RENEE MONTAGNE, HOST:
And this may be news to your household, but Holmstrom was a household name long before this week in the fictional world of "The Simpsons."
STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:
In a scene from a 2010 episode, four of the show's cartoon children have a betting pool for the various Nobel Prizes. A sheet with each character's picks for the prizes in physics, chemistry, economics and literature is briefly shown on screen. And it features names of several real life economists, scientists and writers, including Bengt Holmstrom.
MONTAGNE: Here's the scene, where Homer Simpson discovers the children up late in front of the TV. You won't hear Holmstrom's name, but it's clearly shown on a piece of paper as the choice of Millhouse, Bart's nerdy best friend.
(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "THE SIMPSONS")
DAN CASTELLANETA: (As Homer Simpson) It's 4 a.m., you kids should have been in bed a half hour ago.
YEARDLEY SMITH: (As Lisa Simpson) We're watching the Nobel Prize announcements live from Stockholm.
CASTELLANETA: (As Homer Simpson) Oh, the Nobys (ph).
HANK AZARIA: (As Nobel Prize Announcer) For economics - Jagdish Bhagwati.
RUSSI TAYLOR: (As Martin Prince) Huzzah, I had him in the pool.
CASTELLANETA: (As Homer Simpson) Lucky.
SMITH: (As Lisa Simpson) Quiet, it's time for the noblest Nobel Prize of all - the Peace Prize.
CASTELLANETA: (As Homer Simpson) I would kill for that.
AZARIA: (As Nobel Prize Announcer) And the Nobel Prize for Peace goes to...
SMITH: (As Lisa Simpson) Isn't this exciting?
AZARIA: (As Nobel Prize Announcer) ...Krusty the Clown.
INSKEEP: For the record, Krusty the Clown has not won a Nobel Prize - yet. But "The Simpsons" Millhouse, a visionary, knew way before the rest of the world that MIT's Bengt Holmstrom had genius in him.
(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "THE SIMPSONS")
PAMELA HAYDEN: (As Millhouse) Everything's coming up Milhouse.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "THE SIMPSONS THEME") Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.