Bart Simpson is the mischievous ten-year-old son of Homer and Marge on The Simpsons. Matt Groening designed him while waiting in producer James L. Brooks's office, and his name is an anagram of brat. He first appeared in a short on The Tracey Ullman Show in 1987 before the family got its own series in 1989. His traits of rebellion and disrespect for authority made him a cultural icon, though they also drew criticism from parents and educators.

Hampi is a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Karnataka, India, with more than 1,600 surviving remains spread over 4,100 hectares. It was the capital of the Vijayanagara Empire from 1336 to 1565. Travellers from Persia and Portugal described it as a prosperous, wealthy and grand city with temples, markets and farms along the Tungabhadra River. By 1500 it was estimated to be the world's second-largest city after Beijing, and probably India's richest at the time. In 1565 a coalition of Muslim sultanates defeated the Vijayanagara Empire, its capital was conquered and destroyed, and the city was left in ruins. Hampi remains a religious centre, with the active Virupaksha Temple at its heart.