’The Simpsons’ Episode Eerily Mirrors Tragic Moroccan Well Rescue Attempt

Released 20 years ago, "Radio Bart," the 13th episode of season 3 of the animated series The Simpsons featured Bart, Simpson’s son. He had received a microphone that allowed him to speak remotely with a radio. "He uses it to play pranks. He makes people believe that a little boy named Timmy O’Toole is stuck in a well. The whole town then mobilizes for the little boy: a song is created, a party is organized... The boy is then hailed as a hero. But Lisa discovers the trick. Bart, having remembered that he put his name on the radio, goes to retrieve it from the bottom of the well. But his attempt fails and the whole town discovers the lie."

"The Springfieldians then decide to leave him in the well for the rest of his life. Unable to bear it anymore, Homer decides to get Bart out of the well, soon followed by part of the town. Once Bart freed, the well is sealed to prevent another incident," summarizes the synopsis. This episode has strange similarities with the tragic accident of "Rayan". Accidentally fallen on February 1, 2022 into a 32-meter-deep, narrow and difficult-to-access dry well, dug near the family residence in the village of Ighrane, in the province of Chefchaouen, in northern Morocco, this 5-year-old boy did not survive, despite the five days of relentless efforts by the rescuers. The tragedy has moved the whole world. Tributes have multiplied after his death.