"Mr. Lisa Goes to Washington" Trivia Quiz

Answer: A $1,000,000 cheque

Homer, shuffling through the mail and tossing out obvious junk letters, ends up coming across one message stating that he may have already won one million dollars. Eager to cash the obviously-void cheque at the bank, he's told that there's no possible way it's real. What he does walk away with, however (and much to Marge's interest) is a subscription to "Reading Digest", a magazine that Homer says he'll never read...until he finds the cartoons inside.

Answer: Horoscopes

Homer's copy of "Reading Digest" ends up having a significant influence on his life. At work, the employees and even Mr. Burns start to notice Homer shirking his usual routine (i.e. lunch) to read the issue; at home, he comments on the kids' inability to pull themselves away from the television.

He ends up turning off the TV and forces them all to read a wilderness survival story. It ends up being a great bonding experience for the family and the benefits only continue.

Answer: America

Over a dinner of 'meatloaf men' (a recipe culled from the same single issue of "Reading Digest"), Homer reads that an all-expenses-paid trip to Washington D.C. can be won...but only by kids. He tosses the book out in disgust, but Lisa's willing to take a shot to write a severely patriotic essay to fulfill the requirements.

It'll only take three hundred words, she finds, but the inspiration doesn't come quite as easily as she anticipates. Bart is also urged to write, but the family obviously doesn't question when he backs away from the idea.

Answer: A bike ride through the forest

Marge, in an attempt to push Lisa to broaden her imagination and figure out a topic for her essay, suggests taking a bike ride to clear her mind, so she goes to the Springfield National Forest to relax and think. Almost instantly, Lisa is inspired by the appearance of a bald eagle, so she begins writing. Homer ends up bringing Lisa to the building for Veterans of Popular Wars to hand in and read her essay.

She's not alone; kids all around the nation are reading their essays at other regional finals.

When she reads her essay, it's too good for the judges, and they immediately believe Homer helped her write it.

Answer: False

Lisa wins fair and square. In fact, since one of the judges thought that Homer helped her out, he was asked a series of questions before being (determinedly) too dumb to have assisted her with the paper. Because she has the highest score, the Simpsons are granted the trip to Washington D.C., where she'll be asked to read her paper before Congress. Homer is thrilled-- he'd never believed that reading and writing would pay off.

Answer: The Watergate

The Simpsons end up taking their flight to D.C. and both Homer and Bart only serve to make things difficult for the staff. While Homer asks for anything he can get his hands on, Bart is allowed into the cockpit where he wreaks a bit of havoc.
Soon, however, they land and are whisked away by taxi to the Watergate Hotel. Everyone begins to enjoy the amenities as they settle in; Bart and Lisa end up staying up late to give their father a cruel 2:00am wake-up call. Either way, everyone makes the best of their free trip.

Answer: Two

At a celebratory luncheon hosted by "Reading Digest", the Simpsons are encouraged to enjoy the festivities as Lisa is taken aside by the 'Patriotism Editor' of the magazine to meet her fellow competitors for the essay competition-- Maria and Trong-- both of whom seem to be extreme overachievers, like Lisa. Meanwhile, Homer is given special VIP badges for the family...and decides to ask for the meaning of each letter in the acronym.

The I is for Important.

Answer: The Pentagon

With VIP badges in hand, the Simpsons end up gaining entry to some of the U.S capital's most famous buildings. In the White House they visit the president's bowling alley before finding Barbara Bush in the bathtub. At the U.S. Mint, Homer drools over the money being printed and gets angry at the lack of free samples. Meanwhile, at the National Air and Space Museum, Bart gets in trouble for pretending to fly the Spirit of St. Louis.

They also end up visiting the Washington Monument.

Answer: A bribe

The Simpsons end up at the Capitol Building at an inopportune time...at least for their congressman. When Lisa stops in for a photo op, he lets them in, much to her excitement. That night, however, excited about the upcoming recitation, Lisa asks if she can go to the Winifred Beecher Howe Memorial-- they let her go alone.

While there, to her shock, she discovers that there's a plan in motion to bribe Congress and cut down Springfield National Forest, the inspirational spot where she wrote her essay...just as a bribe is taken by her congressman.

She tears up her essay in sadness.

Answer: No

Unsure of what to do, Lisa walks through Washington D.C. and steps up to Lincoln Memorial to get inspiration. Unfortunately, there are too many people asking him questions...so she goes to Mr. Jefferson's memorial...but he's too fussy. Sitting on the steps of Congress she decides to tell the truth...and writes a new essay. At the ceremony, Lisa arrives late, having been writing a new essay, and upon her arrival she steps up to the podium to read her new paper: "Cesspool on the Potomac". Surprisingly, word of the essay ends up getting to a senator...and then the President...and the congressman is expelled from politics as a whole and sent to prison. Lisa doesn't win the essay competition or the $10,000 (it goes to Trong instead), but she does discover that the system works, and Springfield National Forest is saved.