The Simpsons, for being nominally an average American family, have held a lot of lives in their hands. In fact, Homer's regular day job sees him working to ensure the safety of the entire town -- something most citizens of Springfield would be horrified about.

Multiple episodes of The Simpsons have shown that the typically overly emotional Homer is just a single button away from wiping out all of Springfield. One fan theory even suggests that the closest the city came to destruction wasn't even at his hand -- but accidentally almost caused by one of his family members.

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The Simpsons King-Size Homer Fan Theory 2

"King-Size Homer" was the seventh episode of The Simpsons seventh season. Written by Dan Greaney and directed by Jim Reardon, the episode focused on Homer discovering that the Springfield Nuclear Plant allows those who are morbidly obese to claim disability and work remotely from home. Hateful of the nuclear plant's new mandatory exercise program, Homer instead gains the necessary pounds to work from home.

Homer's plan largely backfires, as Marge finds herself less attracted to him, and his attempts to prove he can be a productive worker result in him setting a drinking bird to press "Y" on his computer keyboard. However, when he leaves the bird alone, Homer returns to find it has fallen over -- inadvertently having begun a chain reaction that could set off a nuclear meltdown.

Racing to the nuclear plant, Homer is able to prevent the explosion -- and as a thank you, the typically villainous Mr. Burns agrees to help Homer lose his additional weight. The episode remains a fan favorite of the Golden Age era, but a fan theory suggests it also speaks to the petty side of Marge -- who normally stands tall as the show's moral pillar. The theory -- from Reddit user MotherStep -- suggests that the drinking bird didn't just fall over, but was actually pushed over by Marge. The theory notes that Marge would have been the only person able to push it over -- with Homer, Bart and Lisa out of the house at the time. The drinking bird is specifically designed not to fall, making it unlikely it simply was knocked over of its own accord.

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The Simpsons King-Size Homer Fan Theory 1

The theory argues that Marge -- as the only one who could have come home and seen Homer not at his desk during the work day -- would have been annoyed by his disappearance. Already spending most of the episode frustrated with her husband, the theory suggests that an angry Marge knocked over the drinking bird on purpose to make a point to Homer about his lack of work ethic. But in this theory, Marge is unaware of how genuinely important Homer's work at the time is. Assuming this is just another example of Homer blowing off a useless job, Marge knocks over the bird and leaves to be alone -- meaning she isn't around to help Homer when he discovers what has happened and how much danger the entire town is in.

If true, it's a minor moment of rebellion from Marge in her typically pedestrian life, which is consistent with other episodes across the course of the show. In reality, her actions almost doomed herself and all her loved ones. The destruction of the Nuclear Power Plant has been repeatedly hinted at (and shown in one of the "Treehouse of Horror" specials) being capable of wiping out the entire town in a single blast. Without realizing it, Marge came close to killing everyone in the show -- and considering her typical innocent nature compared to her husband, it's all the more shocking. Even in Marge's minor moments of rebellion, there's a chance for devastating repercussions thanks to the bombastic rules of The Simpsons universe.

The current season of The Simpsons is available to stream on Hulu.