At Springfield Elementary, Lisa is presented with a brain teaser featuring strange hieroglyphs, which she is unable to solve.

Lisa tries to accept the inevitable by watching lowbrow television with Homer and Bart, and reluctantly tries to join in the two messily eating candy bars from a hidden stash minutes before dinner.

She has a sudden vision of a bleak future in which she is grossly obese and unintelligent, speaks in a Southern white trash accent, and is married to Ralph Wiggum who works as a hotdog vendor, and the two live in a trailer with their numerous children, while Lisa spends her days lazing in a hammock and watching soap operas.

After running away, Lisa appears on the TV news program Smartline to tell the citizens of Springfield to treasure their brains.

Lisa is soon finally able to solve the brain teaser she was unable to finish earlier in the episode; the answer was "6", with the hieroglyphs being 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 but mirror-imaged.

[2] Meanwhile in the subplot, Jasper visits the Kwik-E-Mart and empties the freezer containing ice cream in order to freeze himself, with the intention of being defrosted sometime in the distant future.

Dietter returned for one episode in season 18, "Yokel Chords", while Bird left to write and direct The Iron Giant.

[6] IGN's Todd Gilchrist named the episode as one of his favorites of the ninth season in his review of the DVD boxset.

[7] The authors of the book I Can't Believe It's a Bigger and Better Updated Unofficial Simpsons Guide, Warren Martyn and Adrian Wood, thought well of the episode, saying, "A terrific episode, with a good mix of pathos (Lisa's farewell to the Springsonian and her favourite jazz club are inspired) and fun (her Homeresque 'woo-hoo') which comes together to make a refreshing and exciting look at Lisa's life.