Look for the man with the cactus.

So next time you’re rewatching Season 8 at 2 AM, don’t look for the chalkboard gags. Don’t track the couch gag. Look at the sidewalk behind Homer’s head.

Look for Sancho Bob.

In at least three separate episodes, you can spot Sancho Bob walking past the Simpson house, usually holding a giant, spiky cactus.

Or as some fans call him: The Prickly Dad. If you blinked, you missed him. Sancho Bob is a background character with a specific, repeating bit of animation. He is a lanky, pale, red-haired man (think a very hungover Professor Frink or a mutated Cecil Terwilliger). But his defining feature isn’t his look—it’s his action .

His name?

We all know the heavy hitters. Duffman. Disco Stu. Professor Frink’s “Heavens to Murgatroyd!” But if you really dig into the DNA of The Simpsons —specifically the golden era (Seasons 4-9)—you’ll find a bizarre, throwaway character who deserves his own wing in the Springfield Hall of Fame.

He looks at the cactus. He looks at his own head. He frowns. He touches the cactus spikes, winces, and then touches his own bald (or balding) pate. He sighs in defeat and shuffles away.