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“When Flanders Failed” is the third episode of the The Simpsons’ third season. It is famous among fans of The Simpsons for Lisa’s use of the German word schadenfreude to describe Homer’s initial reaction to the Leftorium’s poor business. Homer similarly thinks “sour grapes” is a German word, as it sounds like sauerkraut. The episode aired on October 3, 1991. However, many sources list this episode as being broadcast before the previous one, Mr. Lisa Goes to Washington. The title of this episode is a reference to the poem “In Flanders Fields”.

The episode had an unusual number of animation glitches, because the animation studio was training a new group of animators and this episode was one of their first efforts, according to the DVD commentary. Furthermore, it is revealed that Ned Flanders, Moe Szyslak and Montgomery Burns are left-handed, just like the Simpsons creator Matt Groening.

Two scenes were cut in syndication: one of Homer’s face turning purple after choking on a hamburger at the end of act 1 (note that Homer’s evil laugh is cut off abruptly in syndication because of this), and one of Bart running to karate class only to be picked up by Homer seconds later after watching the Itchy and Scratchy cartoon “Burning Love” (note that this cartoon was also cut when it first appeared in Krusty Gets Busted).

Plot
Ned Flanders invites the Simpsons to a barbecue party; during the pulling of the wishbone, Homer, who has been constantly jealous of the material success of the Flanders family, wishes for the Leftorium, Ned’s new left-handed goods store in the Springfield Mall, to go out of business. Homer frequently checks on Ned to ensure that business is going poorly. However, when Homer is not at the store, he sees left-handed people having problems and would likely benefit from being customers at the Leftorium, but he does not recommend the store. When the store does indeed close, plunging the Flanderses into debt and misery, after first taking advantage of the desperate Ned selling off his possessions, Homer wrestles with the guilt his wish has brought and make things right again, by telling the left handed population of Springfield about his plight.

Subplot
In a subplot, when prodded to get away from the television and get some exercise, Bart offers to learn karate. On his first lesson, he finds that it is quite boring, so he decides to skip out of each lesson in order to play in the mall arcade. Whenever he is questioned about the techniques he has learned, he refers to the “Touch of Death”, an ability seen in one of the arcade games he plays. His actions catch up to him when Lisa prods him to defend her from the school’s bullies (Jimbo, Dolph, and Kearney) and reclaim her saxophone. He manages to get it back, but ends up being pantsed and hung up on a basketball court, much to Lisa’s regret.

Cultural references
Akira gives Bart’s karate class the ancient Chinese military treatise The Art of War by Sun Tzu. Later in the episode, he is amused to find “left-handed nunchucks” in the Leftorium; in fact this Japanese ninjutsu weapon is ambidextrous. This is similar to a practical joke often played on unsuspecting trainees in the movie industry, where they are sent to purchase a “left-handed screwdriver”.

Homer watches the CFL Draft, which mentioned the Saskatchewan Roughriders, on television. A rouge However the CFL draft is not broadcast on TV, not even in Canada. The episode ending — in which Homer gathers the townfolk to rush to the aid of a beleaguered friend, culimating in a happy song — is a reference to the movie It’s a Wonderful Life. Homer’s line at the end, referring to Flanders as “the richest left-handed man in Springfield” is a reference to Harry Bailey’s toast line.

Misc. cool stuff
Things in Ned’s store
More left-handed stuff:
Cups-a-Plenty
Car with left-handed gearshift
`I [heart] lefty’ apron.
left-handed shot glass (?)
left-handed pinking shears
left-handed ledger book
`Kiss me, I’m left-handed’ T-shirt
left-handed corkscrew
left-handed can opener
left-handed nunchucks (?)
left-handed chainsaw
left-handed computer (arrow keys on left hand side?)
`I’m with lefty’ t-shirt
Ties, hats, and sweaters
`I [heart] southpaws’ poster
left-handed guitar (played by Todd)

Ned’s belongings
A weed-whacker. (“Property of Ned Flanders”)
An apron which says, “Hail to the chef”.
A hand-held camcorder.
A propane gas grill.
A `Ned Loves Maude’ shirt. (worn by Homer)
A `Maude Loves Ned’ shirt. (worn by Bart)
A `World’s Greatest Dad’ cap. (worn by Homer)
His eyeglasses. (worn by Bart)
A `Welcome to Flanders Country’ welcome mat. (in front of Ned’s car door)
A `God Bless Our Happy Car’ needlepoint. (in Ned’s car)
A handkerchief with `NF’ embroidered on it. (Homer cries into it when
he admits that Ned’s failure was his fault.)