Buzz
The Simpsons
is arguably the most quotable series in television history. Packed with endless humor and memorable lines, the iconic sitcom has inspired countless memes. Now, finding the perfect visual to match any quote is simpler than ever, thanks to
The brilliant platform was developed by Sean Schulte, Paul Kehrer, and Allie Young. “The idea came to us years ago while we were constantly quoting The Simpsons to each other. We realized how challenging it was to find accurate images for those quotes online,” Schulte explained to WIRED. The project kicked off in earnest about six months ago, and progress was swift. Schulte added: "Most of the coding was completed in just a week, including parsing video files, uploading them to the server, and setting up the search functionality.” Young then dedicated several weeks to refining the user interface.
Frinkiac operates in a straightforward manner. As Kehrer describes, the system divides each scene into 100 segments and analyzes the color palette of each. If significant differences are detected between consecutive images, a new frame is saved. Additionally, Frinkiac aligns subtitles with visuals to ensure quotes match the corresponding images. Note that Season 11 may have slight inconsistencies, so some quotes might not be as precise as others.
Overall, Frinkiac performs exceptionally well. Simply enter phrases like "can't talk, eating" or "go banana!" and the search engine delivers matching stills instantly. Once you select an image, the full quote is displayed, allowing you to edit the text directly on the frame. While there’s no save feature, you can easily screenshot the final result. You can also explore entire episodes, broken down scene by scene with corresponding dialogue snippets.
Here’s a glimpse of the entertaining possibilities the interface offers:
