In 1996, a 2.5-minute short sandwiched between a bunch of other shorts premiered in an episode of The Simpsons. No one thought much of it at the time, but over the last couple decades, “Chalmers vs. Skinner” — rebranded to “Steamed Hams” — would go on to become one of the most iconic Simpsons moments.
A new oral history of the short published on Mel Magazine by Brian VanHooker dives into how it came to be, featuring interviews with then-showrunners Bill Oakley and Josh Weinstein. The oral history does a wonderful job of tracing how this short came to be where it is now, an incredibly popular meme that got its start in a Facebook group before moving to YouTube and other social media platforms. It’s a rise that surprised Oakley considering…