It’s Homer Simpson’s birthday this week, and he’s way older than you might think

He's arguably the best cartoon character of all time - and the lynchpin of what 'Time' magazine once called the greatest TV show of the 20th century - and now Homer Simpson is about to reach another milestone.

This Thursday, May 12, the big man will turn 60 years of age. Now, we understand that age is a relative matter in the long, flashback-friendly/time-hopping universe of The Simpsons, a fact that has been acknowledged by Dan Castellaneta, the actor who voices Homer. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IZ-i_ArRCso   In this video, the actor explains that Homer was around 33 when the series started in 1989, but that his age became set around 38 or 39 for most of the show's run. But Castellaneta's maths would roughly confirm that this week is indeed Homer's 60th. So what else are we basing our birthday knowledge on? Well, in the season 4 episode of the show, 'Duffless' (first broadcast in February 1993), Homer has his driver's licence temporarily revoked after a drink-driving arrest. There's the briefest of glimpses of Homer's ID as its voided.

Via 20th Century Fox

  Can you see it?   Assuming that the ID goes by the American date notation, Homer's date of birth is May 12, 1956. (It also reveals that his eyes are BLUE!). Last month, another Homer ID went around online claiming that Homer's birthday was in April. https://twitter.com/MeninistTweet/status/724301235201806336 But this was quickly dismissed as fake, because Homer's home address is wrong - the family, famously, live at 742 Evergreen Terrace - and also the ID reveals Springfield's state to be Illinois. This geographical nugget is a bone of contention still for fans: the town's location within the US was never revealed for many years, but creator Matt Groening said in a 2012 interview that it could be in the state of Oregon. Either way, no real ID for Homer in the series would ever reveal that detail. So if you guy into this linear timeline for Homer's existence, what would be the appropriate way to celebrate the great man's big day?   Beer, naturally, is the most obvious option. https://www.instagram.com/p/BEmX2c2k34V/?taken-by=thesimpsonsig   After all... https://www.instagram.com/p/BCCIoekE320/?taken-by=thesimpsonsig   Maybe you could have a burrito? https://www.instagram.com/p/BEXDq4nk31C/?taken-by=thesimpsonsig   Any food really: https://www.instagram.com/p/BD_9nB-k33i/?taken-by=thesimpsonsig   Anything but salad, that is: https://www.instagram.com/p/BFFWieOk373/?taken-by=thesimpsonsig   Maybe go for that long-overdue check-up? https://www.instagram.com/p/BD4MY5Nk3wq/?taken-by=thesimpsonsig   Or just play with a box? MY BOX! https://www.instagram.com/p/BDCOkVGE3w9/?taken-by=thesimpsonsig   Or you could just quietly contemplate your existence: https://www.instagram.com/p/BFKYP79E36R/?taken-by=thesimpsonsig   Whatever you you want to mark it, let's pour one out for the legend that is Homer J. Simpson. Happy birthday sir*.

Via NotSorryFeminism

*And we're not even adding, 'you're making a scene', after calling you 'sir'. This article originally appeared on JOE.co.uk