#OnThisDay #OTD April 26, 1998, "Trash of the Titans", first aired on the Fox network. Dir: Jim Reardon. Wr: @ianhmg. Guest-starring @SteveMartinToGo as Ray Patterson, @U2 and their manager Paul McGuinness as themselves. It was the 200th episode of #TheSimpsons.

They spent a lot of time trying to get to the point that Homer would have an "over-filled trash can" to kick off his desire to run for Sanitation Commissioner, and through its extensive use of packaging, the concept of Love Day was formed.

The original idea for the ending was that the whole town would be raised up and the rubbish be swept underneath. The ending was not intended to carry an environmental message, but it played well and is what the staff believe won the episode an Emmy.

U2 contacted the show about doing a guest spot, rather than the other way around. The writers immediately wrote them one, in case they changed their minds. They recorded their lines for the episode in October 1997.

The episode marked the first appearance of Costington's department store, whose slogan is "Over a Century Without a Slogan." It took "a lot of wasted man-hours" to come up with both the name and slogan.

The original print ad for "Trash of the Titans."

Just realized I neglected to tag showrunner @scullymike in this thread. Sorry, Mike!