind this silly greeting (which I can’t stop saying) goes back to when the telephone was invented. Back then, there was a debate between Alexander Graham Bell and Thomas Edison about what the proper greeting on the telephone should be.

Bell preferred “Ahoy-hoy,” while Edison preferred a simple “Hello.” Of course, Edison won, but in a post on X (formerly Twitter) about the issue, Josh Weinstein, a writer and showrunner on The Simpsons, referred to Edison as his “arch enemy” and said this Easter egg in the show was made to “settle the score” between the two.

Of course, it is also entirely believable that Mr Burns, at his age, was present at the original debate and was fully on Bell’s side.

In person? If someone answered my phone with “Ahoy-hoy!” I would be much happier than if it was just another simple “Hello.”

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