The basement always includes a washing machine, a clothes dryer, and, after the episode "
Blood Feud", a large
Olmec statue of a head which was a present from
Mr. Burns given to Bart in that episode. The appearance of other features such as a furnace,
ping-pong table,
air hockey set, and
water softener varies from episode to episode. The basement is often used as a "
secret lair", where Homer hides after faking the kidnapping of Mr. Burns's son in "
Burns, Baby Burns", brews alcohol to beat
prohibition in "
Homer vs. the Eighteenth Amendment", hides his superhero operation as Pie Man in "
Simple Simpson", and where Marge hides during a spell of
agoraphobia in "
Strong Arms of the Ma". Bart hints in one episode that the basement has a problem with
radon gas, then lets a homeless man sleep there in "
The Day the Violence Died". It is revealed in the episode "
Father Knows Worst" that there is a sauna behind the water heater that was covered up by paint and dust, but which Marge accidentally found. A simple painting of a boat hangs on the wall above the living room couch. Marge says she painted it for Homer in "
The Trouble with Trillions". In the episode "
Diatribe of a Mad Housewife", the painting has a plaque saying it was based on a scene from
Moby Dick. In the Season 27 episode "
Barthood", young Lisa is seen drawing the sail boat painting. In the episode "
Homer and Ned's Hail Mary Pass", Homer destroys the painting over the couch and Marge retrieves a replica out of a closet. The painting is also destroyed by Lisa's guinea pig in "
The War of Art" but it gets replaced with a replica made by a famous art forger. In the "
Treehouse of Horror IV" episode, a
Dogs Playing Poker painting appears above the sofa. In "
Treehouse of Horror VI", there is a portal behind the bookcase in the sitting room that leads to the
third dimension, a reference to
The Twilight Zone episode "
Little Girl Lost". However, Treehouse of Horror episodes are not
canonical. == Condition ==