At the end of the episode, a title card appeared which relayed the following message to viewers:
"Thanks for 500 Shows. All we ask is that you go out and get some fresh air before logging on the Internet and saying how much this sucked."
"Thanks for 500 Shows. All we ask is that you go out and get some fresh air before logging on the Internet and saying how much this sucked."
The famous chalk board and couch gag paid tribute to The Simpsons reaching 500 episodes. Milhouse writes "Bart's earned a day off" on the chalk board. Also, there is a montage of every couch gag leading up to the 500th episode, followed by Homer and Bart in tuxedos, strangling each other at the end.
This is the 500th episode of The Simpsons.
This episode marks a rare instance of someone other then Bart doing the chalkboard gag in the opening sequence. In this case, it's Milhouse.
Julian Assange guest-starred as himself and recorded his lines over the phone while under house arrest in Britain, while waiting for the results of the Assange v Swedish Prosecution Authority legal case.