During a trip to "Satan's Anvil," the students and faculty of Springfield Elementary stumble into bizarre people and situations: Otto runs over "realistic" versions of Coyote and Road Runner; Martin meets an eccentric and grumpy hermit artist that the government tried to hire for years but never succeeded; Bart, Nelson and Milhouse find old French postcards; and Lisa is almost attacked by scorpions, but they quickly become passive after Lisa passes through a field of silvertongue flowers in Springfield's desert, prompting her to take the scorpions and some flowers for further experiments.
After Lisa confirms that the flower has a powerful chemical agent that nullifies all the negative feelings of any living being, Homer sneaks some into his father's coffee, curing his usual crankiness.
While they complain about it at Moe's Tavern, a drug industry employee from Hottenhoffer Pharmaceuticals named Walter Hotenhoffer (formerly known as Augustus Gloop) manages to duplicate the liquid's effects using a sample of Grampa's perspiration.
[citation needed] The music playing during this scene is inspired by "The Dance of the Comedians" from The Bartered Bride by Bedřich Smetana.
[citation needed] Mr. Burns sitting on a throne down by the seashore and failing to command the tide to obey him is a reference to the tale of king Cnut the Great as ruler of the waves.
[citation needed] The song playing during the montage of Lisa walking through the desert is "Gassenhauer," composed by Carl Orff.
"[citation needed] The episode received a 2.8/8 in the 18-49 share, and 6.20 million viewers, slightly edged out by the new Family Guy in the Animation Domination block.