Difference between revisions of "Ping-Ping"

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Ping-Ping

Animal Information Species: Panda Color: Black and White Gender: Male ♂ Status: Alive Owner: Springfield Zoo Occupation: Zoo Animal First Appearance: "Homer vs. Dignity"

Ping-Ping is the resident bull panda at the Springfield Zoo. He was seen at the Panda-Monium! exhibit.

History

The Panda-Monium! exhibit was held in honor of Sim-Sim, who was supposedly the zoo's new female panda but was actually Homer Simpson in a panda suit, as part of an elaborate practical joke that Mr. Burns was playing. After Homer as Sim-Sim danced the Lindy Hop and was zapped by prod-wielding trainers to "calm her down", Ping-Ping emerged from his cave, sniffed the air, and went to check out Sim-Sim. Homer tried to run away, but tripped and ended up sprawled over a rock with his behind in the air. To Ping-Ping, this signified that Sim-Sim was ready to mate, so he grabbed the hind legs of Homer's costume and began dragging him toward his cave, with amorous intent, as the audience cheered and whistled. Homer put up quite a struggle, screaming and digging his costume's claws into the ground in an attempt to get away. The struggle continued as the zookeeper lowered a curtain which covered the viewing area. The zookeeper then said, "Ping-Ping just asked Sim-Sim to marry him, and I think she just said yes", which drew still more applause from the audience. Homer made a last-ditch attempt to get away and actually got halfway outside the curtain, but to no avail as Ping-Ping was able to drag him back inside. Moe, in the audience watching the spectacle, said, "Ha! You ain't goin' nowhere, cutie."

Later (presumably after a panda-passion rendezvous), Ping-Ping fell asleep and Homer was able to get away, climbing the barbed-wire fence which enclosed the panda habitat. In the process, he lost the head of his costume, which led to his being discovered by Lisa, who had also been in the audience.

Behind the Laughter

• Ping-Ping's name may be a pun on one or more real-life giant pandas:
  • Ling-Ling and Hsing-Hsing, a pair of giant pandas who were a gift from China to the USA in 1972.
  • Another panda named Ling Ling, who resided at the Ueno Zoo in Tokyo and lived from 1985 to 2008.
• Ping-Ping's name may also be a pun on the sport of ping-pong (more formally known as "table tennis"), which is very popular in China.

Appearances

• Episode – "Homer vs. Dignity"