Futurama Creators Hid A Coded Message In Bender's Apartment Number
"Futurama" has lived more lives than any other show since the dawn of the current millennium. It has been saved from cancellation several times over the years and has maintained a very loyal following, even in the periods where no new episodes were making it to air. It's a credit to what creator Matt Groening accomplished, even going back to some of the earliest episodes. It's actually in one of those early episodes where we get one of the initial flashes of hidden brilliance that helped make the show what it is.
The third episode of "Futurama" season 1 is titled "I, Roommate," and it is a pivotal one. Fry is such a slob that he is forced by the rest of the Planet Express crew to move out of the offices where he's been crashing. He decides to take up an offer from Bender to move into his place, only to discover that he pretty much lives in a glorified, tiny storage unit. The rest of the episode sort of turns into a futuristic take on "The Odd Couple." It establishes the dynamic of Bender and Fry living together, which is key for the remainder of the series.
The episode's most infamous Easter egg takes place relatively early on when the two first get to Bender's apartment. Bender live in apartment 00100100. In the episode's DVD commentary track, it's explained that his apartment number is 36 in binary, the computer coding language made up of 1s and 0s. But that's not all. In the American Standard Code for Information Interchange (ASCII), the number on the door translates to the $ symbol. As would become a theme throughout the series, Bender is pretty obsessed with money and material wealth.
Just one of many clever Easter eggs in Futurama
As hardcore fans of the show are certainly aware, this sort of deep-cut isn't rare; it's a defining trait of the series. These clever Easter eggs and clues to larger happenings are peppered in regularly. To that end, this same commentary track also explains why owls are so prevalent in the "Futurama" universe. Again, it's something that's not right out in the open, but the answers are there for those who are looking.
Groening and series co-developer/producer David X. Cohen were ready to challenge viewers dating back to the pilot, peppering in clues about the plot that would bear fruit later on in the series run. It's a show that can certainly be enjoyed for its surface-level value, but there has always been more going on underneath the surface. Much of that has to do with the sheer cleverness of many of the writers who worked on the show over the years.
Cohen is a prime example, as he holds degrees in physics and computer science. This high-level thinking was put to good use later on as one particular "Futurama" episode even ended up creating a new math theorem with real-world applicability. So yes, it's funny that Fry had to go live with Bender in a glorified closet. That's on the surface. But what's just below the surface is the secret sauce that helps set the show apart.
"Futurama" is currently streaming on Hulu.