We think this one might not be a coincidence. We suspect it's a case of Matt Groening drawing on inspiration from something he'd seen on television, and applying it to his brand-new animated series when he first drew 'The Simpsons.' If you're old enough to remember 'The Wonder Years,' (and if you are, welcome to the club), you'll remember Josh Saviano as the nerdy sidekick of Kevin Arnold. He's clever, but he has a thousand allergies, and he's basically the archetypal geek. Remind you of anyone?
Bart's best friend in 'The Simpsons' is Milhouse van Houten, and their relationship is virtually identical. Bart is the cool one, and Milhouse is the nerdy one. It doesn't just stop there though - Milhouse and Saviano more or less dress the same, have the same unfashionable glasses, and the same haircut. Milhouse may not quite have the smarts of Saviano's character, but other than that he's identical in every way. Well, every way apart from the fact he's yellow, anyway.