Chalkboard Gags

"Goldfish don't bounce."

Every chalkboard sequence at the beginning of each episode of The Simpsons.

An image archive of the chalkboard gag in the opening sequence of The Simpsons.

A chalkboard gag, sometimes called a blackboard gag, is a running visual joke that occurs during the Opening sequence of many episodes of The Simpsons. In this gag, Bart Simpson is writing a unique phrase on the chalkboard repeatedly; when the school bell rings, he immediately stops writing and runs out of the classroom. The phrase is usually in the form of an admonishment, implying that Bart Simpson has been assigned this task as punishment in detention for some misbehavior left partly to the viewer's imagination. The chalkboard gags are usually written in upper case.

In the opening sequence, Bart writes something on the chalkboard as a punishment, often ironic. Each one is listed here, with screenshots where useful.

The following is a list of chalkboard gags seen on The Simpsons.